Marchi+: The Mise Call for micro and SMEs to trademark protection

The Mise (Ministry of Economic Development) has put in place measures with which to support micro, small and medium-sized companies in the field of trademark protection abroad. The initiative responds to the name of Marchi+ 2021 and to access it is necessary to participate in the call promoted by the Directorate General for the Protection of Industrial Property – UIBM of mise and managed by Unioncamere.

The primary objective is to support the competitive and innovative capacity of Italian companies abroad, enhancing the productive ingenuity of the “Bel Paese”.

Marchi+ 2021: criteria for access to the call

To acquire the specialized services provided for by the Marchi+ 2021 call, it is necessary to comply with the two measures envisaged on the basis of the facilities to which you want to access:

• Measure A: to facilitate the registration of European Union trademarks;
• Measure B: to encourage the registration of international trademarks.

To request in-depth information and / or receive assistance for access to the call you can contact us at Studio Legale Coscia, which will be happy to arrange a first meeting; You can call (+39) 371.145312 or write to info@studiolegalecoscia.it.

On the date of submission of the application, the company, to access the two different possibilities, must:

1. Measure A: starting from 1 June 2018, have filed the application for registration with EUIPO of the trademark subject to the facilitation and have paid the related filing fees; moreover, have obtained the registration of the European Union trademark object of the application, at EUIPO (registration that must take place before submitting the application for participation);
2. Measure B: always with effect from 1 June 2018, the company must have carried out at least one of the following activities:
   • Have filed with WIPO the application for registration of a trademark registered at national level with UIBM or a European Union trademark with EUIPO and have paid the registration fees;
   • Have filed with WIPO the application for registration of a trademark for which an application for registration has already been filed with UIBM or EUIPO and have complied with the payment of registration fees;
   • Have filed the application for subsequent designation of a trademark registered with WIPO and have paid the registration fees. In addition, he must have obtained the publication of the application for registration indicated above, on the international register of WIPO (Madrid Monitor) of the trademark object of the application. This publication must be prior to the submission of the application for participation.

The financial resources of the Marchi+ 2021 call

The Marchi+ 2021 call has a total amount of 3 million Euros, divided into specific amounts depending on the Measure to which it is accessed and the service. In the case of Measure A, the benefits are granted in the amount of 50% for the expenses incurred for the deposit fees and 80% of the eligible expenses for the acquisition of specialized services, in compliance with the maximum amounts provided for each type and within the maximum amount established per brand which amounts to € 6,000.00. Let’s see in detail the subdivision of the amounts, with indication of the maximum amount:

1. Representation Design: 1.500,00 €;
2. Deposit assistance: 300,00 €;
3. Prior art searches: in the case of Italian, European Union and international trademarks extended to Italy, the amount amounts to € 550.00, while if the search is among the Italian brands of the European Union and international extended to all EU countries, the amount amounts to € 1,500.00;
4. Legal assistance for trademark protection actions in response to oppositions following the filing of the registration application: € 1,500.00;
5. Deposit fees: 50% of the cost incurred.

For Measure B, the benefits are granted at 80% (90% for the USA and China), always with reference to the eligible expenses incurred for the purchase of specialized services, in compliance with the maximum amounts provided for each type and within the maximum total amount per brand which amounts to € 8,000.00. Below are the maximum amounts for each service:

1. Design of the Representation: 1.500,00 € (1.650,00 USA and China);
2. Deposit assistance: 300,00 € (350,00 USA and China);
3. Prior art searches:
   • Among the Italian, European Union and international brands extended to Italy: € 550.00 (€ 650.00 for the USA and China);
   • Among the Italian, European Union and international brands extended to all EU countries: € 1,500.00 (€ 1,800.00 for the USA and China);
   • For each non-EU country: €600.00 (€700.00 for the USA and China).
4. Legal assistance for trademark protection actions in response to oppositions / findings following the filing of the application for registration:
   • Legal assistance for trademark protection actions in response to oppositions following the filing of the registration application: € 1,500.00 (€ 1,800.00 for the USA and China);
   • Legal assistance for trademark protection actions in response to findings of the national offices following the filing of the application for registration: € 500.00 per single survey (€ 600.00 single relief for the USA and China).
5. Registration fees: 80% of the cost incurred (90% for USA and China).

Eligibility criteria for Marchi+

In order to be admitted to the call, all expenses (including filing/registration fees incurred at EUIBM/EUIPO/WIPO) must be incurred with effect from 1 June 2018 and in any case must be prior to the submission of an application for facilitation.

For the same brand, the benefits of Measure A and Measure B can be combined and it is possible to draw up a single application for both. In the event that a company applies for benefits for several brands, it will have to submit an application for each, but the total of the requests amounts to a maximum of 20 thousand Euros. It is also necessary to verify the possession of the requirements indicated in Article 3 of the announcement.

The application for admission must be completed through the dedicated platform and can be submitted starting from 9:30 am on 19 October 2021 until the available resources are exhausted. Finally, to fill out the request you must:

• Be in possession of SPID;
• Have a digital signature;
• Have a valid and active PEC address.

Once the procedure is completed, an electronic protocol will be assigned. Requests will be examined according to the chronological order of submission, will be evaluated according to the established criteria and not on the basis of a ranking.

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