The year 2024 was varied and innovative for the Patent Office. Right at the beginning of the year, we announced the results of the public word competition. We organised the competition to find a more natural and Estonian-sounding equivalent for the word ‘intellektuaalomand’ (intellectual property). As a result of the competition, the beautiful and apt term ‘loomevara’ (creative property) was born, which was quickly adopted by both our employees and the public. This word symbolises our mission – to protect and promote creative and innovative thinking.
The protection of intellectual property has become increasingly important, which is why we launched a free consultation phone line for copyright issues in January 2024. Our 2024 statistics reflect continued growth in the registration of intellectual property. The activity in the protection of inventions and utility models remains stable, and in addition, our applicants are also making use of the European Patent and Unitary Patent options. The number of trade mark registrations is similar to the previous year, while the number of industrial design registrations is increasing. Estonian companies have increasingly begun to value their intellectual property and the Patent Office remains ready to support and advise them.
In addition, we have made a significant step towards digital efficiency – from this year onwards, we issue letters patent, utility model certificates and supplementary protection certificates in electronic form.
We have been actively involved in international cooperation. The SME Fund offers financial support to Estonian companies for the protection of their creative assets, including for the IP Scan services which help entrepreneurs map and strategically protect their intellectual property.
This year, we also celebrated the 105th anniversary of the Patent Office. At the anniversary conference, the proprietors of the best trade marks of Estonia were recognised and the most outstanding Estonian-language company names of the year were announced. For the first time, the Patent Office also participated in the “Ehe Eesti – Eesti ettevõttele eesti nimi” (‘Authentic Estonia – an Estonian name for an Estonian company’) competition, within the framework of which we highlighted the beautiful and creative brands that enrich our linguistic and cultural space.
At the DesignEuropa Awards ceremony held in Riga in September, prizes were handed out to the most outstanding European designs and designers. In the category of small businesses, the Estonian company Arsenit made it to the top three with its prefabricated modular house Piil. Arsenit was the second Estonian company to reach the finals of the prestigious competition, alongside Cleveron, which made it into the top four in the category of industrial companies last year.
At the end of the year, the Patent Office presented a study of the intellectual property of companies conducted in collaboration with Kantar Emor. The aim of the study was to determine which companies protect their trade marks, designs and inventions and why, and conversely, why is intellectual property not protected.
At the European and global level, we have actively participated in making important decisions, including in the management of the EUIPO Administrative Council, where the Director General of the Patent Office, Margus Viher, was elected as its chairman. The past year was also historic due to two WIPO diplomatic conferences, during which our participation contributed to the harmonisation of design law and the development of other international agreements on intellectual property.
Our collaboration with our Baltic colleagues continued to be productive, and at the annual meeting in Riga, practical day-to-day issues and collaboration opportunities were discussed, along with developments in the harmonisation of office names, such as the renaming them as creative property offices, sanctions, outreach activities, initiatives to raise awareness of creative property and much more.
We also continued our cooperation with Ukraine and are jointly committed to the fair implementation of the sanctions imposed on Russian applicants. In June, our Ukrainian colleagues visited the Patent Office and the Ministry of Justice. Our activities have been visible both in Estonia and internationally, confirming our status as a reliable and influential player in our field.
People are our most important asset and human relationships the greatest value. Thanks to our dedicated employees and partners, we can continue our work to raise awareness of intellectual property and promote innovation and entrepreneurship. 2024 has brought along many important steps and we are ready to face new challenges.
