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.
A look back at achievements
Since its launch in 2022, AL-INVEST Verde IPR has supported Latin American IP institutions, SMEs and start-ups, and other stakeholders in unlocking the potential of IP to drive innovation and competitiveness. Among the project’s key outcomes:
- Capacity building: More than 7000 public officials, entrepreneurs, and IP professionals trained on the strategic use of IP for business development and sustainability.
- Institutional strengthening: Support to IP offices in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay to modernize systems, improve services, and enhance regional integration.
- Mentorships on geographical indications (GIs) “AL-INVmentor”: 27 producer groups of agricultural or artisanal products benefitted from tailored mentoring programs that helped them leverage IP rights, particularly GIs, to add value to their products. Success stories include producers of coffee, cocoa, tea, honey, traditional crops like açaí and native potatoes, as well as silk and wicker, showing how sustainable practices and origin-based branding can open new markets.
- Knowledge products: A wide range of studies, policy papers, and practical guides were developed, offering tools for both institutions and businesses to integrate IP into sustainable strategies.
- Women and IP: Special visibility was given to highlighting the contributions of female leaders in IP, including female judges and women inventors, to exemplify the transformative role of IP in building inclusive economies.
- Awareness and outreach: Development of targeted campaigns, video series, campaigns, and events that raised the visibility of IP as a driver of sustainable value chains and green business models.
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.
Looking ahead
While the AL-INVEST Verde IPR project formally comes to an end, its legacy will continue to shape IP practices and sustainable value chains across Latin America. The networks built, knowledge shared, and producer stories supported stand as proof of how intellectual property can be a bridge between innovation, sustainability, gender inclusion, and inclusive economic growth.
Looking forward, national IP offices and regional partners in Latin-America are already exploring new areas of cooperation, including the use of digitalization and artificial intelligence (AI) tools, deeper regional integration, and embedding IP more firmly into sustainable development agendas. The European Union will remain a key partner in this journey, working closely with institutions in the region to ensure that the knowledge, tools, and collaborations fostered under the AL-INVEST Verde IPR project continue to generate impact.
The project also laid the groundwork for specific EUIPO-led thematic IP alliances, which will allow stakeholders across Europe and Latin America to cooperate more strategically on priority areas such as inclusivity, technology transfer, and support for SMEs. These discussions, launched during the closing event, confirm that the momentum created by the project will endure, benefitting businesses, institutions, and communities well beyond its lifetime.
The next edition of the AL-INVEST Next programme — which is currently under development — will continue supporting various activities in Latin America and expand activities also to the Caribbean, closely aligned with the priorities of the Global Gateway Investment Agenda.
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.