The "Ideas Powered for business SME Fund" is a financial assistance programme to support the intellectual property rights of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the EU. The SME Fund is a European Commission initiative implemented by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). The SME Fund is managed by the EUIPO in cooperation with the European Commission. 2023 was the third year of the Fund, which offers intellectual property vouchers for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the EU. 25 million was made available in 2023. For the first time in 2023, the SME Fund also covered EU patents and Community plant variety rights to promote innovation and investment.
The EUIPO's SME Fund provides support by refunding up to 75% of application fees. Trademark, design, patent and plant variety applications as well as novelty searches are eligible for funding. The programme is implemented in cooperation with the national patent offices. Applications can be submitted via an online form after registering in the user portal. Information can be found at: https://www.euipo.europa.eu/de/discover-ip/sme-fund/how-to-apply/no-ip-scan
2024 programme started
The 2024 programme of the SME Fund has started and applications are possible as off now. As a specialised financial support mechanism, the SME Fund is designed to help EU companies protect their intellectual property rights. The fund is committed to providing economic support to EU-based companies to help them secure and manage their intellectual property.