SME Fund 2024: applications closed

The 2024 edition of the European Union (EU) Fund to support the protection of Industrial Property Rights of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), promoted by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), closed today for new applications.

However, users whose applications have already been approved will be able to continue the reimbursement process during the established deadlines.

This scheme has allowed SMEs to be partially reimbursed for the costs incurred with Industrial Property (IP) pre-diagnosis - IP Scan/IP Scan Enforcement, trademarks and design, patents and plant varieties.

This year more than 31.000 SMEs in the European Union have joined this initiative. In Portugal, there were approximately 1,000 applications, the majority of which were micro-enterprises.

In total, the SME Fund had 21.3 million euros available to support SMEs in 2024: 20 million euros for vouchers 1 and 2 (IP Scan/IP Scan Enforcement, trade mark, design or model), 1.1 million euros for voucher 3 (patents) and 200,000 euros for voucher 4 (Community plant varieties).

In 2025, the initiative is scheduled to reopen at the end of February.