SME Fund 2025: Applications open for the Intellectual Property Support

The support provided by the EU Fund consists of vouchers for the partial reimbursement of fees for the protection of intellectual property rights, as a way for SMEs, which represent 99 per cent of companies and are responsible for around three quarters of employment in the EU, to protect their intangible assets, attract investment and expand.

The 2025 edition has the same type of support as previous editions and also the possibility of reimbursing legal costs for drafting and registering European Patents and IP Scan Enforcement (in countries with participating Offices).

In particular, SMEs can apply for each of the following reimbursement vouchers:

• Voucher 1: IP Scan and IP Scan Enforcement at national level (90% reimbursement, up to €810 in Portugal);

• Voucher 2: Trademark and Design Protection at national, regional and EU level (75% reimbursement) and Trademark and Design Protection at international level (50% reimbursement), up to €700 in Portugal;

• Voucher 3: National and European patent applications (75% reimbursement of fees – covers eligible costs for national patent applications, up to 1,000 euros, and European patent applications, up to 1,000 euros; as well as costs incurred in drafting and filing European patent applications with the EPO up to a maximum of 1,500 euros)

• Voucher 4: Protection of Plant Varieties at European Union level (75% reimbursement, up to 1,500 euros).