JIPO Launches Scaled-Up Intellectual Property Clinic for Entrepreneurs

The Jamaica Intellectual Property Office (JIPO) has launched a Scaled-Up Intellectual Property (IP) Management Clinic aimed at empowering local entrepreneurs to protect and leverage their intangible business assets.

The four-month programme will strengthen the capacity of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to effectively manage and utilise their IP assets to boost business growth and competitiveness.

Being undertaken in collaboration with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the initiative will include personalised one-on-one mentorship, expert guidance and training.

Speaking at the three-day launch at the ROK Hotel in downtown Kingston on Tuesday (September 8), Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Senator the Hon. Aubyn Hill, emphasised that IP must be viewed as a core business asset rather than merely a legal footnote.

“Jamaica is serious about growing businesses, increasing exports, and building wealth. We must be equally serious about protecting, managing, and commercialising the ideas, brands, inventions, and creative work our people produce,” he said.

He noted that IP protection gives businesses a stronger basis to enter markets, negotiate partnerships, licence assets, attract capital, and retain a fair share of the value they create.

The Minister urged entrepreneurs preparing to export or expand to secure their business and IP rights early.

He said they can register their operations with the Companies Office of Jamaica (COJ), and file IP protection with JIPO and international bodies like WIPO to prevent losing ownership of their brands.

Associate Programme Officer in the IP for Business Division, IP Innovation Ecosystems Sector at WIPO, Mariana Velasco, highlighted the strong response from the local business community, noting that 67 applications were received for the clinic.

She referenced findings from WIPO’s Global Innovation Index 2025, which showed that Jamaican entrepreneurs are actively converting culture, creativity and ideas into market potential.

“This is precisely why the scaled-up clinic matters. Its purpose is not simply to explain the different IP rights, nor is it to encourage businesses to register everything, everywhere. Its purpose is to help each company make informed and proportionate decisions based on its business model, resources, priority markets, and growth plans,” Ms. Velasco noted.

“The central question is, therefore, not only which IP right can I obtain; it is also how can I use IP to strengthen my business,” she pointed out.

Executive Director at JIPO, Lilyclaire Bellamy, emphasised the agency’s availability to provide assistance, highlighting its statutory mandate to drive IP awareness and registration across the island.

“If you haven’t done so before, now is an opportunity for you to really become familiar with IP and how IP can help your business to grow,” Ms. Bellamy encouraged.