Andrew Beale (Director, IP Wales) [right of picture] receives the
Judges Special Award from Kenneth Adamo (Partner, Jones Day)
at the WORLDleaders European Intellectual Property Awards 2004

IP Wales®

IP Wales (part funded by the European Union and the Welsh Assembly Government) has enjoyed tremendous success in raising the profile of intellectual property in the Welsh knowledge economy, and has helped more than a hundred selected indigenous businesses to protect their IP assets.

Andrew Beale, Director of IP Wales said: “Our mission has been to provide Welsh small & medium sized enterprises (SMEs) with the knowledge and financial means to commercialise their IP assets. Our objectives were - to raise levels of awareness and understanding of IP, to allow businesses to make informed commercial choices about protecting their IP assets, and to help Welsh SMEs sustain and grow their businesses through the commercial use of these IP assets, by integrating an IP strategy within their overall business plan. “

“Since our launch in June 2002, we have provided IP strategic advice to more than 750 Welsh clients, helped to capture and protect 205 patents, 60 trade marks and 12 designs around the World and furnished financial support for 25 IP licensing deals.”

Andrew is shortly to go on secondment with the World Intellectual Property Organisation (Geneva) investigating ‘SME Intellectual Asset Strategies for Open Innovation’.

If you are an SME and would like information on how intellectual property assets can add value to your business we would recommend you visit the web site of the SME Division, WIPO. Welsh SMEs can also check on the availability of IP grants by visiting the web site of the Welsh Assembly Government .

Led by the Law School at Swansea University, IP Wales incorporates a vibrant research agenda  to provide insight on national and international IP issues, and inform policy-making decisions.