Eurice Launches New EU-wide Pilot Innovation & IP Support Service
Eurice supports the European Commission with a new innovation support service offer for European SMEs involved in Horizon 2020/Horizon Europe projects. The specialised service for individual EU SMEs aims to maximise the impact of R&I public investment and further amplify the added value of the Framework Programmes (FPs) through 'Intellectual Property pre-diagnosis'.
The concept of 'Intellectual Property pre-diagnosis' originates from the French Intellectual Property Office. Introduced by the ‘Institut National de la Propriete Intellectuelle’ France in 2004, it was developed further and popularised in Europe by the European Patent Office (EPO) as of 2008. The service aims to make an objective assessment of the intangible assets of smaller companies that can and should be protected through intellectual property protection methods. The recommendations of this assessment should be based on the individual business strategy of the company.
Jörg Scherer, Managing Director of Eurice, explains: "Within this new initiative, we will – in strong cooperation with our expert network – adapt and validate the existing concept of 'Intellectual Property pre-diagnosis' in the context of collaborative EU-funded research and innovation projects. The service will help SMEs to develop a cooperative way to manage the intellectual property created in such a collaboration".
This new service further complements the large Eurice portfolio of IP & Innovation support services.