Protection of products (goods and services) with trademarks is not only for large corporations. Small or medium-sized enterprises are also increasingly taking into consideration the protection afforded by trademarks; particularly when a specific sign is characteristic of their products. This can help their products strengthen their market position, prevent competitors from using similar signs and perhaps even create space for planned international expansion.

EU offers grant programme to promote intellectual property

Recognising this trend, the European Union is partnering with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) to launch the MSP Ideas Powered for Business grant programme for 2022, which will distribute a total of €16 million to SMEs to support IP protection.

Applicants may be issued a voucher of up to €1,500 for trademark and design protection and €750 for patent protection. Application for vouchers is open from 10 January 2022 until 16 December 2022. Nevertheless, the EUIPO announces in advance that applications will only be accepted up to the allocated budget and will be processed on a first come, first served basis..

How can the voucher be redeemed? Small and medium-sized enterprises with fewer than 250 employees and a turnover of less than €50 million can use the voucher to pay, for instance, part of the costs of filing trademark, design, or patent applications. In case of interest in extending existing protection to other countries, the contribution can be used, for example, to obtain international protection at WIPO. In addition, the IP pre-diagnostics (IP Scan) provided by the Industrial Property Office of the Czech Republic can also be employed. This is up to the amount of the voucher issued by EUIPO.

 Opportunity to save costs

At Deloitte Legal, we see this EU initiative as a good opportunity to save some of the costs of filing fees for trademark applications. We believe that a number of companies are currently considering filing a trademark application or intend to do so presently. This may include, for example, the possibility of obtaining protection for a marking of an upcoming product or an entire new product line. The EU programme offers the possibility of saving some of the costs if timed appropriately.