Intellectual Property Day Examines Promotion of Luxembourg Abroad

On Thursday 25 April 2024, the sixteenth edition of the Luxembourg Intellectual Property Day took place from noon onwards at the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce in Luxembourg-Kirchberg.

The conference started with a foreword by Stéphanie Damgé, Director of Entrepreneurship at the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce. She emphasised the importance of intellectual property protection, which can notably promote creativity and lead to the development of new ideas business growth and differentiation, all the while keeping piracy and counterfeiting at bay.

A speech by Luxembourg’s Minister of the Economy, SME, Energy and Tourism, Lex Delles, followed. He said: ”When we talk about territorial indications, for example, can we see Luxembourg elsewhere? Is the 'peckvillchen' really something that can be protected or not and how can we protect national brands, products [...] and have the image of Luxembourg abroad?”

A presentation by Evangelia Loli, a lawyer at the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), provided an in-depth explanation of the updates proposed for a legislative reform on European Union designs and models. There will notably be an update of the definitions of “design” (which will now include animation) and “product” (to include both physical and non-physical objects) and spatial considerations will be taken into account to include the metaverse and products that may exist there as intellectual property. The current law makes it difficult to protect a virtual design without a corresponding physical product, for instance. She also explained more details about the process of registering intellectual property, including the symbol (the letter D enclosed within a circle) to inform the public that the product is registered. She added that procedures will become faster and more effective to curb the registration of copied designs and catch abuses faster. Furthermore, she explained that a single-filing tax will be introduced for the registration of intellectual property, with the addition of certain extra conditions. Some current taxes will also be reduced or eliminated (e.g. transfer, inspection tax).

Next up, Beryl Koltz, Head of brand image promotion at Luxembourg’s Ministry of the Economy discussed the banding efforts of “Luxembourg Let’s Make it Happen” and noted that it aims to strengthen the image of the Grand Duchy and the sense of belonging of the country's residents, among other goals. She explained and exemplified the three values Luxembourg is represented by, decided upon through a participatory approach: dynamic, open and reliable.

Filipa Mendes, Administrative, Legal and Financial Advisor-Manager at Luxembourg’s Ministry of the Economy, also highlighted key elements of nation branding for the promotion of Luxembourg know-how abroad, and discussed some of the main countries and spaces Luxembourg products and connections are present in (EU, BENELUX, US, Canada, Japan, Mexico, UK, Switzerland and Singapore). She also explained where and how national branding would be used for international events.

The day continued with more speeches on the topic concerning recent news on industrial property and local development promotion, and it is set to present a variety of exhibitors until the evening – both public institutions and services and private actors connected to the topic of intellectual property rights in Luxembourg.