Eurimark is helping us for fast trademark registration; we benefit from a 24/7 service to answer our clients' most urgent requests. We appreciate the number of countries covered by the system that allows us to centralize for a single project all the registrations with only one contact.
Eurimark est le système le plus intelligent pour effectuer une recherche globale concernant la protection d'un nom de marque en Europe.
Luxembourg: Important Tax Advantages For Trademarks
Any income generated through copyright on software, patents, trademarks, registered designs is exempt form tax at a rate of 80%. On 19 December 2007, the legislative chamber has adopted the Law Project 5801, which introduces a new article 50 bis into the Law concerning income tax.
Tax Advantage
This law is, according to the Ministry for the Economy and International Trade, the first measure adopted by Luxembourg in this field since 1880. It has arisen as part of the Lisbon process, but also aims to be a response to similar legislation, although less efficient, recently entered into force in certain countries of the Union.
This new legislation thus enables to reduce taxation of income generated by intellectual property, by reducing the normal tax rate of about 30% to about 6% for such income.
Support for Innovation
This measure is destined to encourage innovation in companies established under Luxembourgish law, by allowing them to reduce taxation on income generated from innovations protected by intellectual property. The Minister for the Economy and International Trade, M. Jeannot Krecké, has indicated that “by reducing taxation on income generated by a patent, a copyright on a software, a trademark, a design, we encourage companies located in Luxembourg to invest in research and development.”
This exemption at a rate of 80% applies in particular to income from licences (hire) or from assignment (sale) of copyrights on software, of patents (protecting technical innovations), of trademarks (protecting the name of a product or service), of designs (protecting the exterior appearance of a product).
Conditions
Only the rights created or acquired as from 1st January 2008 can benefit from this new law.
The expenses, amortisations and depreciations concerning these rights must be integrated in the assets of the balance sheet of the company, if these costs have not been compensated by revenues during the same fiscal year.
To avoid multiple exonerations for the same right in the same group of companies, acquisitions made by a company belonging directly to the same shareholders by more than 10% are excluded from its scope.
For evaluation of the value of the intellectual property, the taxpayer should generally choose an internationally recognised method. This evaluation should hence preferably be carried out by professionals in the field of intellectual property.
Proceed with Applications for Intellectual Property Rights
This new tax measure encourages companies to better protect their intellectual property through patent, trademark and design applications.
Through the http://www.e-freylinger.com/ interface, it is possible to carry out trademark searches and applications online.
For more information:
The law (article 1, 3rd paragraph – pages 3 and 4):
http://www.legilux.public.lu/leg/a/archives/2007/2342712/2342712.pdf
The official statement of the Minister for the Economy:
http://www.eco.public.lu/salle_de_presse/com_presse_et_art_actu/2007/12/21_fiscal/index.html