It is with great pleasure that I welcome today's online event entitled: "Ideas Powered for Business, Cyprus" organised by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), in cooperation with the Department of the Registrar of Companies and Intellectual Property, Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry. This gives me the opportunity to publicly thank EUIPO for its continued support and cooperation with the competent authorities of Cyprus. I would also like to extend special thanks to the Executive Director of the Office, Mr. Christian Archambeau, who honours us today with his participation and address at the event.
The protection of Intellectual Property, i.e. Intellectual and Industrial Property, plays an extremely important role in the development of business activity. A Trademark gives recognition to a business and protects its products and services, shielding them from confusion and copying. At the same time, the Industrial Design protects the external design or appearance of a product, copyright protects the work of the creators of original works, while patents protect the rights to inventions.
The protection of Intellectual and Industrial Property, through its registration in official registers, aims to ensure the exclusive right of economic exploitation.
The Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry, as the authority responsible for these issues, actively supports events such as this one, which contribute to informing and enlightening stakeholders. In addition, we strongly support the "Ideas Powered for Business SME Fund" grant scheme, which gives small and medium-sized enterprises the opportunity to benefit from a partial refund of IP registration fees. In this context, we also welcome the decision of the European Union Intellectual Property Office to increase the grant rate compared to last year's scheme, as well as the addition of new eligible services for grants.
It is, I must underline, with satisfaction to be informed that from next April Cypriot businesses will be able to apply for grants also for the IP Scan pre-diagnostic service. IP Scan is a consultancy service aimed at designing an IP strategy for SMEs, as derived from their business data, products and services. The IP Scan service can help businesses decide which IP rights to apply for, how to develop their IP portfolio and even their future plans.
The results of last year's "Ideas Powered for Business SME Fund" programme were particularly satisfactory. A total of €76,587 was paid to 149 Cypriot SMEs and 197 SMEs of foreign interest that registered their trademark or industrial design in the Cypriot Registers. I am absolutely confident that these numbers will increase significantly in 2022, with the upgraded grant programme.
The Ministry and the Tax Department have promoted the "Ideas Powered for Business SME Fund" programme through announcements and postings on our websites and social media. Our aim is to continue to promote it, encouraging all IP owners to take advantage of the programme, achieving by registering to protect their relevant rights from use by third parties without legal permission.
I would like to close by thanking the European Union Intellectual Property Office and, of course, the Department of the Registrar of Companies and Intellectual Property for organising today's event. I am confident that it will achieve its purpose, contributing substantially to a productive and constructive debate on the very interesting topic of Intellectual and Industrial Property.
(GA)
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