The 2024 edition of the European Union Fund to support the protection of Intellectual Property Rights for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), promoted by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), is scheduled to open on January 22.
This grant program enables SMEs to receive partial reimbursement of expenses incurred for pre-diagnosis of Intellectual Property (IP) – IP Scan, trademarks and design, patents, and plant varieties. In practice, upon application approval, vouchers are issued and can be later activated to partially reimburse fees related to the selected IP modalities.
The estimated budget for this initiative in 2024 is €20 million for vouchers 1 and 2 (IP Scan and Trademarks and Design) and €3 million for vouchers 3 and 4 (patents and plant varieties).
The 2023 edition of this initiative closed on December 8, with 34,800 applications from EU SMEs, representing a 55% growth compared to 2022 (22,479).
Overall, at the European level, 78% of the submitted applications were from companies participating in this initiative for the first time, reflecting a growing interest in intellectual property (IP) among the business sector.
In Portugal, 1,145 applications were submitted to this fund, showing a 64% increase compared to 2022 (700). Most applications were submitted by small-sized companies. The majority of issued vouchers correspond to expenses for registering trademarks and designs. Start-ups lead in terms of the type of applying companies.
The recent edition of the SME Fund allowed a reimbursement of up to 75% of the national patent application fees, up to a maximum of €1,500 per beneficiary SME.
Additionally, it was possible to request reimbursement of 75% of expenses for filing one or more applications for registration of Trademarks and Designs or Models (application fees) within the EU or 50% of expenses for international trademark and design applications, up to a maximum of €1,000; a reimbursement of 90% of expenses for pre-diagnosis of IP services (IP Scan), up to a maximum of €810 per company in Portugal; and a reimbursement of 50% of the fee for applications for protected plant varieties within the community scope.
The overall objective of this measure by the European Commission, implemented by the EUIPO, is to facilitate a faster recovery of the European Union’s economy and greater resilience among SMEs.
