28.7.2017

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 244/5

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CALL FOR PROPOSALS

GR/001/17

Support for awareness-raising activities about the value of intellectual property and the damages of counterfeiting and piracy

(2017/C 244/04)

1.   Objectives and description

The general objective of the call for proposals is to raise awareness about the value, benefits of intellectual property as well as the damages caused by infringements of IP rights.

It aims to increase knowledge and to engage priority audiences to develop respect for IP, with a view to ultimately change people’s behaviour by reducing their purchase of counterfeits and their access of digital content from illegal sources.

The specific objectives of the call are to:

1.	Increase knowledge of the value of IP as a tool to protect creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship by providing concrete and objective knowledge about IP in this context and increasing knowledge on the damages of infringements.

2.

Engage priority audiences on these issues taking into account relevant leverage possibilities and especially how audiences expect to be addressed on these questions (non-patronising, objective and neutral) with the view to changing behaviour, reducing appeal for counterfeiting and piracy and/or reducing possibilities for counterfeiters and pirates.

Results expected are to:

—	Reach EU citizens and especially priority target groups such as children at schools, the younger generation and citizen (15-30 years) and policymakers and opinion-leaders on IP and IP-related issues.

—	Create an engagement of relevant influencers or multipliers able to reach the target audiences through a clearly defined process.

—	Ensure the sustainability and scalability of the results of the project and ultimately change behaviour.

2.   Eligible applicants

Applicants considered eligible to respond to this call must:

—	be a legal entity, public or private, for example: — non-profit organisation, association NGO, — public body at local, regional or national level, — university foundation, — private company,

—	be registered in one of the 28 Member States and provide evidence from their country of registration certifying that the applicant is correctly established and registered for more than 2 years.

Public entities that receive funds or support from EUIPO by means of other financing measures such as cooperation programmes, which aim to pursue the same objectives as this call, are not eligible (e.g. national and regional IP offices or international organisations).

In case of acting with associated partners participating in a proposal regardless of their role in the project, each partner must satisfy the eligibility criteria as applicable for the applicant himself and must sign a letter of intent.

An application can only be coordinated and submitted — on behalf of all participants — by one applicant, the legal representative of the applicant organisation.

Natural persons may not apply for a grant.

3.   Eligible actions

The maximum duration (eligibility period) is of 12 months from the date of signature of the grant agreement. Extension for maximum 6 additional months could be granted.

Specific sectors or themes to which the actions must relate are intellectual property and issues related to counterfeiting and piracy of IP rights.

Actions must take place in one or more Member States of the EU.

Only actions under the three lots below will be considered, taking into account the specific types of actions defined. An entity may apply in the different lots and consequently by default be awarded a grant in the different lots:

Lot 1: Reaching children through educational activities for schools

Lot 2: Reaching to the younger generation and citizen

Lot 3: Reaching policymakers and opinion leaders through conferences and fora

The beneficiary will need to include a quantitative and qualitative measurement estimate of the results at the start of the action in order to ensure the effectiveness of the planned objectives. The real figure will be provided at the end.

The following types of actions are ineligible:

—	projects concerned only or mainly with individual sponsorships for participation or speaking activities in workshops, seminars, conferences and congresses or any other events,

—	projects concerned only or mainly with individual scholarships for studies or training courses.

The activities to be financed under this call cover for example (non-exhaustive):

For lots 1 and 2:

—	media and social media activities,

—	production and dissemination of audiovisual materials, publications or e-communications,

—	organisation of events, fairs, exhibitions or training activities,

—	infotainment (debates, youth programmes, quizzes, video-games or music programmes),

—	web-based tools, activities, solutions.

For lot 3:

—	international conferences in the EU context,

—

fora,

—

debates.

For more details please refer to Section 6 of the Guidelines for applicants.

4.   Exclusion criteria

Applicants must not be in a situation that will exclude them from participation and/or from award as defined by the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the Union and its rules of application.

5.   Selection criteria

Applicants must submit a declaration on their honour, completed and signed, attesting to their status as a legal person and to their financial and operational capacity to complete the proposed activities.

For more details please refer to Section 10 of the Guidelines for applicants.

6.   Award criteria

The award criteria for assessing a proposal are allocated out of a total of 100 on the basis of the following weighting:

	Minimum threshold	Maximum score
1. Relevance and general interest of the project	25	35
2. Reach and impact	25	35
3. Sustainability and methodology	14	20
4. Cost-effectiveness	6	10
Total	70	100

To be considered for funding, proposals must score:

—	at least 70 points overall, and

—	at least the minimum points in each of the sub-criteria.

For more details please refer to Section 11 of the Guidelines for applicants.

7.   Budget

The total budget available for the co-financing of projects under the present call is EUR 1 000 000.

The present call for proposals is subject to the availability of the funds after the adoption of the budget for 2018 by the budgetary authority of EUIPO.

Financial contribution from the EUIPO cannot exceed 80 % of the total eligible costs submitted by the applicant and must fall between the following minimum and maximum amounts, in line with the three different lots available:

For lot 1: Reaching children through educational activities in schools (available budget EUR 400 000)

—	Minimum amount: EUR 20 000

—	Maximum amount: EUR 60 000

For lot 2: Reaching the younger generation through influencers and multipliers (available budget EUR 400 000)

—	Minimum amount: EUR 20 000

—	Maximum amount: EUR 60 000

Lot 3: Reaching decision-/policymakers and opinion leaders through conferences and fora (available budget EUR 200 000)

—	Minimum amount: EUR 15 000

—	Maximum amount: EUR 40 000

The EUIPO reserves the right not to distribute all the funds available.

8.   Deadline for submission of applications

The application package is available on the Internet at the following address: https://euipo.europa.eu/ohimportal/en/grants

Applications must be submitted to the EUIPO using the online application form (e-Form) no later than 25 September 2017 at 13.00 (local time).

No other method of submission of an application will be accepted.

Applicants shall ensure that all the documents requested and mentioned in the e-Form are provided.

Applications which do not include all the stipulated annexes and which are not submitted before the deadline will not be considered.

For more details please refer to Section 16 of the Guidelines for applicants.

9.   Full details

The full text of the guidelines for applicants is available at the following Internet address: https://euipo.europa.eu/ohimportal/en/grants

Applications must comply with all the terms of the guidelines and be submitted on the forms provided.

10.   Contact

For any further information please contact the following mailbox: grants@euipo.europa.eu

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