Designs+ 2024: incentives to enhance industrial designs and models

Designs+ 2024 is a call for proposals implemented by MIMIt, with the D.D. of 08.06.2024, in favor of micro and SMEs, with the aim of helping them enhance the Industrial Designs and Models registered by them.

The intervention aims to support the innovative capacity of Italian entrepreneurial entities, with the aim of improving their competitive strength on national and international markets.

The non-repayable contribution is aimed at purchasing specialized external services, useful for the production of a design or model, for its enhancement and offer on the market.

Let’s look together at the details of the call for proposals, who the beneficiaries are and how to submit the application.

Designs+ 2024: what is it?

The non-repayable financing Designs+ 2024 is promoted by MIMIt and managed by Unioncamere.

This is a contribution aimed at covering up to 80% of the costs incurred by companies to enhance Designs and Models. The specialized services, in any case, must fall within the eligible costs and must not exceed certain limits, as we will see shortly.

The incentive is granted in capital account, for a maximum value of 60.000,00 euros per company, until the resources available for the call are exhausted.

Who are the beneficiaries of the Disegni+ call?

All micro, small and medium-sized enterprises with the following requirements can submit the application for the Disegni+ 2024 call:

registered office and operating in Italy;
regularly constituted, active and registered in the Company Register;
are not in a state of liquidation or dissolution or subject to bankruptcy proceedings;
in compliance with the contribution obligations certified by the DURC (Single Document of Contribution Regularity);
do not have causes for prohibition, forfeiture or suspension, according to art. 67 of the anti-mafia legislation (Legislative Decree no. 159/2011 and subsequent amendments);
do not have administrative proceedings underway for revocation acts due to undue receipt of public resources;
are owners of a Design or Model registered with the Italian Patent and Trademark Office (UIBM) or the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) or the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). In the latter case, Italy must be among the designated countries.
the design/model must be registered as of 1 January 2022 and in any case prior to the submission of the application for participation and be valid.

It should also be noted that it is possible to submit only one application for each design or model, provided that the latter has not been the subject of the previous calls for applications Designs +2, Designs +3, Designs +4, Designs +2021, Designs +2022 and Designs +2023.

This means that even companies that have participated in the aforementioned calls can participate in the “Disegni + 2024” measure, provided that the subject of the application concerns a new design/model, which has not already benefited from the benefits provided for by previous calls.

Eligible costs and limits

The non-repayable financing of the Disegni+ 2024 call is granted up to 80% of the external specialist services aimed at enhancing a design/model for its production and/or for its offer on the market, up to a maximum of 60,000.00 euros per company and in compliance with the maximum amounts provided for each type of external specialist service requested.

In the case of companies in possession of gender equality certification, this percentage is increased to 85% (article 5, paragraph 3, law 5 November 2021, no. 162)

But what are the eligible expenses and limits provided for by the call?

Those who intend to apply must take into account the types of services allowed and the related spending limits:

Creation of prototypes: up to 13,000.00 euros;
Creation of molds: up to 35,000.00 euros;
Technical consultancy for the production chain aimed at putting the product/design into production: up to 10,000.00 euros;
Technical consultancy for product or environmental sustainability certifications: up to 5,000.00 euros;
Specialized consultancy in the market approach (for example for the creation of business plans, marketing, graphic design and texts for offline and online communication material, etc.) and for the technical-economic evaluation of the design or model: up to 8,000.00 euros;
Legal advice for protection from infringement actions: up to 2,500.00 euros.

All expenses for the external specialist services listed above must be incurred after the date of submission of the application for participation.

How do I apply?

Interested companies can apply for participation starting since 12:00 to 18:00 on November 12, 2024 (click here to submit).

As we have already mentioned there is deadline and it will be possible to participate until the available resources are exhausted. Our advice, therefore, is to start verifying the possession of the required requirements and to already prepare the necessary documentation to be able to send the request already on the first day.

To be sure to carefully analyze all the details, without neglecting anything and without making mistakes that could compromise the success of the application, we advise you to rely on experts in the field and not to proceed with the “do it yourself”

At Studio Legale Coscia, for years we have been supporting startups and SMEs in their path of growth and affirmation in the market, and we can help you in the presentation of the application.