Support for small and medium-sized enterprises

We touched on the entire SME Fund project in our previous text on this topic. It should be recalled that the SME Ideas Powered for Business Fund is an initiative of the European Commission, implemented by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). The fund allows small and medium-sized enterprises to obtain subsidies for intellectual property protection. Through various types of subsidies that guarantee the return of a specific amount spent in connection with the registration of e.g. a trademark, the Fund enables small and medium-sized enterprises to protect intellectual property at a high level, while ensuring the reduction of costs for these enterprises.

New types of subsidies

Initially, the Fund offered only two types of funding: initial intellectual property diagnostics (IP Scan) and filing of trademarks and designs at the national, regional, EU, and international levels. However, from April 24, 2023, EUIPO has decided to offer additional types of funding in the form of vouchers that can be used under the Fund. In addition to the two existing types of funding, the program now also includes:

1. Patent registration
2. Registration under the Community plant variety protection program

The first of the new types of funding concerns supporting small and medium-sized enterprises in the process of registering patents at the national and EU levels. At the EU level, it concerns the reimbursement of costs related to the registration itself and the related coverage of any eligible patent fees. At the national level, the scope of funding is expanding - it also covers patent purity testing. At both levels, the amount of funding is the same - 75% of the costs of the entire process, but this amount cannot exceed EUR 1,500.

Another type of subsidy proposed by EUIPO is assistance in covering fees for applying for Community plant variety protection. This voucher is valid only at the EU level - its amount can cover a maximum of 50% of the costs of the entire registration process and cannot exceed EUR 225 in total.

Eligibility requirements for the SME Fund

To qualify for the SME program, a company must meet the following requirements:

The company must fall into the category of small or medium-sized enterprise. In Poland, such entities will be sole proprietorships or commercial law companies, employing less than 250 employees and whose annual turnover does not exceed EUR 50 million or the total balance sheet during the year does not exceed EUR 43 million.

The registered office of the company must be located in the European Union - countries belonging to the European Free Trade Association are not eligible for the program.

The SME Fund is a great opportunity to improve the level of protection of your intellectual property rights. If your company meets the required criteria, please contact us at https://www.trademarkia.pl/pl - we will be happy to help you go through the funding application process!