Property rights such as trademarks, designs, and patents are powerful economic tools: they help companies to make their products stand out from the competition and to strengthen their position in the market. This can be invaluable when searching for investors, negotiating partnerships, or branching into new markets.
The European Commission and European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) have now launched an extension of their SME Fund “Ideas Powered for Business” to promote innovative companies and support them in protecting their ideas with IP rights and establishing themselves on the market (see also C&F blog from February 2, 2022). Companies that already submitted an application in 2023 can apply for funding again from January 22, 2024, until December 13, 2024.
“More and more companies are realizing that intellectual property is an asset. The SME Fund promotes this awareness and an understanding of the importance of IP rights,” says Svenja Schwandt, patent attorney at Cohausz & Florack. Registering and maintaining IP rights means a considerable financial investment, especially for small companies. The SME Fund offers these companies financial assistance in the form of grants for trademark and design applications as well as patent applications.
“Over 35,000 applications were filed last year,” says Tamara Moll, attorney-at-law at Cohausz & Florack. “We are pleased on behalf of our small and medium-sized clients in particular that the fund has been relaunched in 2024, as well as for the start-ups we advise in our start-up consultation service (start-up consultation service: COHAUSZ & FLORACK (cohausz-florack.de)).
You can find further information on the SME Fund 2024 at EUIPO – SME Fund (europa.eu).
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