IPR Information for SMEs

IPR is an abbreviation for Intellectual Property Rights. Some people talk about intellectual or immaterial capital and associated rights when referring to IPR.

In general, IPR is divided into copyright and industrial property rights.

The industrial property rights - patents, utility models, trademarks and design - are means to protect, manage and commercialize the results of development work. The owners of IPRs have legal right to deny others to utilize as well as to grant a licence to utilize the object of the rights (such as technology, brand or design).

Industrial property rights play an important role particularly in product development and marketing, both in Finland and on the international market.

Moreover, every company has a business name, i.e. company name , and possibly auxiliary company names that provide the basis for the company’s reputation.

In addition to industrial property rights, copyright - protection of the results of creative work - and agreements on copyright are also important for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In Finland, the Ministry of Education and Culture deals with matters relating to copyright issues. A lot of useful information about copyright is found on the Ministry’s websiteOpen link in a new tab.

IPR boosts you business and increases the value of your company

Recent study finds that companies owning Intellectual Property rights outshine their competitors in economic performance. Companies owning intellectual property rights (IPRs) have, in general, 29% higher revenue per employee, about six times as many employees and pay wages that are up to 20% higher than firms which do not own IPRs. This is even more true to SMEs.

Use IPR information to improve your product offering

Apart from managing your own IPR you should follow developments in your field and monitor what your competitors have created and developed. It is also important to know what kind of rights they have applied for to protect their new products, and which ones of those rights have been granted and in force. Therefore, databases of industrial property rights are valuable information sources for every company. Databases are available free of charge on the Internet 24/7.

Service Manual for Intellectual Property

Our Service Manual (pdf, 0.3 MB) will help you recognise the intellectual property of your company and protect, manage and make use of your knowledge and the results of your work.

With this manual you can go through the intellectual property of your company and consider suitable ways to protect it.

Once you have protected your intellectual property well in advance before launching your product on the market, you will be safe from unpleasant surprises later.