Ideas Powered for Business SME Fund - Intellectual property vouchers

Following the successful implementation of the 2021 SME Fund pilot initiative, the EUIPO, in partnership with the European Commission (EC), signed a Contribution Agreement to implement the multiannual 2022-2024 SME Fund initiative under the EU Single Market Programme. Ideas Powered for Business SME Fund aims to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in protecting their intellectual property (IP) rights.

Objectives and Priorities

The SME Fund seeks to:

•  Assist SMEs in accessing IP services, including:
  o    Pre-diagnostic services (IP Scan)
  o    Trademark and design registration
  o    Patent protection
  o    Plant variety rights
• Enhance the competitiveness of SMEs by facilitating the protection of their innovations.

Eligible IP Activities: 

The Fund offers financial support through vouchers for the following activities:

• Voucher 1: Covers services such as IP Scan, with a maximum grant of up to EUR 1,350 per beneficiary.
• Voucher 2: Supports trademark and design registration, with a maximum grant of up to EUR 700 per beneficiary.
• Voucher 3: Aims at patent protection, offering up to EUR 3,500 - divided in different categories - per beneficiary.
• Voucher 4: Supports plant variety rights, with a maximum grant of up to EUR 1,500 per beneficiary.

The vouchers are valid for a limited period of time. Therefore, SMEs are encouraged to only apply for a voucher when they are ready to implement one of the eligible activities covered by the voucher. If vouchers are awarded, the eligible activities must be initiated within a specific limited time following the award notification, and a request for reimbursement must be submitted before the voucher expires

Available Budget and Funding Rules: 

The total budget for this call is EUR 18 million. Funding is provided in the form of non-repayable grants (vouchers) that co-finance the eligible IP activities.

Timetable

Applications are open from February 3, 2025, to December 5, 2025. Evaluations occur weekly - every Friday - with notifications sent to applicants within 10 working days from each cut-off.

Eligibility 

The Fund is open only to SMEs established in the European Union or in Ukraine. ‘Small and medium-sized enterprise (SME)’ is defined in Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC of 6 May 2003 concerning the definition of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. 

In the online application form (eForm), applicants will have to declare their compliance with the above set of rules and will be requested to upload a recent value-added tax (VAT) or national taxpayer registration (TIN) extract from the competent national authority.

For detailed information and application guidelines, please refer to the official call document.