Unlocking IP-backed Finance: Recent EU Developments
This week, the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and the European Investment Fund (EIF) announced a new initiative which aims to help EU businesses better leverage their intellectual property (IP) assets as strategic assets in order to access finance.
The new initiative, which is the subject of a Memorandum of Understanding (“MoU”) between the EUIPO and the EIF, forms part of a wider EU drive to address barriers faced by innovative European companies in seeking to access finance. These wider EU measures include the EU’s Startup and Scale-up Strategy, which mandates the EUIPO, in cooperation with the European Commission, to develop an IP valuation framework which can underpin future IP-backed financing.
The text of the MoU is not yet available. However, according to press releases and commentary published by the EUIPO in recent days (EUIPO and EIF join forces to unlock IP-backed finance), the MoU is intended to open a strategic dialogue aimed at unlocking the value of IP rights. We understand that the MoU also focuses on enhancing communication and awareness among SMEs and financial actors and explores capacity-building initiatives to help financial players recognise IP as viable collateral.
The leveraging of IP value into lending was a key priority identified by the EUIPO in a report issued on 13 April 2026 (IP-backed finance in Europe: state of play and future perspectives). That report acknowledged that financial institutions and lenders may need to be convinced to provide finance against IP collateral, and suggested that guarantee schemes could act as structural enablers of IP-backed finance during the initial phase until sufficient trust is built among financial institutions and lenders. The EUIPO report noted that guarantee schemes could absorb part of the credit risk, allowing lenders to integrate IP information into credit assessments while mitigating residual risk. Guarantee-backed loans would also benefit from the risk weighting of the guarantor rather than of the collateral, substantially reducing capital burdens under prudential banking rules. The EIF is a leading provider of guarantee instruments in Europe, and should therefore be well positioned to contribute to the achievement of this key EUIPO priority.
IP intensive industries play a crucial role in the EU economy, accounting for c.48% of EU GDP and 31% of employment, according to the EUIPO report. The announcement of this initiative between the EIF and EUIPO is a very welcome development and will be of particular interest to IP intensive companies at all stages of the growth journey, from early-stage start-ups to more established growth stage businesses and beyond. If done correctly, it could unlock alternative financing routes to sit alongside the existing equity and venture debt options available in the market today.
We will continue to monitor developments in this area.
This document has been prepared by McCann FitzGerald LLP for general guidance only and should not be regarded as a substitute for professional advice. Such advice should always be taken before acting on any of the matters discussed.
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