The IPR Helpdesk has just published a factsheet “IP management in Horizon 2020 at the proposal stage”. The objective is to help applicants deal with IP issues at the proposal stage. Here is a sum-up of its main advice:

1) Tackle confidential issues at an early stage: good practice to conclude a non-disclosure agreement with the other partners before entering into details on which IP will be shared and pooled in the course of the project

2) Identify your IP background (namely IP assets you will bring to the project) to better protect it and ensure proper use by others in the course of the project and after

3) A good IP management as part of the exploitation strategy will ensure a higher score in the evaluation of the impact award criteria.

4) Ensure your IP costs are included in the proposed budget: anticipate protection of IP that may arise during the project implementation will allow you to have their associated costs covered by the EU co-funding

5) Check which IP rights from other partners or third parties you will need in the course of the project to ensure the conditions are in place to use it (“freedom to operate”).

6) Perform trade mark search against your project’s name and acronym to anticipate potential allegation of infringement

The IPR Helpdesk also provides a check list to help applicants develop a strong knowledge management as part of their exploitation plan. It asks questions such as: how will you protect project results with potential industrial implication? How will you organize and manage the IP background brought to the project by participants? How will joint ownership be treated? How will the results be exploited? How appropriate is the management structure regarding IP issues?

There are several routes for exploitation or research & innovation results. To identify those best suited to your project, we advise the following reading:

This is also the opportunity to remind future H2020 applicants that the IPR Helpdesk can provide free of charge guidance. Its helpline offers tailor-made advice on individual IP and IPR questions (including in the context of H2020), and provides written answers within three working days.

As a wrap, here are two inspirational quotes from SMEs that were partner in FP7 project when asked what they would have done differently in they could turn back the clock²:

“…we would have better defined our pre-existing know-how”

“…we would adopt a more serious approach to protection of our own rights”

²Source : Use & Diffuse Project (http://www.useanddiffuse.eu)