Mission
In today’s knowledge-driven economies, intellectual property (IP) has become a central business asset and driver of innovation, creativity and growth.
The IP Helpdesk provides free-of-charge, first-line support to European small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) on IP management, protection and enforcement. Consisting of six dedicated regional Helpdesk services covering China, Europe, Latin America, India, South-East Asia and Africa, the IP Helpdesk caters to the individual needs of businesses operating in those markets. In addition, the regional Helpdesk for Europe specifically assists EU SMEs and researchers in dealing with IP issues in the context of EU-funded research and innovation projects.
Offering a broad range of informative material, a Helpline service as well as a diverse training calendar, the IP Helpdesk's overall goal is to support IP capacity building along the full scale of IP practices: from awareness to strategic use and successful exploitation.
Register and benefit from our services
If you need personal assistance on a specific IP question we kindly ask you to register. This will only take a few minutes, is free of charge and required only once.
Your private information is safe with us. All data entered upon registration will be used only to provide you with the requested services and is managed in conformity with Regulation (EU) 2018/1725. For further information please refer to our privacy notice.
Organisational structure
Aiming to provide targeted services tailored to the specific IP support needs of European SMEs doing business in different regions around the globe or participating in EU-funded R&I endeavours, the IP Helpdesk is structured along five specialised services – each with a clear regional focus.
The regional IP Helpdesks are managed by individual teams of experts who bring in extensive knowledge and experience in dealing with central IP issues associated with each geographical area and the corresponding markets.
Plus, the European IP Helpdesk addresses IP questions related to the EU framework programmes for research and innovation in particular.
Partners
The IP Helpdesk is part of a diverse landscape of IP, innovation, and business support providers. Despite their individual focus areas and regional differences, all these initiatives, networks and organisations strive to help research teams and SMEs unleash their full innovation potential, accelerate the translation of IP into value-adding innovations, foster the creation of new business opportunities and support the internationalisation of European SMEs.
Building on an extensive global network, the IP Helpdesk joins forces and streamlines activities with a variety of stakeholders from different fields and regions to raise awareness of IP and foster capacity building.
As a collaborator, your organisation will have full access to IP resources complementing the particular services you provide to your target organisations.
If you want to request free membership for your organisation, contact us and enjoy the benefits of becoming one of our collaborators:
- Individual webinars adapted to sectors and topics of your target group’s interests
- Access to our “Train-the-Trainers” events
- Joint IP materials adapted to the needs of your target audiences
- Free access to IP presentations and audio-visual material
Meet our partners
The IP Helpdesk is targeted at European small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as SMEs participating in the EU programme for the “Competitiveness of Enterprises and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises” (COSME). In addition, the European IP Helpdesk also caters to research organisations participating in EU-funded research and innovation projects (Horizon 2020 & Horizon Europe).
The IP Helpdesk consists of five regional Helpdesks covering the following regions:
- China
- Europe
- India
- Latin America
- Southeast Asia
No. The IP Helpdesk is funded by the European Commission, and all the services provided are free of charge.