Voucher 3I, Marchi+ and Disegni+. Measures already introduced to support startup innovative and economic enhancement of industrial property rights are finally operational. Details of the relief measures follow.
Voucher 3I
The ‘Voucher 3I – Investing in Innovation’, , as we have seen, was enacted in the growth decree with a total allocation of €19.5 million for the 2019-2021 three-year period.
The measureaimed at startup innovative companies, finances the purchase of patent consultancy services:
– patentability verification of the invention, and prior art searches (maximum amount € 2,000 + VAT),
– drafting of the patent application and its filing at the Italian Patent and Trademark Office, UIBM (up to € 4,000 + VAT),
– foreign filing of the national patent application, including drafting the application and filing with the relevant foreign office(s) (maximum amount € 6,000 + VAT).
The services of consultancy listed above can be provided by industrial property consultants or lawyers registered in the appropriate lists (prepared respectively by the Order of Industrial Property Consultants and the National Bar Council).
The applications can be submitted from 15.6.20, exclusively online, to Invitalia. Specifying the type of service requested and the provider identified for its delivery, attaching the acceptance of appointment. Requests are evaluated in chronological order of receipt until resources are exhausted.
The timing for managing the procedure are set at 30 days from notification of the application, for preliminary verification of requirements (by Invitalia), followed by 120 days for full service delivery (by the provider).
The suppliers consulting services invoice directly to Invitalia, which provides the reimbursement of voucher following the receipt of a final report countersigned by startup.
Trademarks+
The additional incentives to the economic enhancement of the various assets of intellectual property are subject to the following terms.
Trademarks+3. From 10.6.20 SMEs can submit new applications to access the measure that finances, within certain limits, the purchase of specialist services for the registration of EU trademarks (at the European Union Intellectual Property Office, EUIPO) and international ones (at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
The requests can be submitted to Unioncamere – from 9 a.m. on 10.6.20 – via a form online (available on the site www.marchipiu3.it). And until resources are exhausted. More information at https://uibm.mise.gov.it/images/documenti/Marchi3.pdf.
Designs+
Designs+4. The measure dedicated to SMEs, for the enhancement and economic exploitation of industrial designs and models at national and international level, is also about to reopen. The benefits aim at the purchase of external specialist services with the purpose of promoting:
– the production of new products related to a registered design/model (phase 1, production),
– the commercialization of a registered design/model (phase 2, commercialization).
The applications can be submitted through the form online available on the site www.disegnipiu4.it, from 9 a.m. on 27.5.20 and until resources are exhausted (€ 13 million). More information at https://uibm.mise.gov.it/images/documenti/Disegni4.pdf.
The financial endowment covering the Brevetti+ measure (€21.8 million) is instead already exhausted.
Dario Dongo and Selena Travaglio
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT – Food Times) and Égalité.
Lawyer, specialized in intellectual property rights. LL.M. in agri-food law.
