In Spring 2021, EURADA and EUIPO - European Union Intellectual Property Office -  signed a Memorandum of Understanding to encourage activities and promote services that support small businesses. The agreement covers activities such as training in intellectual property, knowledge sharing, event participation, and awareness raising.

This collaboration is part of the European Union’s push to support EU businesses in developing their Intellectual Property (IP) strategies and protecting their IP rights in the framework of the Ideas Powered for Business initiative. This initiative, hosted in the EUIPO site, provides tailored guidance to companies, vouchers for IP registration, and dispute resolution services.

What EUIPO does for European SMEs

The EUIPO offers several advantages to EU SMEs who protect their intellectual property rights. In particular, free personalised advice on intellectual property matters, up to 75 % reimbursement of the fees for trademarks and designs, 50 % reimbursement of national patent fees, and more.

The importance of intellectual property

Intellectual property refers to creations of the mind – everything from works of art to inventions, computer programs to trademarks and other commercial signs. It plays a crucial role when a company decides to innovate or launch a product or service on the market. IP is a mechanism that allows companies to share their solutions and reach agreements with other companies without risking misappropriation. Several RDAs, members of EURADA, already include and IP helpdesk in their portfolio of services offered to their regional ecosystem.

These are the most well-known IP rights.

• Trademarks protect the commercial identity of products and services. They have unlimited duration provided they are renewed every 10 years;
• Designs protect the appearance of products. Protection lasts up to a maximum of 25 years and must be renewed every 5 years;
• Patents protect technical inventions or procedures that are capable of industrial application. Protection lasts up to a maximum of 20 years, with no possibility of renewal;
• Copyright protects the creativity of the human mind: books, paintings, software, etc. Protection is automatic (it is not necessary to register it although it is recommended) and lasts for the author’s lifetime plus an additional 70 years after the author’s death. 

The joint report ‘Intellectual property rights and firm performance in the European Union‘ by the EUIPO and the EPO has shown that SMEs that register their IP rights (trademarks, designs, or patents) have 68 % higher revenue per employee than those that do not.

Concrete results of this Memorandum of Understanding

In 2022, EUIPO created the Ideas Powered for Business network.  This initiative is a supportive network of key organisations close to European SMEs. The network stimulates and reinforces behavioural change towards IP, innovation and growth. It also plays a key role in disseminating information about initiatives relevant to SMEs. Among others, the network is linked to the following fields: funding and investment, business/trade facilitation, education and knowledge exchange, policy development facilitation, User Associations and Regional Development. EURADA is one of the 22 members of this network.

Every year EURADA is hosted in Alicante by EUIPO for the annual meeting of Ideas Powered for Business Network where all the members discuss about future trajectory of IP. Click here to read more about the 2023 event. Always in the framework of the IdeasPowered for Business Network, a Working Group on Communication was established. EURADA Contributes to the elaboration of a Guideline for effective communication on intellectual property.

Over the last 3 years, EURADA and EUIPO also organised three online webinars: Regional Development Agencies and Intellectual Property - Overview of supportive initiatives to regional companies. Here you can find more information about the first webinar; click here to read about the 2nd webinar, likewise, click here to read about the topic discussed during the third webinar.

As part of the MoU, EURADA is also disseminating through its channels several IP initiatives which might have an impact on the regional ecosystems of our members. Click here to read about the SME Found.