Moreover, it is difficult to accept that filing and maintaining a patent costs six times as much in Europe as it does in the United States. In 1997, the Commission will, therefore, prepare a Green Paper on the issue of Community patents. The Commission will also set up a help line for participants in Community research programmes. The Commission invites the Member States to set up instruments for assisting SMEs and universities in the event of legal disputes, to heighten the awareness of SMEs and to develop appropriate training. The burden of administrative measures has already been eased at national and Community level.
Further action is required in particular to simplify the formalities for starting up a business.
Awarding grants for innovation should also be made simpler. On this last point, the coordination and rationalization of support structures are intended to help SMEs understand how to direct their applications. Financing for innovation Financing was one of the main priorities identified in the debate on the Green Paper. The Commission's Action Plan on this issue is guided by three objectives. The first is to encourage investment in venture capital and equity, in particular for start-up investment and for rapidly expanding innovative enterprises that are a source of job creation.