Applications reopened for vouchers 3 and 4 of the SME Fund

This financial support mechanism provides partial reimbursement for expenses related to applications for national and european  patents, and plant varieties.

Applications for vouchers 3 and 4 had been suspended on 10 February due to the exhaustion of the funds initially allocated to these types of support. Vouchers for expenses related to IP Scan and IP Scan Enforcement services, as well as trademarks and designs at the national, regional, European, and international levels, remain available.

In total, the SME Fund offers four types of vouchers, which can be used by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to request reimbursement for various activities related to intellectual property protection, namely:

• Voucher 1 – Covers eligible costs of IP Scan and IP Scan Enforcement services, with a reimbursement of up to €810 in Portugal (in other EU Member States, the reimbursement may go up to €1,350).

• Voucher 2 – Covers eligible costs for trademarks and designs at national, regional, European, and international levels, up to a maximum amount of €700.

• Voucher 3 – Covers eligible costs for national patent applications (up to €1,000) and European patent applications (up to €1,000); as well as expenses related to the drafting and filing of European patent applications with the EPO, up to a maximum of €1,500.

• Voucher 4 – Covers eligible application and online examination fees for community plant varieties rights, up to a maximum of €1,500.

Applications will remain open until 5 December or until the allocated funds for each voucher type are exhausted.