28 April, 2023
Benefits of IP
The European Commission and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) have launched an extension of the 2023 EU SME Fund, which offers intellectual property vouchers for EU-based small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). With SMEs accounting for 99% of businesses and providing around three-quarters of jobs in the EU, it’s essential that they protect their intangible assets with a flexible intellectual property toolbox in order to attract investment and scale up.
For the first time, the 2023 SME Fund will also cover EU level patents and community plant variety protection to stimulate innovation and investment. It will help breeders to develop more drought and pest-resistant crops and other plants and thus contribute to the EU’s green transition and food security.
The 2023 SME Fund will also support EU SMEs in their recovery from the economic crisis caused first by the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. The new EU SME Fund, with its budget of €27.1 million, will offer the following services:
- reimburse 90% of the fees charged by EU countries supporting IP Scan services
- reimburse 75% of the fees charged by intellectual property offices (including national and regional intellectual property offices and the European Union Intellectual Property Office); reimburse 50 % of the fees charged by the World Intellectual Property Office for obtaining international trade mark and design protection
- reimburse 75% of the fees charged by national patent offices and the European Patent Office for the registration of patents
- 50% of the application fees charged by the Community Plant Variety Office for the registration of new plant varieties
Read the full article here.