In recent years, apart from real assets, another type of property asset, that of intangible assets, has emerged. These assets come from human creativity, thought and inventiveness and constitute the intellectual asset of an enterprise, organisation or intermediary.

The protection of these assets, namely the protection of the Intellectual Property, is gradually becoming one of the new fields of strong competitiveness of enterprises, and is of vital importance for all those who participate in the evolutionary process of the market, via the creation of novel products, processes and systems.

The present guide was the outcome of the LIIP program (Linking Innovation and Industrial Property), which is financed by the European Commission. Three Greek partners participated in the program namely, the Hellenic Industrial Property Organisation, the Thessaloniki Technology Park and the Science and Technology Park of Crete.

The aim of this guide is to help the managers and the researchers become aware of the importance of the intellectual property protection and of the technological information, that can be retrieved from related databases of already existing published patents.

The guide also provides a total of ten pragmatic recommendations for a better integration of the Intellectual Property matters in the strategies of enterprises.

Contact details of the organisations participated from Greece:

• Hellenic Industrial Property Organisation (OBI): Tel: 210 6183598, e-mail: tec@obi.gr
• Thessaloniki Technology Park: Tel: 2310 498204, e-mail: nicolas@thestep.gr
• Science and Technology Park of Crete: Tel: 2810 391908, e-mail: saitakis@stepc.gr