Publish an i-DEPOT

Logo idspaceDo you have an idea and are you looking for a potential partner to help develop it into a marketable product? Or do you need funds to execute your plans? If so, it may be useful to make your i-DEPOT public in full or in part on i-D Space: an open-access marketplace, where all public i-DEPOTs can be found.

The opposite is, of course, also the case: if you are looking for interesting ideas yourself, you can also use i-D Space. Read more about i-D Space

Why publish an i-DEPOT?

  • Display your creation
    You want to let everyone know that you are the originator of a creation.

  • Date stamp
    You want to be able to prove on what date your creation existed.

 

  • Find partners
    You want to find partners to finance or help develop your concept, format, software or innovative product.
  • Protection
    By publishing on i-D Space, you want to preclude others from applying for a patent or design right to the contents of your i-DEPOT. Read more about novelty with respect to patents and designs.

Publish your i-DEPOT in four steps

There are several reasons why you might like to publish an i-DEPOT in whole or in part. For example, because you are looking for a financial backer or a partner with whom you can further develop or market your concept, format, software or innovative product.

Choose to publish in full or in part

You can make your i-DEPOT public on i-D Space. This costs 21 euro. You can choose to publish in full or in part:

  • Full publication
    You render the i-DEPOT certificate public in full, including all attached files.
  • Partial publication
    You make one or more of the attached files public. This option is only available for i-DEPOTs submitted on or after 27 September 2016.

If you intend to protect your invention or design against counterfeiting, licensing or sale in future, be aware that making your i-DEPOT public could be prejudicial to the novelty of your invention. Therefore, by going public, you could forfeit future protection by patent or registered design. If you have questions about this, please contact an IP professional.

What else should I bear in mind?

  • If you publish your i-DEPOT on i-D Space, the information rendered public becomes accessible to all.
  • When submitting your i-DEPOT, make a distinction between what you might want to share in the future and what you want to keep secret.

I get it, go to step 2


Specify the reason for publication

  • Describe the content of the information to be made public, the reason why you are making it public and what the commercial opportunities are.
  • Enter your contact details so that interested parties can contact you. This is not mandatory.

Go to step 3


Choose products and services

State the products and services to which your i-DEPOT applies. This is important for the relevance of the i-DEPOT and the ease with which it can be found on i-D Space. You can choose from 34 categories, including art and literature, clothing, chemistry and health and life-saving.

An i-DEPOT is a means of proof. Unlike a trademark, it does not afford you exclusive rights (monopoly). The categorisation of products and services is for information purposes only.

Go to step 4


Publish your i-DEPOT

You can now make your i-DEPOT public:

  • Go to My BOIP;
  • Go to your i-DEPOT overview;
  • Click on the blue link in the i-DEPOT number that you wish to make public. This takes you to the file.
  • Click on the 'Publish i-DEPOT' link on the right-hand side of the screen.

To My BOIP

Need help?

Telephone

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Fr: From 10:00 - 12:00h and 13:00 - 17:00h.
078 052 242 (from Belgium)
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Information Centre

For general information, questions about your trademark or design registration, or about submitting an i-DEPOT.
We are ready for you five days a week.

Frequently Asked Questions about Ideas

Can I also submit an i-DEPOT on paper?

Yes. You can use the i-DEPOT envelope if you do not want to record the concept or idea in an electronic format, or if you are unable or unwilling to pay online. We will send you the i-DEPOT envelope upon receipt of the order form and your payment.

The i-DEPOT envelope comes in two sections. You place an identical document describing or showing your creation as clearly as possible in each of the two sections. You return both envelope sections to BOIP. BOIP will date your i-DEPOT envelope upon receipt. One section will be sent back to you, the second will be stored unopened in our archive. You can obtain this section from BOIP as evidence in the event of a dispute arising. You can only do this once.

Download Order form for i-DEPOT envelope

Can I use i-DEPOT to stop others from using my idea?

No, that is not possible. The i-DEPOT does not give you a monopoly, as a trademark, for instance, would. The i-DEPOT is a form of evidence (PDF with date stamp) that you can use to show when your creation existed. This could be useful in the event of a dispute in which you want to prove that your creation existed earlier.

Does BOIP keep my i-DEPOT confidential?

Yes, by default, we keep your i-DEPOT confidential. You can decide for yourself whether to fully or partially publish an i-DEPOT. Please note: as soon as you publish your i-DEPOT in i-D Space yourself, the information that you have disclosed becomes open to all.

I want to submit an i-DEPOT, but I cannot upload a file. What should I do?

There are two possible causes:

  1. Incorrect file format. Check that your file is in one of the following formats: pdf, jpg, jpeg, png, txt, doc, docx, doc, tif, tiff, xlsx, xls, pptx, ppt, png, gif, bmp, mov, mp3, mp4, m4v, avi, wmv, mpg, psd, wav, m4a, wma, aac, or zip;
  2. File size (MB) exceeded. Check the maximum size of the files you want to upload. You can add one or more files up to a maximum of 100 MB.

If you are still unable to upload files, please contact our Information Centre.

Is my idea or trade secret really secure in an i-DEPOT?

ISO logoYes, your idea or trade secret is absolutely safe in BOIP's i-DEPOT. Protecting your data is of the utmost importance to us. To that end, we have taken appropriate technical and organisational measures to safeguard the availability, integrity and confidentiality of the i-DEPOT.

BOIP is certified compliant with ISO 27001, the international standard for information security. In addition, security audits and penetration tests are performed on a regular basis. The results of these audits show time and time again that we have our information security in good order. Read more about our information security

When an i-DEPOT certificate is issued, your data is secured. The services of a qualified trust service provider are used to sign the electronic i-DEPOT certificate, as required by EU Regulation 910/2014 on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market (eIDAS). i-DEPOT content is not sent anywhere to have the date stamp and signature applied. On the contrary, it remains in a secure (encrypted) environment at BOIP. The end result is a digital certificate, bearing a trustworthy date stamp, that guarantees that the i-DEPOT has not been modified since it was submitted.

BOIP's qualified trust service provider is GlobalSign. GlobalSign complies with an array of independent audits and accreditations, including certification as a qualified Certification Services Provider (CSP) under the ETSI standards and ISO/IEC 27001:2013, ISO 27701:2019 en ISO 27017:2015. An overview of these accreditations and certifications is provided on the GlobalSign website.

Therefore, whatever the content you place in an i-DEPOT, be it an idea, concept or trade secret, you can rest assured that it is held under seal of confidentiality and strictly secured by BOIP.

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