Applications are now open for the new edition of the European Union Fund supporting the protection of Intellectual Property Rights for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).
This grant scheme provides SMEs with partial reimbursement of expenses related to Industrial Property (IP) pre-diagnosis (IP Scan/IP Scan Enforcement), trademarks and designs, patents, and plant varieties.
In practice, upon approval of the application, vouchers are issued, which can later be activated to obtain partial reimbursement of fees for the selected categories.
For 2024, the support is provided through distinct vouchers, depending on the type of activity intended. The reimbursable amount for each voucher is determined according to the terms of each submitted application and based on the following percentages:
- Voucher 1: IP Scan and IP Scan Enforcement at the national level (90% reimbursement of costs).
- Voucher 2: Protection of Trademarks and Designs at the national, regional, and EU level (75% reimbursement of fees), and protection of Trademarks and Designs at the international level (50% reimbursement of fees).
- Voucher 3:
- Protection of Patents at the national level (75% reimbursement of fees).
- Application fees and prior search at the European level (75% reimbursement).
- Legal costs for drafting and filing European Patents (up to 50% reimbursement or €2,000 if submitted by a professional representative from the European Patent Office (EPO) list). - Voucher 4: Protection of Plant Varieties at the EU level (75% reimbursement of fees).
This new edition of the Support Fund will allow SMEs to submit applications throughout the year, specifically until 6 December 2024.
