Science Technology Park Belgrade (STP Belgrade) was presented as a success story of support to innovation at the Regional Meeting on Enhancing IP Commercialization Capacity of Techno-Parks in the region of EAPO Member States, which was held in Kazakhstan.

Invited to attend by the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization), which collaborated with the EAPO (Eurasian Patent Organization) to hold this two-day international conference (14-15 March), the Director of STP Belgrade Gordana Danilović Grković had the honor of sharing the experiences of STP’s team, from the initial development of the first technology incubator (BITF) to the successful development of STP Belgrade, and explaining the tremendous influence this had on the development of Serbia’s innovation ecosystem.

Along with the results achieved since its foundation in 2015, which include supporting more than 180 companies in developing and commercializing innovative products and services, STP Belgrade also presented the first pre-seed accelerator program in Serbia – Raising Starts, which STP Belgrade has been implementing with support from the Swiss Government, fostering the growth of new startups and contributing to the development of innovation-based regions. A special form of support available to startups under this program includes intellectual property protection, with support from the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property.

The STPB Director gave a detailed account of the work under the IP component with all member companies and presented the first Intellectual Property Guide for Serbian Startups, developed in collaboration with the WIPO and the Intellectual Property Office of the Republic of Serbia, which includes examples of how five community-based startups used intellectual property rights in their operations.