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Aleck Ncube
THE “knowledge economy” has brought about structural changes to the economies of many countries making it indispensable for companies and policy-makers to address new challenges.

One of the most crucial challenges faced by SMEs is how to manage their existing and new knowledge effectively in order to benefit fully from the innovative and creative capacity of their businesses.

Intellectual property rights have emerged as useful tools for managing innovation and resolving some of the “market failures” affecting innovating SMEs. It is,therefore, increasingly important for entrepreneurs, inventors, researchers, SMEs and business consultants to have a good understanding of the IP system in order to manage effectively a business’ intellectual assets.

The difficulties encountered by SMEs in applying for IP protection may be significantly reduced through the use of regional protection systems or the global protection systems administered by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).

By filing one international application under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), businesses can simultaneously seek patent protection for an invention in all countries that are Contracting Parties to the PCT.

A county’s membership of the PCT therefore provides national businesses with an instrument that may significantly improve their access to patent protection abroad.

For trademarks and industrial designs, the Madrid System for the International Registration of Marks and the Hague System for the International Deposit of Industrial Designs provide applicants with the possibility to have their mark or industrial design protected in several countries by simply filing one application with a single Office, in one language, with one set of fees in one currency (Swiss francs).

The Madrid system and the Hague system simplify greatly also the subsequent management of the mark or industrial design respectively, since it is possible to record subsequent changes or to renew the registration/deposit through a simple single procedural step with the International Bureau of WIPO.

It is important to note that Zimbabwe is part of the Hague and Madrid systems.

At the legislative level, the introduction of utility model protection (known in some countries as “petty patents” or innovation patents) is an important development for inventors, entrepreneurs and SMEs.

Utility models are considered an instrument of protection that is particularly suited to small enterprises with limited R&D capacity but capable of making incremental changes or adaptations to existing products. Utility models are generally cheaper than patents and faster to obtain and often have lower requirements than patents interms of the threshold of inventiveness.

Zimbabwe currently does not have Utility Model Protection at legislative level. The only way SMEs in Zimbabwe can get Utility Model protection is via the regional route at the African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation (ARIPO).

The ambitious goal of assisting new and existing SMEs to become and remain competitive, through a more effective use of the IP system, can only be really attained if all the relevant actors in the public, private and civil society sectors in Zimbabwe make sustained efforts to bridge the gap in awareness of, access to, and use of the IP system by inventors, researchers, entrepreneurs and SMEs.

The problems faced by SMEs in raising funds for the developmentof new technologies, have led some countries to begin to explore ways in which IP rights maybe of use for obtaining funds. For public funds to be invested in supporting the R&D activities of inventors, researchers and SMEs it is important, however, to ensure that R&D results obtained with the support of public funds are properly protected in order to enhance their commercial exploitation.

It is also important that prior to investing in specific innovation projects, a proper patent search is conducted to ensure that funds are not being devoted to duplicative research.

More IP-conscious policies on public sector venture loans or grants would generally be desirable. The other critical government intervention is the establishment of mechanisms for supporting the protection of patents, trademarks and designs in foreign markets as an essential part of their export promotion programmes.

This would include assistance in gaining access to international application filing systems for patents, trademarks, and industrial designs (i.e. the PCT system for inventions, the Madrid system for trademarks and the Hague system for industrial designs).

Promoting interaction between universities, public R&D centres and SMEs in the field of innovation and technology transfer is also a crucial government intervention.

A closer interaction between universities and industry enables enterprises (and society as a whole) to benefit from the innovative capacity of universities.

In that context, transparent and clear rules on ownership of intellectual property and equitable sharing of income generated by commercialisation of IP rights is a key mechanism for creating the appropriate incentives to enhance such interaction.

The following are recommendations that government can undertake to enhance the embracement of IP by SMEs: strengthen interaction between IP offices, SME support institutions, business associations, national, regional and local governments and other relevant institutions with a view to better identifying the IP needs of entrepreneurs and SMEs and the barriers to a more effective use of the IP system by entrepreneurs and SMEs, and implement activities to assist entrepreneurs and SMEs to overcome such barriers.

There is a need to support efforts for further integration of IP issues in programmes and policy initiatives aiming at fostering the development of entrepreneurship and SMEs, including policies directed to promoting the technological and innovative capacities of SMEs as well as policies on export promotion, entrepreneurship, science and technology, cultural development, e-commerce, technology transfer, sector-specific development and other relevant areas of policy-making.

Promoting a more effective use of the IP system by entrepreneurs and SMEs by enhancing awareness and knowledge of all elements of the IP system, including not just patents but also trademarks, geographical indications, industrial designs, utility models, trade secrets, copyright and related rights, new varieties of plants, non-original databases and relevant aspects of unfair competition law, among entrepreneurs and business advisors within public and private SME support institutions, are crucial.

There is a need to enhance focus on IP in the teaching and training institutions for entrepreneurs, engineers, scientists, designers and business managers, including issues such as the use of patent information as a source of technological, commercial and legal information; examining current attitudes/practices of financial institutions, including commercial banks, venture capitalists and business angels towards intellectual property and the extent to which IP rights may be used as security for loans.

Also important are support initiatives to develop practical tools for the valuation of IP assets in order to facilitate the development of a market for IP rights and enable SMEs to better leverage their intangible assets; promote technology transfer from research institutes and universities to the private sector by enhancing the development of competent IP-trained technology managers within such institutions and establishing clear rules of the game on IP ownership, royalty sharing and commercialisation of university-owned IP rights; encourage the development of a market for business development services on intellectual property for entrepreneurs and SMEs.