Safeguarding Your Intellectual Property Rights #
In today’s competitive business landscape, protecting your Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) is crucial to ensuring the success and reputation of your business. Owning IP assets such as trademarks, patents, or domains significantly enhances the market value of your products and your company, making them valuable tools for attracting investors.
Expert IP Protection and Competitive Advantage #
Our IP team possesses extensive experience in advising clients on protecting their IPR in both local and international markets, helping them gain a competitive edge. We work closely with associates across the European Union to ensure the protection of inventions and unique creations in Europe and we help our clients in registering IPs with the Cyprus Registrar of Companies and Intellectual Property, the EUIPO, and WIPO. Our international outlook allows us to assist clients in protecting their IP rights globally.
Leveraging Cyprus’s Tax Incentives #
We also guide our clients on maximizing the tax incentives provided by the Cyprus government, particularly under the Cyprus IP Box regime, as part of Cyprus’s strategy to establish itself as an international business hub.
Comprehensive IP Services #
Our IP team offers a wide range of services, including:
- Drafting and Negotiating Agreements: Crafting assignment and licensing agreements over IPR, as well as security assignment agreements.
- Due Diligence: Conducting thorough checks to ensure proper registration of IP, payment of renewal fees, and the assignability and licensability of IP assets, including verifying the classes/services covered by trademarks.
- IP Registration: Preparing and assisting with the national, European, or international registration of IPR, and managing necessary filings with the Cyprus Registrar, EUIPO, and WIPO.
- IPR Management: Assisting with the registration/notification of assignments or licenses of IPR and any amendments to the details of the IPR owners.
Our collaboration with international law firms enables us to represent high-caliber clients, including pharmaceutical companies, product manufacturers, and brand owners, in objections raised against international trademark rights extending to Cyprus.
Cyprus Intellectual Property (IP) Box Regime #
The new IP regime, effective from July 1, 2016, aligns Cyprus’s IP tax legislation with the OECD’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project. This legislation includes transitional provisions allowing taxpayers to continue benefiting from the current IP box regime for up to five years before transitioning to the new regime.
Benefits of the IP Box Regime #
Both the transitional and new IP box regimes offer significant tax benefits, providing up to an 80% tax deduction on qualifying IP profits. With a corporate tax rate of 12.5%, this can result in an effective tax rate of up to 2.5%.
Qualifying Assets under the New Regime #
The new regime covers:
- Patents
- Software programs with copyright
- Other novel and useful intangible assets
Note: Trademarks and standalone copyrights are not included as qualifying assets under the new regime.
Ensuring Compliance #
The new IP regime complies with the revised ‘Nexus approach’, which requires a direct link between qualifying assets and related expenses contributing to income. This ensures that intangible property shows a clear relationship between the development activities and the resulting income.
Conclusion #
Our firm is committed to providing comprehensive and tailored IP services to protect and enhance the value of your intellectual property. By leveraging our expertise and Cyprus’s favorable tax incentives, we help you secure a strong competitive position in the market.