Intellectual property strategy diagnostics

Creating a new product and entering foreign markets with it can be daunting, even more so if matters of intellectual property aren’t taken into account. Often enough, a company may fail to give due consideration to or even be aware of an aggressive competitor in the target market who will not hesitate to launch its patent portfolio to prevent others from entering the market. Or, on the assumption that the company is developing too rapidly for taking protective measures for their IP, the underlying technology that would keep it at the forefront for many years to come, is left unnoticed and unprotected. 

These and many other aspects play an important role in today’s increasingly value-added-centric market that aspiring Estonian exporting enterprises will begin to conquer. The diagnostics service of intellectual property strategy is provided by Enterprise Estonia to help them address these issues. 

The services include the following stages:

• identification of the intellectual property at the disposal of the enterprise, its classification and determination of ownership;
• analysis of the procedures, policies and documentation of the enterprise from the aspect of intellectual property;
• analysis of the IP sector affecting the enterprise – the innovation profile of the technology sector, search for competitors and potential customers, detection of potential business opportunities based on intellectual property;
• making recommendations to the enterprise for creating or supplementing their intellectual property strategy.

As a result of the diagnostics, the enterprise will receive a practical and detailed action plan for the creation of their intellectual property strategy, accompanied by proposals to manage the identified risks and exploit discovered opportunities. An Enterprise Estonia intellectual property specialist will support the enterprise in implementing the action plan.

The intellectual property services of Enterprise Estonia are open to entrepreneurs exporting products developed and manufactured in Estonia who want to pursue said activities.

Enterprise Estonia shall not be held responsible for any decisions or actions of the service recipient, or any decrease in their profit, loss of income, loss of profit, non-pecuniary damages, or any other indirect damages.

Excluded sectors:

• primary production of agricultural products listed in Annex I of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union;
• processing and distribution of agricultural products listed in Annex I of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union in cases provided in Article 1 (1) (c) of the de minimis Regulation;
• fisheries and aquaculture, pursuant to Article 1 (1) (a) of the de minimis Regulation;
• agriculture, forestry and fishing (the Estonian Classification of Economic Activities (EMTAK) 2008 section A) and processing and preserving of fish, crustaceans and molluscs (EMTAK section C 102);
• mediation of sales, wholesale and retail trade (EMTAK 2008 section G), excluding maintenance and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles;
• real estate activities (EMTAK 2008 section L);
• manufacturing of tobacco products (EMTAK 2008 section C 120);
• gambling and betting activities (EMTAK 2008, section R, 920);
• financial and insurance activities (EMTAK 2008 section K);
• legal and accounting activities (EMTAK 2008 section M 69), activities of head offices and management consultancy activities (EMTAK 2008 section M 70), advertising (incl. online advertising) and market research (EMTAK 2008 section M 73);
• rental and leasing activities, and temporary employment agency activities (EMTAK 2008 section N 77 and EMTAK 2008 section N 782);

The service is subject to a fee and the total cost will be calculated on the basis of the hourly rate of the specialist providing the service. The enterprise’s own contribution is 30% of the service cost, the remaining part of the service cost shall be included in the de minimis aid. You can check the balance of the company’s de minimis aid on the website of the Ministry of Finance.