The European Commission recently announced the creation of the European Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Support Fund, for protection of intellectual property rights.

Implemented by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), this fund is intended as an incentive for SMEs to monetize their intellectual property assets by developing strategies to protect their rights at the national, regional, or European level.

In the digital era, it is essential for companies to protect their assets, including trademarks, designs, patents, institutional identities, products, services, and processes, by preventing them from being copied or used without authorization.

The applications to the Fund run until December 16th, 2022. Funds are limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.

The SME Fund is a repayment program which issues vouchers that can be used to partially cover the fees for selected activities:

A) The available vouchers available of:

(i) €1.500,00 for fees related to the IP pre-diagnostic, trademarks, logos and designs
(ii) €750.00 for patent fees

B) The refund will be

(i) 75% of the fees for filing one or more trademark and design applications within the EU
(ii) 50% of the value of the national patent application fees
(iii) 50% of the value of the application fees for international trademarks and designs
(iv) 90% of the expenses with IP pre-diagnostic services

This is a great opportunity for SMEs to invest in the area of intellectual property and benefit of a reduction in the costs associated with registration.

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