The Latvian Technological Center hosted a webinar on April 16 as part of the SustainX project, led by expert Juris Lauznis. The session, titled “Roadmap to Intellectual Property (IP) Rights,” was designed for SMEs from Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Latvia, and the Canary Islands (Spain).

The webinar introduced key intellectual property concepts and protection tools, including patents, utility models, industrial designs, and trademarks. It also highlighted available grant schemes to support IP protection.

Participants learned about the value of IP assets, including “soft IP” such as confidential business information, as well as the costs, monitoring, and search processes related to IP rights. The session was interactive, with SMEs raising questions about legal exceptions, industrial applicability, differences between national, European, and global patent systems, and how copyright works.

More information about funding opportunities for EU-based SMEs can be found through the European Union Intellectual Property Office SME Fund: https://www.euipo.europa.eu/en/sme-corner/sme-fund/2026

For more information, you can contact Juris Lauznis, EUIPO Ambassador in Latvia, at: juris.lauznis@techcenter.lv.