Grant funding for small and medium-sized enterprises in 2023 – protect your trademark

The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) has announced a grant for intellectual property protection in 2023.

Intellectual property? What is it?

All creations of the human mind, such as inventions, literary and artistic works, symbols that we use in some way in commercial turnover, can fall into the category of intellectual property. 

If you are doing business in any way, you are certainly using brand. A brand is the symbol that distinguishes you from your competitors. Industrial design is the appearance of a product. 

Why is intellectual property protection necessary?

The only way to protect your business from unfair use and copying of your ideas is through their registration at national, European or global level. It is precisely in order to promote the protection of intellectual property, SME fund grants funds for the third consecutive year.

Grants from the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Fund in 2023

The assistance is provided in the form of vouchers with the aim of refund of a percentage of fees for registration of an intellectual property object. Vouchers are of several types:

1. The first voucher represents a refund of 90% of the costs incurred for the preliminary diagnosis of the site up to the amount of 1350 euros.
2. The second voucher covers up to 75 % of trademark and design registration fees at regional, European and international level for a maximum of 1000 euros. 
3. The third voucher covers national and European patents and restores again 75 % of the expenses incurred up to the amount of 1500 euros.

Who can apply for the program?

∙ Every micro, small and medium-sized enterpriseestablished in the European Union is eligible to apply.

∙ Even if you received a grant from the Fund in 2022, you may you are applying again this year.

How do I apply?

The program is related to checklist of documents that must be properly prepared in order to obtain the funds. Given the responsibility that must be taken to achieve success, you can count on our assistance in their preparation and communication with the EU Office. 

It is important to note that in order to use the vouchers, you must first wait for the EUIPO to respond with a decision to award grants, as well as to implement the given instructions.   

When will they refund my money?

Once you receive a decision from the EUIPO that you are approved for the program for your chosen voucher, the so-called “activation period” begins. To do this, you must register your trademark, design or patent and then request a refund, which will be made directly to your SME’s bank account.

How long can I join the program?

The application platform will be open from January 23 to December 15, 2023, which means you can join at any time within this period. Our advice is to do so as soon as possible, as funds will be limited until exhausted and are allocated in the order of application. 

The Fund in 2023 provides for shorter deadlines compared to last year, which will allow faster refund for the applicants. In view of our previous successes on the application and allocation procedure, and also with increased fund budget, we guarantee you 100% saving your effort and money.