Do you know what Business Finland funding can be used to protect your company's brand rights and to boost growth in international markets? The Innovation Voucher has received quite a lot of publicity, but there are also other forms of support programs available for SMEs targeting export markets. It is worth remembering that it is possible to include costs related to IPR expert services, brand protection and commercialisation in the grant applications.
To get the most out of the public funding available, brand protection should start with an Innovation Voucher.
Once the Innovation Voucher has been used, it is possible for SMEs targeting export markets to include IPR expert services and IPR-related costs in Business Finland's Market Explorer, Into and Tempo financing.
- In 2022, the amount of Business Finland's financing has increased, so SMEs aiming for international growth now have better access to financing than before, confirms Kari Komulainen, Senior Director, Grants at Business Finland.
He would also like to remind SMEs that publicly funded innovation and R&D activities are not limited to engineering and development of products. Business Finland equally and increasingly supports the development of new service innovations and business concepts as well. He raises the American Starbucks brand as an example.
- It is not an innovation related to coffee making, but a business concept that serves social and emotional needs. The company has realized its own way to stand out in the market and has created an international service concept and brand around it.
Innovation Voucher, Explorer and Tempo: common de minimis terms will apply
Now is a good time for brand owners to be active and take advantage of the available funding to develop their business concepts and create new brands. However, public funding is governed by certain common rules.
The Innovation Voucher, Market Explorer and Tempo are so-called de minimis funding, which is granted in addition to Business Finland by, for example, Finnvera and the ELY Centres (The Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment ). According to the EU regulation, a company can receive a maximum of EUR 200,000 de minimis funding during the current and two previous fiscal years. All de minimis funding granted by BF is subject to common terms.
The project plan and cost estimate provided in the application serve as the basis for approving the costs. As a general rule, only work ordered after the grant decision will be accepted. The grant will be paid after the beneficiary has approved the work of an expert and paid the service fee.
Acceptable IPR costs: preliminary searches, protection strategy, first applications, licensing studies, agreement templates
Acceptable IPR costs for all BF funding can include preliminary searches and studies related to international IP protection and planning acquisition of intellectual property rights, creating an IPR strategy, studies related to licensing, and the protection of key IP rights through first applications. Eligible costs can also include creation of agreement templates with the help of an IP expert, and preparation for licensing or other co-operation negotiations with foreign partners.
However, international extension of IP protection after the first application is excluded from funding, as a rule also all official fees. The exception is the Innovation Voucher, which can also cover the official fees of the first application, but not international extension of IP protection after the first application.
- As Business Finland is an innovation financier focusing on the product development phase, we can no longer support the international extension of IP rights in the commercialisation phase of the innovation, the maintenance or defense of IP rights, or general business consulting, Kari Komulainen explains.
With an Innovation Voucher, you get started with the protection of your brand
The Innovation Voucher is intended for startups and SMEs with a new product or service idea that has potential to grow internationally, and that cannot be implemented without external expertise. At the beginning of 2023, the financing practices of the Innovation Voucher were renewed. The amount of the grant is EUR 6,000 which is 100% of the amount of the purchased services excluding VAT.
You can receive the Voucher once, provided that no other Business Finland’s innovation funding has been granted to your company in the current or previous year. If you have already received other BF funding during 2022, you can still use the Innovation Voucher later for a new innovative product or service, but not until 2024 at the earliest. The Innovation Voucher is granted based on a company’s business ID. A new company can apply for a voucher, even if the owner of this new company has another company elsewhere to which the voucher has already been granted.
You can find examples of the IP expert services by Kaulo & Partners which your company can purchase with an Innovation Voucher in Business Finland's Expert Search service.
- With the help of the Innovation Voucher, you can create a brand rights strategy to support your company's new business in order to increase the value of the brand and prevent business risks. Before registering a trademark, it is also recommendable to secure that the planned trademark does not infringe the IP rights of other companies, and that it will be possible to get an exclusive right for the brand as planned in the main export markets, Jani Kaulo advises.
Market Explorer is focused on acquiring expert services
With Market Explorer funding, you can buy new knowledge and skills for your business that will help you move into a new export market. The funding is intended to cover the cost of expert services. Funding can range from EUR 5,000 to EUR 10,000 and will cover 50% of the cost of acquiring expert services.
However, if your company's product or service is already on the market, which means that you can no longer take advantage of the Innovation Voucher, you can use Market Explorer funding for IPR-related preliminary studies, plan expanding the protection to new international markets, and create a brand rights strategy for your company.
The Explorer funding program also includes Exhibition Explorer, which focuses on international trade fair costs, and Group Explorer, which is targeted to company groups to explore common business opportunities in international markets. However, companies should keep in mind that trade fairs are always of particular interest to brand hijackers and copiers as well. The brand, technology and innovative designs must be protected before attending trade fairs or presenting the new product or service to international partners.
Boost for international growth with Tempo
Tempo funding is intended for startups, SMEs and mid cap companies aiming for international growth. The funding enables your company to improve its capabilities for international growth, test the functioning of the business concept, obtain feedback from potential customers, and identify demand in new international markets. The maximum amount of Tempo funding is EUR 50,000. Funding from Business Finland covers 75% of project costs that can be at most EUR 66,667. The funding constitutes a grant that does not have to be paid back.
You can also include IPR expert services and IPR costs in your Tempo funding and project plan, subject to the de minimis funding terms.
Into helps take advantage of IP rights
Into funding is intended to support innovation activities for startups or SMEs that are aiming for export markets and are genuinely seeking international growth. With this funding, you can buy the best possible consultancy services to boost innovation at your company. Business Finland can provide funding for up to 50% of the total project budget. No maximum project budget has been set; however, consultancy services can be purchased only up to EUR 200,000. The smallest possible project budget is EUR 30,000, meaning that the smallest grant is EUR 15,000.
With the funding, you can cover the costs of developing an IPR strategy, as well as preliminary searches related to the acquisition and licensing of intellectual property rights. You can also include the first application costs for IPRs created during the project. The IPR costs are accepted until the IP right is granted, i.e., the costs of responding to the first office action are still eligible. However, even in this financing, BF cannot accept costs related to the extension of the IP protection to the international market after the initial application, or costs related to product development results already generated before the start of the project.
Do you want to increase the value of your brand in the long run?
According to the study by EUIPO and EPO, only 9% of European SMEs own intellectual property rights. Those who own generate 68% higher revenues per employee than companies that have not invested in intangible assets.
Kaulo & Partners helps with planning of IP protection as a strategic asset and increasing the value of brands. IP investments perform best when the protection is planned from a business perspective and in the long run, not just as one-time filings.
Contact us at a low threshold and open a discussion about your company's brand rights strategy:
Jani Kaulo, jani.kaulo@kaulopatners.fi, +358 40 637 5442
Maria Puronvarsi, maria.puronvarsi@kaulopartners.fi, +358 40 669 0527
Read more about funding available for SMEs: