The European Commission outlines funding criteria for small and medium enterprises in 2025
Comments Off on The European Commission outlines funding criteria for small and medium enterprises in 2025Source: EIT Mobility
The SME Fund 2025 is offering financial assistance for protecting trademarks, designs, patents and plant varieties.
The Ideas Powered for Business SME fund is a European Commission initiative that’s been implemented by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with protecting their intellectual property (IP) rights. To assist them with accessibility and inclusivity challenges it is offering special funding of up to €2,500 until 5th December 2025.
Funding application criteria
Owners, authorised employees or external representatives of SMEs that have been established in the EU are eligible to apply for financial support, with a representative being defined as any third party, whether a legal or natural person, that is duly authorised to represent the SME legally. If companies select an external representative to apply on their behalf, then a “declaration of honour”, signed by both parties, needs to be submitted when completing the electronic application form. All grants will be deposited into the bank account indicated in the application.
Types of funding vouchers
SMEs can receive vouchers of the following amounts for protecting their trade marks, designs, patents and plant varieties:
- Voucher 1: Trade Marks & Designs – €700
- Voucher 2: National Patents and Prior Art Search – €1,000
- Voucher 3: European Patents and Legal Costs – €2,500
- Voucher 4: Community Plant Varieties – €1,500
Evaluation of the submitted applications during the period: weekly cut-off: every Friday.
Evaluation and notification period: 10 working days from cut-off.