Patent and Trademark Registration Grants in Spain: SME Fund

Did you know that until December 6, 2024 you can apply for grants to register patents and trademarks? The program is called Ideas Powered for Business SME Fund (SME Fund) and is part of the European Commission, although it is managed by the European Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) to financially support small and medium-sized companies in the EU in the protection of intellectual and industrial property rights. In this article we tell you what the SME Fund consists of, who can apply for the aid, what requirements must be met, and what steps must be followed to obtain it.

What does the aid consist of?

The aid is materialized in the issuance of bonds to the beneficiary companies to partially cover the cost of the application fees for intellectual and industrial property rights.

Specifically, several bonds have been established:

• Bond 1. IP Scan in the countries of the participating offices. Covers 90% reimbursement.
• Bond 2. Focused on covering trademark and design fees and has a maximum amount of 1,000 euros. It consists of:
  • The reimbursement of 75% of the national, regional and EU fee.
  • Reimbursement of 50% of the fee at international level.

• Bond 3. It is focused on patents and has a maximum amount of 3,500 euros. It consists of:
  • The reimbursement of 75% of the cost of a prior art search report.
  • The reimbursement of 75% of the national protection fee in an EU State.
  • The reimbursement of 75% of the fee for the filing and search of patents filed in EPO (European Patent Office).
  • Reimbursement of 50% of the legal cost of drafting and filing patent applications at European level (with a maximum of 2,000 euros).
• Bond 4. Plant variety protection. You have European scale and the reimbursement is 75%.

Bond 3 has been exhausted so, for the moment, it cannot be applied for, but it is important to periodically visit the fund’s website to find out if it is available again.

The bonds have a duration of two months and can be extended for another two months by means of an express request for extension. If a voucher is requested and expires, another one cannot be requested in the same call for applications, it will be necessary to wait for the next call for applications.

Who can claim reimbursement?

SME stands for Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In order for a company to apply for these grants, it must be an SME and must meet a number of requirements:

In the case of companies that are part of a group, data from that group must be considered.

In addition, the applicant companies must not be beneficiaries of other European Union aid for the same or a part of the same activity.

Steps to apply for SME Fund grants

The steps to receive the aforementioned reimbursements are as follows:

• Submission of the grant application. The application period is from January 22 to December 6, 2024. The application can be submitted by:
  • The owner of the company.
  • An employee.
  • An authorized external representative on behalf of the company.

The documents to be submitted are as follows:

• VAT certificate of the company. If you are self-employed you can present the registration in the Special Regime for Self-Employed Workers (RETA).
• Bank statement of the company showing the details of the company as account holder, the IBAN number complete with the country code and the BIC/SWIFT code.
• In the case of acting through an external representative, an affidavit signed by the owner or authorized employee of the SME must be submitted.
• Application for registration of the patent, trademark or industrial design. Remember that registration cannot be requested until EUIPO has issued its decision on the grant.
• Proof of the application for the patent, trademark or design registration that justifies the request for assistance.
• The reimbursement is received in the applicant company’s bank account.

It is important to remember that funds are limited and are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. In the event that the funds are exhausted before December 6, 2024, the reception of new applications may be closed.

If you want to protect your industrial and intellectual property rights, it is important that you are aware of these grants. In LEIALTA we have a team of experts in patents and trademarks, if you need help from professionals in the field, do not hesitate to contact us, we will analyze your case and carry out all the procedures to apply for protection and request the aid to the EUIPO.