Global industrial property consulting should start with a diagnostic: an audit of what the company owns, where each right is protected, where it is exposed and what closing the gaps will cost, before anything else is filed. Free public tools, such as the European Commission’s IP Diagnostic Tool and IP Cost Tool, are a sensible first step; a full diagnostic adds what they cannot do, which is checking every register, the chain of ownership and the deadlines, and turning the result into a filing plan. This guide is for companies expanding between Europe, Latin America and Africa.
Key takeaways
- The EU’s Latin America IP SME Helpdesk offers free, confidential answers to European SMEs, usually within three working days, plus self-assessment and cost tools.
- Under the 2026 SME Fund, EU SMEs can recover 90% of the cost of an “IP Scan”, an expert pre-diagnostic; in Portugal the voucher is worth up to EUR 1,260 and up to EUR 1,620 elsewhere.
- These tools measure preparedness and estimate costs. They do not verify your registers, your ownership or your deadlines.
- A good diagnostic ends with a prioritised plan and a budget. It is not a list of filings in every country, an accounting valuation or a tax opinion.
When does a company need global industrial property consulting?
Most companies ask for a diagnostic at a turning point: entering a new market, appointing a distributor, raising money, preparing a sale or licence, or after receiving a warning letter. In each case, someone needs to answer the same questions quickly: what do we own, in whose name, where, until when, and what is missing.
The earlier those questions are answered, the cheaper the answers. A trade mark filed before entering a market costs the official fee; recovering it from a distributor who filed first can cost a dispute.
Free public tools: what they cover and where they stop
The European Commission funds a network of IP helpdesks for SMEs. The Latin America IP SME Helpdesk serves SMEs from the EU and countries associated with the Single Market Programme that operate in, or plan to enter, Latin America, at no cost.
| Tool | What you get | Where it stops |
|---|---|---|
| Latin America helpline | A free, confidential, tailor-made answer from the helpdesk’s experts, or signposting to the right organisation, within three working days; in English, French, German, Spanish or Portuguese | It is first-line support: an answer to a question, not the management of your filings |
| IP Diagnostic Tool | A questionnaire on IP protection, internationalisation and commercialisation, and IP practice, with a personalised report on the areas to watch | It measures your knowledge and preparedness, not the status of your actual rights |
| IP Cost Tool | Estimates in euros of application, examination, renewal and annuity fees for trade marks, patents, designs, utility models and copyright in Latin America, China, India and South-East Asia | Estimates per office; it does not tell you which offices, classes or routes you need |
| SME Fund 2026, IP Scan voucher | 90% of the cost of an expert assessment of the potential of IP for the business; applications from 2 February to 4 December 2026 | Only for EU SMEs; amounts and providers depend on the Member State; the voucher is valid for six months |
Our advice is to use them. The self-assessment helps a management team see where it stands, and the cost tool gives a first order of magnitude for a budget. What none of them does is look at your registrations.
What a full IP portfolio diagnostic should include
- Inventory from the registers, not from internal spreadsheets: every right at the EUIPO, the OEPM, WIPO and each national office, with status, number and owner of record.
- Ownership: whether each right is in the right group company, and whether inventions, software and designs were properly assigned by employees, contractors and agencies.
- Use: an EU or Spanish trade mark not genuinely used for five years becomes vulnerable (EU trade mark Regulation, Article 18; Spanish Trade Marks Act, Article 39). The diagnostic should flag registrations that would not survive a challenge.
- Coverage against the business map: where you sell, manufacture and plan to grow, and whether the goods and services listed match what you actually do.
- Deadlines: renewals (ten-year terms for Spanish marks under Article 31 of the Trade Marks Act), the five-year dependency of Madrid international registrations on their basic mark (Madrid Protocol, Article 6(3)) and pending responses.
- Third-party risks: earlier marks in target markets, and filings by distributors or agents in their own name.
- Unregistered assets: trade secrets, software, domain names and social media handles.
- Contracts: licences, distribution, R&D and supply agreements that grant or limit IP rights.
- Budget: official fees by office, with source and date, phased over time.
- A prioritised action plan: what to file, record, renew, abandon or enforce, and in what order.
What a diagnostic should not include
- A shopping list of filings in every country. Coverage should follow the business plan; a good diagnostic often recommends abandoning rights as well as filing new ones.
- An accounting or transaction valuation presented as a by-product. Valuation is a separate exercise with its own method and purpose.
- A freedom-to-operate opinion in disguise. Checking whether a product infringes third-party patents needs its own scope and searches.
- Tax advice on where to hold the IP; that belongs to your tax advisers, with the IP findings as input.
- A one-off report that nobody updates. The value is in the docket and plan it leaves behind.
What this means for your business
- If you are an EU SME, apply for the IP Scan voucher and complete the IP Diagnostic Tool before the full review; both lower the cost of what follows.
- Export your portfolio data and gather the key contracts and group chart.
- Agree the scope: which markets, which rights and which business decisions the diagnostic must support.
- Ask for the result as a plan with dates and a budget, not only a report.
Our global IP strategy and portfolio diagnostic service is built around that output: one picture of the portfolio across Europe, Latin America and Africa, and one plan to act on it.
Where companies get the diagnostic wrong
- Auditing the spreadsheet instead of the register. Internal lists are often out of date on owners, classes and renewal dates.
- Stopping at the self-assessment and assuming the portfolio is in order because the score was good.
- Budgeting with cost estimates and no filing strategy, then discovering that a market needs national filings rather than Madrid.
- Commissioning separate reviews in each country, which produce reports that cannot be compared.
- Leaving the plan unassigned, so that renewals and filings still depend on whoever remembers them.
Frequently asked questions
Is the EU IP Diagnostic Tool enough to audit my portfolio?
No. It is a useful self-assessment that produces a personalised report on your IP knowledge and preparedness for international markets. It does not check your registrations, owners, deadlines or conflicts. Use it as a starting point and then verify the portfolio itself against each office’s register before taking filing decisions.
Can the SME Fund pay for part of a diagnostic?
For EU SMEs, yes. The 2026 SME Fund reimburses 90% of an IP Scan, an expert pre-diagnostic; INPI Portugal sets the maximum at EUR 1,260 in Portugal and up to EUR 1,620 elsewhere, with applications open from 2 February to 4 December 2026. Providers and amounts depend on each Member State’s office.
How long does a portfolio diagnostic take?
It depends on the number of rights, countries and contracts, and on how quickly the company can provide documents, so there is no standard timeline. Scoping it around a concrete decision, such as entering a market or preparing a sale, keeps it focused and avoids reviewing rights that do not affect that decision.
Can IP Global Guard carry out a global IP portfolio diagnostic?
Yes. We review your rights against the registers in Europe, Latin America and Africa, check ownership, use and deadlines, and deliver a prioritised plan with official fees. Filings and recordals before the EUIPO, the OEPM and WIPO are handled directly where our professionals are entitled and otherwise through qualified representatives, with local correspondents elsewhere.
How IP Global Guard can help you see the whole portfolio
A diagnostic is worth what it changes. IP Global Guard, the IP services line of META Channel Corporation Limited, turns the review into one strategy, one docket and one billing relationship across more than 25 jurisdictions; see our coverage in Europe, Latin America and Africa and the trade mark protection that usually follows.
Tell us which markets you sell in and which you plan to enter next, and send an export of your current portfolio. We will propose the scope of the diagnostic and what it should answer. Ask our team for a portfolio diagnostic.
This article is general information, not legal advice, and does not replace a review of your own portfolio.
Sources
- European Commission, Latin America IP SME Helpdesk (service page)
- European Commission, Latin America IP SME Helpdesk, helpline
- European Commission, EU IP Helpdesk, IP tools (IP Diagnostic Tool and IP Cost Tool)
- INPI Portugal, SME Fund 2026: EU fund for the protection of IP rights (2026)
- WIPO Lex, Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 on the European Union trade mark (14 June 2017)
- BOE, Ley 17/2001 de Marcas (consolidated text, last updated 28 July 2022)
- WIPO Lex, Madrid Protocol (as amended on 12 November 2007)
