The second window of the Ideas Powered for Business SME Fund is open from 1 March (today) until 31 March.

The Fund is a €20 million grant scheme to help European SMEs access their IP rights. It is supported by the European Commission and EUIPO.

Applications can be made for funding towards IP pre-diagnostic services available at participating national and regional IP offices and/or trade mark and design applications. Each SME that applies can be reimbursed up to €1,500.

Full information about eligibility and how to apply is available on EUIPO’s website here. Grants are awarded on a first come, first served basis.

Professional representatives

In response to requests from user associations, the possibility of a professional IP representatives acting for the SME, and requesting the funding in their name, is included in the new window.

Five windows

This is the second of five windows for applications that will be open in alternate months until September 2021.

During the first window from 11 January to 31 January, nearly 1200 European SMEs from all EU Member States received financial assistance: 2,944 services (IP scans and trade mark and design fees) were requested and grants amounting to almost €700,000 were requested for all available services. Micro-SMEs constituted 79% of applicants, and many applicants were new to IP protection.

The launch of the Fund was reported in the January issue of the HouseMARQUES newsletter.