SPTO Aid Program
In 2010, the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (SPTO) has set aside a total of 3,260,576 euros for the Program Aid for the Protection of Innovations of Spanish Companies Abroad, representing a 22% increase over the previous year.
These subsidies, which have been distributed since 2006, help Spanish companies and institutions overcome the main barriers they may encounter when it comes to protecting their innovations in other countries. For SME’s and individual inventors it covers up to 90% of the costs related to fees and translations, while covering up to 80% of these costs for the remaining applicants (universities, government agencies and individuals, among others).
Percentages
This year we have awarded 712 grants, which have corresponded to 2,516 inventions. The allocation of aid by recipient type was: 35% to SME’s, 38% to large companies, 15% to individual inventors, 6% to public universities, 2% to state agencies, while the remaining 4% was distributed among state foundations, private foundations and others.
With regard to distribution by autonomous communities, and in terms of number of applicants and subsidized percentages of the total, the position of Catalonia is significant as it accounts for 35% of the aid, followed by Madrid, the Basque Country and Valencia.
It should be noted that 18% of the applicants used the European Patent System to extend their inventions, followed by 13% who used the PCT International Patent System method to protect their inventions in different countries. 7% of the applicants have extended their protection to the United States, 4% to China and Brazil, and 3% to Japan and Canada.
Those noteworthy in terms of distribution by technology sectors include: medical and veterinary sciences (11%), organic chemistry (11%), vehicles in general (6%), metrology, testing (5%), construction (4%), furniture, household goods (4%) and biochemistry, microbiology, enzymology, and alcoholic beverages (3%). 2.7% of the applications corresponds to patents classified as “green patents”, i.e. technology sectors considered to be environmentally friendly.
This year, for the first time, subsidies were granted to Spanish patent applications and utility models, provided that the applicant is an individual inventor or an SME. 256 grants have been awarded along with allocations totaling €150,000.
Up to 90% of application fees are subsidized in the case of utility models and application fees, including those of the state of the art report in the case of patents, provided that such applications have been published within a determined period of time and it’s a first deposit.
For its part, the distribution of aid by type of beneficiary was 60% for SME’s and 40% for individual inventors. With regard to distribution by autonomous communities, Catalonia stands out for receiving 33% of the aid, followed by the Basque Country, Valencia and Andalusia.
Those noteworthy in terms of distribution by technology sectors are the following: furniture, household goods (11%), medical and veterinary sciences (10%), construction (6%), vehicles in general (5%), elements of technology, insulation (4%), heating (4%), rural activities (3%) and land vehicles (3%). 6.4% corresponds to patent applications classified as "green patents".
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