The Netherlands Enterprise Agency, or RVO, is a valuable partner in our powerful ecosystem. The agency works closely with deep-tech ventures in the venture building program as well as our alumni.
HighTechXL builds ventures based on advanced technologies from world-renowned institutions such as CERN, European Space Agency, TNO, PORT (Poland), Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology (Canada), PhotonFirst, PhotonDelta and Eindhoven Technical University as well as tech giant Philips and other global innovators.
Developing technical inventions and protecting those innovations with intellectual property such as patents are important first steps for deep-tech ventures. The patent experts from RVO therefore play an important role for all startups in our program.
We recently sat down with Twan Uijttewaal from RVO to talk about our partnership.
Tell us a bit about The Netherlands Patent Office, a short bio of who you are and what you do.
My name is Twan Uijttewaal, and I joined the Netherlands Patent Office last February. Before that, I worked for six years as a patent information professional at a patent law firm here in Eindhoven. My background is in Biotechnology, but I have had the pleasure of working with various technologies over the years.
The Netherlands Patent Office is the government agency that grants and registers patents for the Netherlands. We also provide information to entrepreneurs about patents and intellectual property (IP). The Netherlands Patent Office is part of the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO). In my role as a patent advisor, I help technically oriented, innovative entrepreneurs to make optimal use of IP. After all, these rights are an extremely important aspect of developing a business, especially in deep tech.
How do you and your colleagues work with deep tech ventures? What kinds of workshops do you offer startups in the HTXL program?
We structurally contribute to the HTXL venture building program. We take part in the roundtables at the final selection day, and we give presentations and workshops on the basics of IP, IP strategy and how to make best use of patent information.
We are available for one-on-one meetings with the teams to discuss their more specific questions. All teams have the option to make use of our “preliminary patent search” services in which we assist in extracting valuable information from patent databases.
We aim to reach as many innovative entrepreneurs as possible with our information. HighTechXL allows us to help startups develop their own IP strategy and to show how IP rights can help achieve business goals.
RVO has an office at HTC 27, just around the corner from HTXL, and you have open office hours. This is a huge benefit for our startups on Campus as well as others. Is that working well?
It has been working quite well. In addition to being in close proximity to all the startups in the region, and more specifically on the Campus, it also allows us to create visibility at the various events organized here. Make sure to come say “hi” next time you spot me at an event!
More about patents and other intellectual property rights
Twan is ready to answer all your questions about intellectual property, independently, free of charge and in confidentiality.
In addition to his patent expertise, Twan is also knowledgeable about copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets.
Services include:
– 1:1 consultation Gesprek met een octrooiadviseur – voor ondernemers (rvo.nl)
– Workshops and webinars Webinars en workshops over kennisbescherming en -benutting (rvo.nl)
– A preliminary patent search in patent databases Zoekadvies om in octrooidatabanken te zoeken (rvo.nl)
You can find more information here: Patents and other intellectual property rights | RVO.nl
