Trademarks + 2024: incentives to enhance SMEs trademarks

The MIMIt (Ministry of Business and Made in Italy, with the D.D of 6 August 2024, has implemented measures to support micro and SMEs in the protection of brands abroad.

The initiative responds to the name of Trademarks+ 2024 and, to access it, it is necessary to participate in the call promoted by the MIMIt and managed by Unioncamere.

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

Trademarks+ 2024: recipients

Companies that, on the date of submission of the application for participation, possess, under penalty of exclusion, the following requirements can benefit from the incentives:

1. have a micro, small or medium-sized enterprise size as defined by the European Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC and Annex I of Regulation (EU) n. 651/2014 of the Commission and subsequent amendments and additions;
2. have registered and operational headquarters in Italy;
3. be regularly constituted, registered in the Register of Companies and be active;
4. not have against them causes of prohibition, forfeiture or suspension pursuant to Article 67 of the current anti-mafia legislation (Legislative Decree 6 September 2011, n. 159 and subsequent amendments and additions);not have administrative proceedings connected to acts of revocation for undue receipt of public resources;
5. be owners of the trademark that is the subject of the application to participate;
6. not be in liquidation or dissolution and not be subject to bankruptcy proceedings and be in compliance with the fulfillment of the contribution obligations certified by the single document of contribution regularity (DURC);

Trademarks+ 2024: criteria for access to the call

To acquire the specialist services provided for by the Trademarks+ 2024 call, it is necessary to comply with the two measures provided for based on the incentives you wish to access:

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

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

1. Measure A: starting from 1 January 2021, have filed with the EUIPO (the European Industrial Property Office) the application for registration of the trademark subject to the incentive and have paid the relevant filing fees; furthermore, it must have obtained the registration certificate of the European Union trademark subject to the application before submitting the application to participate);
2. Measure B: also with effect from 1 January 2021, the company must have carried out at least one of the following activities:
   • Having filed with WIPO (World Industrial Property Organization) the application for registration of a trademark already registered at national level with UIBM or of a European Union trademark already registered with EUIPO and having paid the relevant fees;
   • Having 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 having paid the registration fees;
   • Having filed the application for subsequent designation of a registered trademark with WIPO and having paid the registration fees.

Furthermore, it must have obtained the publication of the above-mentioned registration application on the WIPO international register (Madrid Monitor) of the trademark which is the subject of the application. The aforementioned publication must be prior to the submission of the application for participation.

The financial resources of Trademarks+ 2024

The resources of Marchi+ 2024 are provided according to the Measure accessed and the service.

Measure A

In the case of Measure A, the benefits are granted in the amount of 80% for the expenses incurred for filing fees and the acquisition of specialist services, in compliance with the maximum amounts envisaged for each type and within the maximum amount established per trademark, which amounts to € 6,000.00.

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).

Let’s see in detail the division of the amounts, with an indication of the maximum amount:

1. Design of the Representation: € 1,500.00;
2. Assistance for filing: € 300.00;
3. Prior art searches:
   • in the case of Italian, European Union and international trademarks extended to Italy, the amount is € 550.00;
   • instead, if the search is among Italian, European Union and international trademarks extended to all EU countries, the amount is € 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. Filing fees: 80% of the cost incurred (85% in the case of companies in possession of gender equality certification).

Measure B

For Measure B, the incentives are granted at 90%, always in reference to the eligible expenses incurred for the purchase of specialist services, in compliance with the maximum amounts provided for each type and within the maximum overall amount per trademark which amounts to € 9,000.00.

Below are the maximum amounts for each service:

1. Design of the Representation: € 1,500.00;
2. Assistance for filing: € 350.00;
3. Prior art searches:
4. Among Italian, European Union and international trademarks extended to Italy: € 630.00;
5. Among Italian, European Union and international trademarks extended to all EU countries: € 1,800.00;
6. For each non-EU country: € 700.00.
7. Legal assistance for trademark protection actions in response to oppositions/objections following the filing of the application for registration:
   • Legal assistance for trademark protection actions in response to oppositions following the filing of the application for registration: € 1,800.00;
   • Legal assistance for trademark protection actions in response to objections from national offices following the filing of the application for registration: € 600.00 per single objection.
8. Registration fees: 90% of the cost incurred (95% in the case of companies in possession of gender equality certification).

In the case of companies in possession of gender equality certification, the percentage is increased to 95% (Article 5, paragraph 3, Law 5 November 2021, no. 162).

Eligibility criteria for Trademarks+ 2024

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 January 2021 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 25.000,00 Euros. It is also necessary to verify the possession of the requirements indicated in Article 3 of the announcement.

How to submit the application

The application for admission must be completed through the dedicated platform and can be submitted starting since 12:00 to 18:00 on November 26, 2024 (click here to submit) 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.

Given the importance of this measure, our advice is to start checking that you have the required requisites and to prepare the necessary documentation to be able to send the request when it opens, at 12:00.

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