Make money with your head: regions will launch an intellectual property loan program
In Russia, they plan to expand the lending program secured by intellectual property. The pilot project is going to be launched in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. The region may be next in line after Moscow, as it actively promotes the topic of creative industries and technology business. At the same time, it already has a financial infrastructure to which it is possible to "attach" a new tool, experts remind. The benefits of loans secured by intellectual property are described in the Izvestia article.
Scaling the mechanism
The intellectual property loan program operating in Moscow may be expanded to other Russian regions. The pilot is going to be launched in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. Irina Yakovleva, deputy chairman of the Russian Center for the Turnover of Rights to the Results of Creative Activity, told TASS about this.
The roadmap for cooperation between the RCIS and the Krasnoyarsk Territory was signed on November 13 at the Russian Creative Week.
"The Moscow government once implemented a pilot project on intellectual property loans. We have achieved certain results, and it inspires optimism for the future, so that the regions can also use this experience," Yakovleva commented on the signing of the document. She noted that Krasnoyarsk, as "one of the leaders of the creative industries sector in Russia," can adopt the capital's practice.
According to the deputy chairman of the RCIS, launching a pilot for intellectual property loans will require working with the regional government, banks and funds to support creative entrepreneurs. Yakovleva expects to achieve results in this area in the coming year.
The editorial board of Izvestia sent requests to the Russian Center for the Turnover of Rights to the Results of Creative Activity and Rospatent. No responses had been received at the time of publication.
Not a random choice
The project will allow small and medium-sized businesses, including representatives of the creative industries, to use patents, trademarks, musical works or software developments as collateral for a loan. Alexey Govyrin, a member of the State Duma Committee on Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, reports about this in an interview with Izvestia.
Such a model has already been tested in Moscow, he recalls. As part of the pilot, companies could receive up to 50 million rubles. The city's business support fund acted as a guarantor.
The essence of the program is to strengthen support for innovative enterprises that have not only an idea, but also a proven and patented technological solution based on it or a working product sample, explains Mikhail Khachaturian, Associate Professor at the Department of Strategic and Innovative Development at the Financial University. The recipients of such loans will be innovative manufacturing enterprises that need to support the process of launching pilot or pilot production of their products.
— Usually, financing this process is the most expensive stage of innovation activity, putting an end to the entire project. Entrepreneurs often cannot provide financing from their own funds, but they often do not have the resources to secure financing either," the expert points out.
The law allows you to pledge exclusive rights to software products, trademarks and media content, says Sean Betrozov, a lawyer at the Moscow Chamber of Lawyers and a member of the Russian Bar Association. But banks have hardly worked with this tool until recently.
The Moscow pilot, however, showed a practical result, the Izvestia interlocutor believes. In the capital, the program of loans secured by intellectual property has been in effect since 2023. At the moment, there are loans issued, there are collateral structures, and there is a practice of support from the Mosgarant Fund and Rospatent.
The Krasnoyarsk Territory may be next in line, as it actively promotes the topic of creative industries and technology business. At the same time, the region already has a financial infrastructure to which it is possible to "attach" a new instrument.
— Small technology companies in the Krasnoyarsk Territory can already receive large preferential loans at a reduced rate for federal projects. In other words, banks and regional funds have been working with investment loans for a long time. Adding collateral in the form of intellectual property rights fits logically into the existing system," Betrozov is convinced.
In addition, the Krasnoyarsk Territory is a region with the largest production system and significant innovation potential, says Mikhail Khachaturian. According to Rosstat, the region accounts for the largest share (about 20-25%) of small and medium-sized innovative enterprises in the Siberian Federal District.
"These circumstances make the Krasnoyarsk Territory the second most important platform after the Moscow region for testing innovative credit instruments to stimulate the country's innovation potential," the economist is convinced.
The implementation of the mechanism in the constituent entity of the Russian Federation will require the participation of the regional government, banks and creative industries funds, Govyrin believes.
— For this purpose, a representative office of the Russian Center for the Turnover of Rights to the results of Creative Activity and a regional intellectual property rights depository will be established in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, — the parliamentarian adds.
Innovation support
The intellectual property loan program may be in demand in other regions with an active innovative and creative environment, Alexey Govyrin believes. Among them, he singles out Tatarstan, St. Petersburg, Udmurtia and the Novosibirsk region.
In other words, regions where the share of innovative small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises exceeds 15-20% of the total number are of interest, Mikhail Khachaturian believes.
The expansion of the program cannot proceed according to the principle of continuous coverage of the entire map, emphasizes Sean Betrozov. To conduct a pilot, it is necessary to have a real intellectual property market.
— It's not just about the number of patents and trademarks, but also about how well regional companies can make money from their developments and brands. That is why regions with active technological and creative clusters were included in the first wave of discussions," the expert explains.
At the same time, the readiness of regional development institutions to implement the program and the political will of the federal and regional levels are important, he adds.
—Rospatent has already proposed a standard scheme, but for a real launch we need an agreement between the RCIS and the subject, the willingness of the budget to subsidize the rate and the interest of at least two or three large banks operating in the region," the Izvestia interlocutor draws attention.
The obvious advantages
The main advantage of loans secured by intellectual property for borrowers is the opportunity to receive funds for further technological developments at a rate significantly lower than the average market rate, since the program is subsidized, explains the head of the expert analytics department of the financial marketplace "Banks.<url>" by Inna Soldatenkova.
"Participation in the special program also increases the chances of approval, since the objects of the borrower's main activity serve as collateral and he does not need to provide material collateral, which is often required in the framework of classical business lending," the Izvestia interlocutor points out.
As part of the program, borrowers get access to financing without the need to pledge real estate or equipment, confirms Alexey Govyrin. At the same time, an asset is included in the work, which previously often just lay dead on the balance sheet, says Sean Betrozov.
— Many technology and creative companies do not have free real estate to pledge, but they do have a brand, patents, unique software, and copyrights to content. In ordinary lending, these assets were almost ignored. Now the rights can become the main security, which will allow you to take out a loan without securing a personal apartment, surety of relatives, sale of a share to an investor, and so on," the lawyer lists.
At the same time, it is important to understand that the ability to use intellectual property as collateral changes the attitude of a business towards intangible assets, the expert emphasizes.
— A patent or trademark ceases to be just a protection against a competitor. It becomes a lever that can be used in working with banks and investors," he said.
Banks may also be interested in a new lending option, as collateral in the form of registered rights is assessed and recorded in Rospatent, which reduces the risk of non-payment, Govyrin believes. A significant part of the risk is assumed by the regional guarantee fund or a similar structure, so that the bank's real loss is minimal even if the borrower defaults, explains Betrozov.
— In addition, the lender has a chance to build relationships with businesses that are on the rise. High-tech companies and creative industries are growing faster than traditional retail or real estate, but they are often left out in the standard credit pipeline. The bank, which has learned how to work with their intangible assets, gets a new market segment and a promising pool of customers," the source said.
However, it is important to understand that the market for lending secured by intellectual property in Russia today is at the stage of formation, Soldatenkova draws attention. Banks consider the issuance of such loans as a "blue ocean" (unexplored market space), which is associated with increased risks.
— The reason is that the valuation of intangible assets requires more effort than traditional collateral, since intellectual property objects are less liquid, — says the expert.
In this regard, first of all, large players who are already implementing some of the social functions will work with such products, she believes. This may limit the opportunities for borrowers.
— Such lending may be of interest to regional banks, but due to the limited resource base compared to market forwards, SME banks, regional governments and other responsible authorities may need to develop additional tools to involve them. In particular, this may include the expansion of existing instruments, for example, a combination of collateral and guarantees from the region with umbrella guarantees in more risky transactions," Soldatenkova cites the example.
Everyone is at risk
It should be borne in mind that the implementation of the project has its own risks. Moreover, all participants are at risk to one degree or another — the government, banks, and the business itself, warns Sean Betrozov.
The main risk for the state is that the tool will not become widespread, he clarifies. Businesses often consider the registration of rights and the evaluation of intellectual property to be costly procedures, postponing them until the last.
"If the regional teams do not provide sufficient methodological and organizational support, the number of actual transactions will remain small," the expert points out.
For banks, the main problem is the liquidity of the collateral, the lawyer points out. Even if there is a guarantee from the guarantee fund, it is the credit institution that bears reputational risks if the program yields a large percentage of defaults.
— There are also legal risks. In intellectual property relations, complex structures with multiple copyright holders, licenses, and options to purchase a share in the right are often found. If the bank, the fund and experts do not check the chain of transfer of rights, do not take into account hidden restrictions or controversial agreements, the collateral may turn out to be less stable than it seems at the stage of the transaction," explains Betrozov.
The risk of entrepreneurs, in turn, lies in the fact that they lay down an asset around which their entire business is built, the Izvestia interlocutor notes.
— In the event of a severe crisis, management errors, or project failure, an entrepreneur risks losing not only the equipment, but also the very intellectual foundation of the company. For a technology startup, this is actually the end of the project," he emphasizes.
At the same time, it is necessary to keep in mind the risk of lack of information, the expert adds. In regions with a low share of creative and technological economies, the topic of intellectual property loans can be considered as a fashionable but far from practical topic.
"If you don't explain to entrepreneurs in simple words exactly what they need to do to get into the program, it will remain available only to a few advanced teams," warns Betrozov.
However, despite all the risks, the manned instrument can become a significant mechanism to support the development of the country's innovation potential and ensure the growth of innovative products produced by the domestic industry, Mikhail Khachaturian is confident.
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