News

Ladies and Gentlemen,

2022 was the year of a return to “normal” life. After difficult, pandemic years, we were finally able to fully return to reality, which includes human contact without the barrier of respirators, masks or monitors of our computers. I took up my post with a clear goal – to make the central government body an open place that serves citizens in a transparent, professional, modern and, above all, human way. In this regard, I have found great support in my colleagues, for which I thank them all and I greatly appreciate that they do a good name for the state and clerical work as such.

The topic of science, research and innovation is often difficult for ordinary people. Our help is sought by experts from the academic or private sector, but if we want to develop the potential of our country to the maximum, it is our duty to approach the wider masses in order to avoid separation in our bubble, which creates a gap and eliminates the possibility of development in full. Simply put, if people do not know about us, they cannot see the possibility of registering their ideas, business plans, designs, etc. That is why we were actively working this year to raise awareness among the general public. We organised several major events that resonated not only at the national level, but also abroad.

In March, we participated in the EXPO Dubai 2021 Mission, where we came to show the visitors of the World Exhibition products with protected designations of origin and geographical indications. We brought the feeling and taste of Slovakia to Dubai through our cheeses, honey, mineral waters, ceramics and folklore embroidery. A hydrogen car was placed in the main pavilion of the Slovak Republic and a Slovak hydrogen bus was placed at the entrance to the exhibition itself. Both of the above-mentioned exhibits are a direct proof of the amazing work of Slovak experts, which has a worldwide resonance.

I did not mention these two exhibits by chance, the topic of hydrogen in the context of our Office resonated intensively in 2022 thanks to the Conference organised by us – Hydrogen technologies in transport – Ready for the future! The world's leading experts in the hydrogen technologies development met in Bratislava and on this occasion, Mr. Daren Tang, Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization, visited Slovakia and our Office.

In addition, we spread the topic of intellectual property also thanks to the international Project Authenticity, of which Banská Bystrica was a part and a pilot city in Slovakia. Within the Project, we organised several events, from which I would especially highlight the competition for students – Do not be a faker! – which, given the interest of students and their grasp and elaboration of the demanding topic of intellectual property, surprised us very positively. Therefore, we decided to organise a competition every year to promote the interest of young people in a topic that is more and important from year to year. We also organised an event called – Just a logo is not enough! Thanks to which we have opened the topic of trademarks and their importance in the beginning of business to the general public.

I could go on for a long time. In addition to events organised by us, we participated in conferences, lectures and various events, thanks to which the topic of intellectual property received great attention in 2022. Once again, I thank all my colleagues who are not only actively working on their daily official agenda, but also are active in raising awareness and educating society. We are a state authority, but we must not forget that we work for people and I am extremely happy that people at the Industrial Property Office of the Slovak Republic do their work not only well, but also with their hearts and smiles on their faces, thanks to which our clients leave satisfied.

You can find full version of the Annual report 2022 here (PDF, 15,3 MB).

Mgr. Matúš Medvec, MBA

The IPO SR President