International IP SME Helpdesks Stakeholders Conference 2024

The Stakeholders Conference is the annual flagship event of the International IP SME Helpdesks, this year in the framework of the European Year of Skills 2023.

The Conference brings together stakeholders, policymakers, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), Business Support Organizations, managers and entrepreneurs to build connections and improve IP skills regarding:

- Challenges: awareness about why IP matters in challenging markets (where the legal systems are not yet solidified).

- Opportunities: how to use IP as a business leverage to access the respective markets successfully.

The International IP SME Helpdesks are an initiative of the European Commission to support SMEs to both protect and enforce their Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) worldwide.

Through their different activities, the Helpdesks are contributing to raising awareness on IP matters when dealing with international markets (China, South-East Asia, Latin-America, India and Africa) while providing free information and services in the form of jargon-free, first-line, confidential advice on intellectual property and related issues, plus training, materials and online resources.