Recent figures show that 70 per cent of local intellectual
property (IP) protection filings (patent, trade marks, registered
designs) in Australia come from SMEs.
These figures were presented by IP Australia Director
General Patricia Kelly during a recent seminar Intellectual
Property – your business here and abroad, hosted by
IP Australia and InnovationAus.
It's a sobering indication that start-up companies are
failing to get on the front foot early enough to lock down their
most valuable asset – their IP. Given the level of innovation
in Australia, we would expect to see a higher proportion of IP
filings by our innovators in smaller and start-up businesses,
rather than the current dominance by established SMEs.
