On Monday 10 January, the European Commission and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) announced the launch of a new €47 million European fund for SMEs called “Ideas Powered for Business”, to help them protect their intellectual property rights.
More specifically, this fund aims to support SMEs based in the EU in the context of post-coronavirus recovery and the dual green and digital transition. The fund will be available from 2022 to 2024.
It will reimburse: - 90% of the fees charged by Member States for IP scan services (intellectual property pre-diagnostic services); - 75% of the fees charged by intellectual property offices for the registration of trademarks and designs; - 50% of the fees charged by the World Intellectual Property Organization for obtaining international trademark and design protection; - 50% of the fees charged by national patent offices for patent registration in 2022.
The Fund will be implemented by the EUIPO. It should be noted that according to the Office’s website, funding is available on a “first-come, first-served” basis.
For more information: https://bit.ly/3F6TSh7 (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)