ESA IP for Commercialization aims to provide support to Belgian companies to protect, manage and commercially exploit their intellectual property resulting from ESA or national activities and programs, with the aim to improve their competitive positioning in the space market in Belgium.

For ESA IP for Commercialization Belgium, Verhaert, ESA and Belspo (the Belgian delegation to ESA) welcome applications addressing:

• The request of funding to perform one (or more) of the following activities to be carried out by an IP Specialist external to the Economic Operator:
  • Intellectual Property Management and Strategy.
  • Intellectual Property Protection.
  • Intellectual Property Revenue Management.
• The ESA IP for Commercialization shall be based upon Intellectual Property generated by the Economic Operator under ESA contracts or publicly funded space activities in Belgium.
• Such Intellectual Property provides to the Economic Operators a potential competitive positioning on the target market.

Successful applicants will receive tailored hands-on assistance and third-party professional services for the needs expressed in the application, up to a maximum amount of €10.000 and within a 12 months period.
At the end of the program, beneficiaries will have to submit a small report about the activities performed.

ESA IP for Commercialization funding is primarily targeted at Belgian SMEs or entities who have generated intellectual property with potential for commercialization under ESA or national funding and would like to assess the best strategy to manage and/or to  protect it.

The Call is permanently open and has no closing date for the submission of applications, until there is budget available. The selection and evaluation of applications are scheduled periodically; we warmly encourage you to apply at your earliest convenience to receive a prioritary evaluation.

In order to apply, please consult the Invitation to apply; then download and fill the ESA IP for Commercialization Application Template.

Please submit the completed ESA IP for commercialization Application in electronic form as a single .pdf document to techbroker@spacesolutions.be with subject “ESA IP for Commercialization Funding Belgium Open Call”.

Any questions related to submission of proposals should be sent to the same e-mail address techbroker@spacesolutions.be .
Paper submissions or other communications are not going to be evaluated.

If selected, the ESA Tech Broker will reach out for the signature of the contract.