Page 28 - Gričar, Sergej, Barbara Rodica and Štefan Bojnec, 2016. Sandwich Management. Koper: University of Primorska Press

Sandwich Management

– ensure that IPRs are available and enforceable at reasonable cost,
including by reducing official fees for patent filing, prosecution,
and maintenance by SMEs;

– facilitate patent filing and prosecution by SMEs, including by
providing for expedited review of applications from SMEs;

– institute outreach and training programs for SME business lead-
ers, in order to raise awareness about the importance of sound in-
tellectual property management, improve SMEs’ intellectual asset
management, and increase opportunities for them to engage with
intellectual property officials;

– consider enacting policies that support the provision of insurance
for SMEs to offset the costs associated with defending their intel-
lectual property positions in litigation, which represents a signifi-

28 cant risk for smaller firms; and
– enact modern trade secrets laws to bolster the protection afforded
by resource-effective secrecy strategies, which are often the default
protection mode adopted by innovative SMEs.