The European Union Intellectual Property Office and the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency jointly support Horizon Europe beneficiaries in Intellectual Property.
The European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA) and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) have signed a service-level agreement to assist beneficiaries of the Horizon Europe – European Innovation Council (EIC) funding scheme. The new agreement will strengthen the cooperation between the two agencies and improve intellectual property awareness and management among innovative European companies.
The agreement, signed on Friday, 28 October 2022, by the Director of the EISMEA, Jean-David Malo and the Executive Director of the EUIPO, Christian Archambeau, lays the ground for a pilot project, which will specifically target the beneficiaries of the European Innovation Council to help bring high-risk, high-impact technologies to the market. Under this new agreement, the EUIPO will provide expertise through a service that helps companies identify which intangible assets should be protected and in what way intellectual property can help support business growth. The EIC beneficiaries will also have access to a list of experts they can contact in case of doubt.
The agreement goes back to a Letter of Intent signed between the European Commission Directorate General for Research & Innovation, EISMEA and the EUIPO in November 2021, aiming to establish a commitment to deliver IP assistance in the framework of a series of Horizon Europe EIC projects. Back then, Commissioner Gabriel said that such an agreement “will contribute to the implementation of EU policy on research, science and innovation about intellectual property matters and supports European Research Area objective to translate results into the economy”. Especially considering the exploitation and dissemination of intellectual property within Horizon Europe project results, Intellectual property management is crucial.
These developments in Intellectual property management also go in line with the European Research Area (ERA) Policy Agenda and, in particular, with the 7th action, “Upgrade EU guidance for better knowledge valorisation” (see SwissCore article). The European Commission’s proposal for a “Council Recommendation on the guiding principles for knowledge valorisation” is expected to be adopted by the Competitiveness Council (COMPET) on 2 December 2022. Two Codes of Practice will support the new guiding principles for knowledge valorisation: A Code of Practice on the smart use of intellectual property, which is currently co-created through an online community of practice, and a Code of Practice for researchers on standardisation based on a scoping study (see SwissCore article).
Both Codes of practice are expected to be finalised by the end of 2022, which would be in the timeline of the pilot project to assist beneficiaries of the EIC. Its implementation is set to begin in January 2023.