Innovation in handcrafts

The ‘2nd Regional Seminar on trademarks and industrial designs as factors for innovation and as business assets: Innovating through handcrafts’ was held from 27 to 31 October in Cartagena de Indias (Colombia), organised by the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (SPTO), the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID). The collaborating organisations were Artesanía de Colombia, the Colombian Department for Industry and Trade, the EOI-Fundesarte Foundation and the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (OHIM), and participants included representatives from national institutions in the field of handcrafts and design from 17 Latin American countries.

The purpose of this seminar, which formed part of the Ibero-American Programme for Specialist Technical Training (PIFTE) run by the AECID, was to give technical training for human resources in the region’s public administrations on Industrial and Intellectual Property, stressing the importance of trademarks and industrial designs as mechanisms to support the protection of innovative craftwork. The Seminar, which was broadcast live and followed by over 300 people, covered six theme areas:

• Handcrafts: identify, origin and guarantee
• Protection of handcrafts through design
• Situation of handcrafts in Ibero-America
• Defending handcrafts
• Challenges and future

The sessions stressed the importance of protecting handcrafts by means of Industrial Property titles as an intangible asset for companies, at national, regional and international levels.

To consult the presentations, click here.
For further information, click here.