UP TO £5,000 AVAILABLE UNDER THE UKIPO’S IP ACCESS FUND

The UK government’s innovation strategy recognises that IP will play a key role in tackling the UK’s biggest challenges, including aiding post-pandemic economic recovery.  

As a part of its strategy, the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) launched an ‘IP Access’ fund to help SMEs to protect, manage and commercialise their IP to grow and to build back better from the pandemic.

The IP Access fund is an extension of the IP Audit Plus programme (see here for further details) and provides businesses with additional funding to take forward some of the recommendations provided within the IP audit report.

Under the scheme, grants of up £5,000 are available for businesses who’ve completed IP audits under the IP Audits Plus programme between April 2020 and March 2022. This means that a total of up to £8,000* is available for SMEs able to secure funding under both the IP Audit Plus programme and the IP Access fund.

The funding can be used to cover the cost of services related to:   

• The management of IP assets;
• Commercialisation of IP;
• Licensing and franchising agreements;  
• IP insurance;  
• IP valuation;  
• Tax relief advice;  
• Professional fees for IP services in the UK and abroad. 

If you haven’t already benefitted from an IP audit under the under the IP Audits Plus programme, now would be a great time to do so.

Applications for the IP Access fund are now open and will remain open until 12pm on the 31^st March 2022.

Please contact us for more information.

*The IP Audits Plus programme is part-funded. A total of £3000 is available, £2,500 of which comes from the UKIPO and the remaining £500 from the business.