From 7th to 9th June ZBM held an on-line course for the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) which was attended by over 30 members of staff from the Competitiveness, Technology and Innovation division. The IDB headquarters are in Washington DC but staff are distributed between 12 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Their clientele ranges from ministries of economy, through to science and technology and innovation agencies and their loans give support to countries to promote investments in R&D&I.

The course was specifically organised because the importance of intellectual property is all too frequently overlooked, especially involving work concerning bank’s and bioeconomic strategies. Our ZBM team with their expert advice in respective fields helped to highlight the relevance and value of IP to innovation and creation of successful start-ups and companies. The 3 sessions covered themes such as what can and cannot be patented, how to determine patent ownership and inventorship, patentability requirements, differences in protection between Europe and the US, amongst other things. Practical examples were given in each session.

Session 1 / ‘Evolution and use of the patent system’– minimal introduction to the modalities of technology protection: patents, secrecy and copyright.’ By Bernabe Zea

Session 2 / ‘Software and algorithms’- emphasis on the patentability of software and inventions related to artificial intelligence.’ By Josep Comes

Session 3 / ‘Patents in life sciences’– protection of biomarkers, animal and cellular models, patentability of antibodies and Protection of plant varieties and seeds. By Carolina Janer