The Commission and EUIPO launched the new EU SME Fund with a budget of €47 million, which offers vouchers for EU-based SMEs to support them protect their IPRs.

The Fund will offer the following support:

• Reimburse 90% of the fees charged by Member States for IP Scan services, which provide a broad assessment of the IP needs of the applying SME, considering the innovative potential of its intangible assets;
• Reimburse 75% of the fees charged by IP offices (including national IPOs, EUIPO and BOIP) for TM and design registration;
• Reimburse 50% of the fees charged by the WIPO for obtaining international TM and design protection;
• Reimburse 50% of the fees charged by national patent offices for the registration of patents in 2022;
• From 2023, further services could be covered (e.g. partial reimbursement of the costs of the patent prior art search and patent filing application; private IP advice charged by IP attorneys for patent registration, licensing agreements, IP valuation, ADR costs, etc.)

The call is open until 16 December 2022 and can be consulted on the EUIPO website. Applications will be examined on a first come, first served basis.

At the EU Industry Days a special session on 11 February 2022 will be dedicated to the SME Fund where experts managing the Fund will answer questions and provide a practical guide on how to apply for the different services. The session can be followed remotely by subscribing to the EU Industry Days.

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Following the special focus on SMEs by the European Commission and the EUIPO, ECTA established the ECTA SME Task Force in 2021 to assist our Association in taking active part in the EU debate and activities related to SMEs. ECTA aims to contribute to more and better use of IP by SMEs as well as to highlight the relevant role of IP practitioners in bringing this about.