Closing event AL-INVEST Verde IPR: Celebrating More than Three Years of Innovation, Sustainability and Intellectual Property
São Paulo, 6 October 2025 – The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) marked the end of the more than three-year journey of the EU-funded project AL-INVEST Verde IPR on Day 1 of the high-level closing event “Trajectory and Future: Innovation, Sustainability and Intellectual Property.” The conference, co-organised with SEBRAE Origens and INPI Brazil, brought together leading intellectual property offices across Latin America, policymakers, business leaders, academics, and producers to highlight how intellectual property (IP) has become a catalyst for sustainable and inclusive growth in the region.
Highlights from the closing agenda
The event opened with remarks from SEBRAE, INPI Brazil, EUIPO, and the European Commission DG International Partnerships (INTPA), highlighting the EU–Latin America partnership under Global Gateway and the role of the AL-INVEST Verde programme in bridging sustainability, innovation, and IP. Thematic panels explored key dimensions: the strategic use of IP by SMEs and startups, IP’s contribution to sustainable business and communities, and the role of geographical indications such as denominations of origin as engines of territorial development and market access.
A particularly inspiring session was: “My Product, My Story.”. This session showcased the beneficiaries of “AL-INVmentor” – a new action of the project that offered tailored mentorship sessions on GIs such as denominations of origin (Dos) - for agricultural and food products, as well as handicrafts. The beneficiaries shared their first-hand experience on how strategic use of IP has helped create and transformed their products (value chains) and opened new market opportunities. The stories from producers of Paraguayan honey to those of Peruvian native potatoes highlighted the human face of IP and its potential to change lives. This session also marked the culmination of mentorships for Brazilian coffee GIs, celebrated as part of the closing activities.
Background
AL INVEST Verde – the EU-Latin America Alliance for Sustainable Growth and Jobs has a history of more than 30 years. In its (current) sixth “Verde” edition, with an EU contribution of EUR 40 M, it has a strong focus on sustainability and the green agenda, particularly in the context of trade, and actors from Europe, and it seeks to promote sustainable economic growth in Latin America.