Patents Protect with WIPANO
If you want to start a company today and protect your technical innovations, you should find out about patent applications at an early stage. With WIPANO, founders have an interesting option for patent promotion, which can be used to cover the costs of filing a patent application. A patent and its application are so important because no one wants to see their innovation in market-ready products at competitors.
WIPANO promotes promising companies and their ideas and thus makes the costs of application procedures and patent applications more affordable. WIPANO's patent application is worthwhile for many young and innovative companies that want to fully exploit their ideas and protect their intellectual property.
WIPANO stands for "knowledge and technology transfer through patents and standards". Patent applications are associated with various expenses, such as fees, which are often difficult to finance, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. WIPANO is a suitable solution for this financing problem. Those who dare to enter the market with their invention should not do without patent protection and make use of the possibilities offered by WIPANO.
What is the Purpose of WIPANO's Support for Patent Applications?
WIPANO's patent support aims to exploit the creative potential of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and to make inventions from the field of public restyle="border: 15px solid white;" width="650"search commercially exploitable. WIPANO serves to transfer the latest research findings to industry and, for this purpose, relies on standardization as a strategic market instrument. The funding is intended to ensure that the current state of the art is available to the industry quickly and with appropriate visibility.
Who is the Publisher of the Patent Grant WIPANO?
The Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy (BMWi) is the publisher of WIPANO's patent promotion program. The BMWi helps companies and research institutions to finance costs and fees for application procedures such as patent applications, the patent attorney and thus ultimately for the successful implementation of a product idea with the patent subsidy WIPANO.
Who is Supported by WIPANO?
WIPANO promotes public research as well as private-sector research in companies. The program supports state or state-recognized universities either individually or in combination. Funding for non-university institutions is also provided for if these are publicly basic-financed and operate in an eligible association with universities.
Applicants from the private sector are eligible if they set up their business in Germany and are engaged in their main occupation. The funding program is aimed at commercial enterprises and self-employed persons who pursue a liberal profession in the natural sciences and technology. The latter requirement is fulfilled if a university degree in the natural sciences or technology and a notification of the activity to the tax office are available.
Support is intended exclusively for SMEs. This means that the company has fewer than 250 employees and its annual turnover does not exceed 50 million euros, or its annual balance sheet total does not exceed 43 million euros.
Furthermore, no patent application or utility model application from the last five years prior to the filing of the application must have been filed and the project must not yet have been started. This is to ensure that only new ideas and developments receive support.
What is Supported by WIPANO and How Much?
WIPANO has three funding priorities. This includes support for patenting, which is aimed at public research and the research performance of companies. The second priority concerns support for recovery. The chances of exploiting and marketing intellectual property rights can be improved even by relatively minor further developments. Public institutions must demonstrate that their R&D results can be technically implemented. Finally, the third focus is on support for standardization. This is where the actual transfer of research findings to industry takes place.
In funding practice, a distinction is made between eligible services and so-called service packages (LP). The maximum funding amount depends on the service package. The following service packages are available from WIPANO:
- Rough examination of the invention (LP 1): In this package, only a superficial examination of patentability is carried out. Maximum funding: 800 euros.
- Detailed examination of the invention (LP 2): In this package, the examination relates to the state of the art and economic usability. A cost-benefit analysis is also possible. Maximum funding: 800 euros.
- Advice and coordination on patent applications (LP 3): The consulting firm assists in the search for a suitable patent attorney and the coordination of strategy and helps in the exchange of information with the attorney. Maximum funding: 1,000 euros.
- Patent application (LP 4): This package concerns the promotion of the actual patent application. This is where the services provided by the patent attorney are financed. It is also possible to assume part of the official costs for the patent application. Maximum funding: 10,000 euros.
- Measures for the exploitation of the patent (LP 5): The LP 5 package refers to the promotion of measures related to the exploitation of the patent. This can include the development of an exploitation strategy as well as the construction of prototypes or the implementation of trademark and design applications. Maximum funding: 4,000 euros.
It is clear from the above descriptions that not only the patent application itself is eligible for funding by WIPANO. Consultations prior to registration and aftercare are also eligible.
WIPANO provides for an upper limit of 33,150 euros for all eligible expenses for the promotion of patent applications and all other expenses. Since the subsidy covers up to 50 percent of the expenditure, the maximum subsidy is 16,575 euros. This maximum funding amount is then distributed over the five service packages described above.
