This call has a deadline date of 26 September 2013.

The European Commission has launched a call for proposals for the provision of support services to assist European Union Small to medium sized enterprises in China. The budget is stated to be 1.2 million Euros (EUR 1 200 000)

The central aim of the call is to provide support services for European Union Small to medium sized enterprises with a view to protecting and enforcing Intellectual Property Rights in work either in, or relating to China. The target audience is both European small to medium sized enterprises in the EU (and those who already have a presence in China) or who are either investing in or doing business with China.

The specific objectives under the Call:

1. Provide EU SMEs with first line advice services

2. Developing and providing state of the art training materials and trainers

3. Report on the latest intellectual property law developments and available support to seek enforcement if possible

4. Provide the contents of a multi-lingual web portal for IPR protection in China, focusing on IPR protection in the business context

5. Monitor selected IPR cases and follow IP policy affecting SMEs

6. Presence at trade fairs and business parternship events

7. Providing basic support for initial contacts with local law enforcement agencies

For those who wish to ignore Napoleon’s masterly late 18th century soundbite (‘Let China sleep, for when she wakes she will shake the world’) full information for making the call to China can be found at:

http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/page/call_CIP?callIdentifier=73-G-ENT-CIP-13-B-N02C02&specificProgram=EIP