Active for many years in the field of characterisation of fluid and granular leaks, the Hydraulics department of the Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) unit of the UCL has developed recognised international expertise. In 1998, the Louis de Waele prize, awarded annually by the FNRS to a researcher for the quality of his research in the civil engineering field, was awarded to Hervé Capart, then FNRS candidate within the CEE Unit.
Spin-off of the UCL created in 2001, Xylowatt has been constantly developing its collaboration with its original laboratory. Several research studies have been led jointly, and among these the development of a gasification technology for the countries of the South.
Hoping to stimulate innovation (or seeming to do so) the law grants a tax deduction of 80% on income from new patents. The texts are found in articles 205/1 to 205/4 of the Income Tax Code.
The 80% deduction is open to every Belgian company and every Belgian establishment of a foreign company, whatever its sector of activity, even if the initial application was from the pharmaceutical industry.
Income from patents or additional protection certificates which make it possible, for drugs and for phytopharmaceutical products, to extend the protection, which otherwise would not exist, without purpose, have the right to the deduction only during the period required to obtain the marketing authorisations. We are talking about patents, while observing – and deploring – that the Belgian law does not cover other intellectual rights.
The right to the deduction extends to patents belonging, possibly in joint ownership, to the company that has developed them totally or partially in a Belgian or foreign research centre. It also extends to rights acquired or licensed from third parties, but improved in such a centre.
The law demands that the research centre constitutes a branch of activity, which would appear to mean a centre equipped with a certain level of autonomy, and not the traditional “garage”, and in any case excludes development entrusted entirely to third parties. This requirement seems disproportionate, even discriminatory, in relation to a legitimate desire to avoid abuse.
Only new patents are eligible, defined as those that have not been used before 1st January 2007 for the marketing of goods and services on the market.
The deduction will benefit the licence income, but not the selling price: it is therefore better to lease than to sell. It does not benefit the share of income corresponding to other things than the patents. It also benefits from the share of the sales price of goods or services produced or provided by means of the patent, which corresponds to the fee that a third party pays to have the right to produce or provide them himself; an early decision would be useful in determining this theoretical share.
Eliminating abuse: in the event of special relations, the eligible income is limited to the “arm’s-length” amount, to the full amount. In any case it is limited to their net amount after deducting the correlative charges, namely the amortisation of the purchase price (but not the cost of development) or the licensing fee. Be aware that neither eligible income nor the cost of fees to be excluded include the “contributions to the real costs of research and development that are borne”, according to the case, by the company or by the third party.
The deduction is equal to 80% of eligible income, which is then taxed at 33.99% *20% = 6.8%. If the income has been taxed abroad, this rate will also be the threshold for imputation of any fixed share of foreign tax. Technically, the deduction is made after the deduction of dividends received and before the deduction of notional interest or losses, which is fortunate because excesses cannot be deferred.
Income from patents: 100
Deduction for patent income (80)
Tax base: 20
Corporate Tax (33.99%) (6.8)
Net income after tax (100 – 6.8) = 93.2
This relatively simple and clear measure is part of quite a nice legislative arsenal 1, assuring a certain attraction to Belgium for multinational companies.
The Université catholique de Louvain this year presented 4 First Spin-Off projects to the Directorate General of Technology, Research and Energy (DGTRE) of the Walloon Region, and 2 Spin-Off in Brussels projects to the Institut d’encouragement de la Recherche Scientifique et de l’Innovation de Bruxelles (IRSIB).
These two support programmes to the creation of spin-offs work on the basis of a competition, within the framework of which scientific excellence, the existence of a potential market and the motivation of the team with a view to developing the results of their research are the key criteria for success.
For the year 2008, the success rate of the UCL deserves to be highlighted, since all the projects submitted to the DGTRE and the IRSIB (6 in total) were accepted. As a reminder, First Spin-Off and Spin-Off in Brussels projects have the objective of studying technical and economic feasibility prior to the assembly of a spin-off company, by financing the salary of a researcher-business owner and the costs of operation and training for a period of 2 years (renewable twice for one year).
Il y a bientôt 12 ans, NeuroTECH, une joint-venture entre l’UCL et des entrepreneurs privés, a été créée avec l’ambition de devenir un acteur majeur de la neurotechnologie en Europe. La neurotechnologie utilise des appareils pour étudier le système nerveux ainsi que des dispositifs électroniques pour le stimuler. NeuroTECH s’est agrandie au fil des années et compte aujourd’hui neuf personnes ainsi que plusieurs consultants. Son administrateur délégué, Michel Troosters est un passionné de sciences et de haute technologie qui nourrit l’ambition de voir la Belgique être l’initiatrice d’un progrès mondial. Michel Troosters est aujourd’hui accompagné de quatre ingénieurs, un médecin et des assistants administratifs pour progresser dans la mise au point de neurostimulateurs implantables.
At the time of launching Alterface in 2001, Xavier Marichal and Benoit Cornet did not suspect that a few years later this spin-off company from the Université Catholique de Louvain would be highly regarded, from the United States to China via Saudi Arabia, for its interactive films!
How do you go from a research project for an original system likened to a “magic mirror”, to families enjoying themselves at theme parks? It is all in the concept: immersing visitors in a virtual world with which they can interact. After an ongoing market analysis, an ever clearer vision of its evolution, and many and varied experiences, Alterface identified what was going to become the success that now mobilises 25 people. This application which, starting from Louvain la Neuve, is now doing a world tour, is Interactive Cinema.
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The "Little Breakfast Meetings" of Sopartec were born in December 2007. The purpose of these meetings is to promote reconciliation between the people involved in the process of upgrading academic research and create synergies within the project spin-off from the UCL by the establishment of a platform for informal contacts. The success of "Little Breakfast Meetings" shows a need to exchange ideas and experiences to build on them. |
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Koenraad DEBACKERE
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Rudy AERNOUDT
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We were pleased to welcome Koen Debackere - General Manager KUL - and Rudy Aernoudt to host the 3rd breakfast meeting: "Enrichment and publication: a winning combination? . Their intervention has shed light on the role of technology transfer and issues for the development of our regions. Scientific studies show that researchers involved in the recovery are also those who publish the most. Extensive debate, which you can find their report attached!
To read ...
Mark Mawhinney – General Manager - Isis Enterprise - Université d'Oxford
Paul Whyte – Senior Consultant - Isis Enterprise - Université d'Oxford
Frédéric Ooms – Senior Patent & Licensing Manager - Sopartec sa
Sopartec est la société de transfert de technologie et d’investissements de l’Université catholique de Louvain. Sopartec est chargée, en collaboration avec l’administration de la recherche, de la gestion de la propriété intellectuelle de l’université
Les « Petits-Déjeuners Rencontres » de la Sopartec sont nés en décembre 2007. L’objectif de ces rencontres est de favoriser le rapprochement des personnes impliquées dans le processus de valorisation de la recherche universitaire
