In December 2020 the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) established the Ideas Powered for Business SME Fund for the provision of financial support to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that wish to develop their strategies in the field of intellectual property and to protect their rights at national, regional and European Union level.

The Fund is an initiative of the European Commission and is available to all companies established in the European Union that meet the official definition of SME, in accordance with EU Recommendation 2003/361, in particular, the following requirements:

Financial support is offered in the form of reimbursement of costs for trademark and design applications and for services for preliminary diagnostics of intellectual property (IP Scan), with a maximum amount of EUR 1,500 per enterprise.

Subject to reimbursement are 50% of the basic application fees for national, regional, and EU trademarks and designs. The fund also covers 75% of the fees for services for preliminary diagnostics of intellectual property offered by the participating national IP offices.

Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises may apply for a grant in the form of an intellectual property voucher only during an open application window in 2021.

1st of March 2021 is the start date of the next designated period during which applications shall be submitted through the electronic application form published on the website of EUIPO.

Тhe application and EUIPO’s grant decision should precede the application of trade marks and / or designs to be reimbursed.

The funds shall be allocated on a “first-come, first-served” basis.