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December 6, 2022
The WIPO Academy and the Costa Rican Academy of Intellectual Property, a WIPO supportedIntellectual Property Training Institution (IPTI), delivered the first intellectual property (IP) skills building training program for local entrepreneurs from Limón, a region on the Atlantic coast of Costa Rica. The WIPO Academy helped the IPTI by assessing the training needs of the region and delivering a tailored skills-building program to meet those needs, in the framework of the WIPO COVID-19 support package.
The training program took place from November 1 to 3, 2022 at the University of Costa Rica for the benefit of more than 80 entrepreneurs, 71% of which were women, from the gastronomy, handicrafts and agro-industry sectors of the country.
The IP Academy of Costa Rica launched in 2019, and since then it has trained over 2,000 people, including entrepreneurs and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). To further support the local economy in the context of post-COVID-19 recovery, the IPTI set up a training program dedicated to equipping local entrepreneurs and business owners with the IP skills they need to protect their products and services in the market.
Participants included members of the deaf community, and sign language interpretation was provided through the IPTI for the in-person portions of the program. Following the in-person training at the University of Costa Rica, participants will continue with online micro-learning sessions delivered on social media platforms, and a mentoring phase whereby entrepreneurs will be paired up with local experts from the IP Academy of Costa Rica to identify and protect their IP assets.
Using the information and skills gained in the training program, a participant started the registration process for his trademark with the Registry of Intellectual Property of Costa Rica, and several other participants expressed that they wish to follow suit.
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“I did not know what the concept of intellectual property was so for me this training program has been enriching in all aspects. The first thing I will do now after completing the program is to register my trademark. I would like to do it before the end of this year, and from there I will opt for each intellectual property that can help protect my products in the future. I want to continue to learn with the IP Academy, as this is key knowledge I need to be able to grow as a businesswoman.”
— Ada Thomas, business owner of a MSME dedicated to Afro-Costa Rican Gastronomy
Photo: Ada Thomas -
“This training program helped me understand the importance of intellectual property, particularly licensing and protection for my design project. I work with women in the rural deaf community on developing bamboo-based handicrafts that are biodegradable. Now I know I can use industrial designs to protect new products. This is very helpful because I would like to create employment opportunities for the rural deaf community and at the same time support and protect the environment, so now I know how to protect the products we produce in the market.”
— Eduardo Gómez, leader of a handicraft project in the rural deaf community of Costa Rica
Photo: Eduardo Gómez