Norwegian small and medium-sized enterprises and the intellectual property rights system: exploration and analysis

In 2000, WIPO commissioned a study to explore how Norwegian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) currently use the intellectual property rights (IPR) system and how they might be better assisted by it. The idea originated at the Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry which had started to focus on the concerns of the large population of very small Norwegian firms. It concretized into a proposed pilot study when Mr. Lars Sponheim, Norwegian Minister of Trade and Industry, and Dr. Kamil Idris, Director General of WIPO, met in Oslo in May 1999. There was mounting concern that Norwegian SMEs, as a population, are not proficient users of intellectual property rights and that the IPR system could perhaps be better geared to their needs. WIPO agreed to fund the project as a pilot study in order to explore this area and lay out a methodology that may be used in other countries, including developing countries and countries in transition, for similar studies. The study has resulted in this report, which the STEP-Group1 designed and produced in consultation with the appointed steering committee. The study provides valuable material that may be of assistance for decision-makers in other countries and contexts who find themselves addressing similar concerns. The methodology used, the literature review and the general conceptual analysis of the issues are useful tools for conducting similar studies in other countries, including developing countries and countries in transition.