The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) has announced a call for proposals to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the EU in the field of intellectual property. Funding amounting to 20 million euros will be available in the form of four vouchers for various intellectual property services:
- Services for the preliminary examination of intellectual property rights (IP Scan) and the enforcement of intellectual property rights (IP Scan Enforcement) (Voucher 1).
- Trademarks and designs (Voucher 2).
- Patents (Voucher 3).
- Plant variety rights (Voucher 4).
The IP Scan Enforcement service will also be implemented in Slovenia, but the Slovenian Intellectual Property Office will not participate in the IP Scan service. The list of experts providing the IP Scan Enforcement service will be published on the office’s website.
SMEs can apply for one voucher per type of activity, with different co-financing rules depending on the type of activity. The total budget for co-financing measures in 2024 is 20 million euros.
Co-financing for individual types of activities ranges from 50% to 90%, depending on the type of voucher. The maximum voucher amounts per eligible entity are specified for each type of activity.
Applications for the call can be submitted from January 22, 2024, to December 6, 2024. Applicants must register and create a user account before submitting their application.
The call is part of the European Commission’s action plan for intellectual property and is implemented under the SME Fund (Ideas Powered for Business SME Fund). Funding and implementation are carried out in collaboration with national and regional intellectual property offices in the EU.
SOURCE: GOV