The European Commission has launched its SME Fund 2025. Running from 3 February 2025 to 5 December 2025, the fund, which can be accessed through the EU IPO, provides financial support for small and medium sized enterprises in the EU towards the protection of IP rights including trade marks and designs. The fund aims to foster innovation and encourage more SMEs to take advantage of the services available from the EU IPO.
For trade marks and designs:
- The scheme offers a 75% reimbursement of national/regional EU trade mark and/or design application fees, additional class fees, examination, registration, publication and deferment of publication fees.
- It also offers a 50% reimbursement of trade mark and/or design basic application fees, designation fees, and subsequent designation fees outside the EU.
- Each SME is entitled to a reimbursement of up to a maximum of €700 towards the protection of its trade marks and/or designs.
The SME Fund 2025 is available to all SMEs in the EU, including those which have previously utilised the scheme.
The fund is accessed by setting up an account at the EU IPO and applying through an online portal. The application can be submitted by a business owner, employee or an authorised external representative acting on their behalf.
Once a grant is awarded, the recipient has one month from the date of receipt of the Grant Decision to initiate their IP activities or to extend the voucher’s expiry date (if required). The voucher can then be used to claim a reimbursement of the fees. Once activated, a recipient has 6 months to request reimbursements for eligible fees incurred during the trade mark and/or design registration process.
