03/02/25 (Agence Europe) – On Monday 3 February, the European Commission and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) launched the 2025 edition of the SME Fund. This provides assistance to SMEs wishing to register their patents or industrial property. SMEs will be eligible for grants of up to €1,500 to cover the legal costs of preparing their patent application. In 2024, most of the beneficiaries of the SME Fund used it to register or protect their intellectual property for the first time. Since the first edition of the Fund in 2021, more than 72,000 SMEs have received financial support, according to the Commission. (LM)