Now it’s official: Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will probably be able to receive support in registering trademarks for the last time until December 6, 2024: The SME fund offers financial support in the development of strategies for intellectual property and the protection of rights . SMEs can benefit from an EU grant of up to €1,000 for trademark and design registrations. In this article we will show you what needs to be taken into account. So let’s get to the brand…
Funding goal
The SME Fund Program 2024 aims to promote the official fees of trademark and design registrations in Germany, EU and/or even internationally.
While you can look forward to a refund of 75% of the official fees for trademark/design applications in the EU (EUIPO) and Germany (DPMA), you can also expect a 50% refund for international applications (WIPO). However, the refund is always limited to €1000.
Please note: The funding does not include the reimbursement of legal fees. Furthermore, the voucher can only be used for new trademark registrations.
Eligibility to apply
As already mentioned, small and medium-sized companies should be supported. Accordingly, self-employed people, founders, start-ups and companies based in the EU with a size of up to 249 employees and an annual turnover of less than 50 million euros can look forward to the funding opportunity.
The following companies can be classified as SMEs:
Small businesses: If you have already received SME funding in the last few years, you are twice as lucky: you will have the opportunity to apply for funding again.
Application process & Co.
1. Validity
Those eligible can usually expect a decision on their funding application within about 2 weeks.
However, the voucher must also be redeemed almost as quickly, as it expires after another 2 months if the extension option (for a further 6 months) has not been used. Once the deadline has passed, any remaining credit no longer exists as a payout is not possible.
The official application period for SME funding ends on December 6th, 2024.
2. Process of funding and trademark registration
In order to receive funding, you must first collect all the necessary documents and then submit them to the EUIPO as part of the funding application.
Once the funding application and the underlying financial aid are approved, the trademark or design application must be submitted to the responsible office. The official fees for registration must first be paid in full by the applicant. Only after completing these two steps can the third step be applied for reimbursement of official fees, which is usually refunded to the applicant’s account within 30 days.
3. Required documents
In order to apply for SME funding, the following information and documents are required: The company must be classified as an SME and name the business object in the application. Furthermore, a current account statement must be attached as a PDF file, which must contain the following information: name of the company as account holder, full IBAN number with country code and BIC/SWIFT code and the name of the bank. However, bookings and amounts can be blacked out or anonymized on the account statement.
In addition, a certificate from the Federal Central Tax Office with the assignment of the VAT number, also as a PDF file, must be enclosed with the documents. If the applicant is exempt from sales tax, the tax identification number (tax ID) must be provided instead.
Tip: Further information on the topic of brand promotion can be found on the EUIPO website here.
Conclusion: It’s worth being quick!
The application period for SME funding does not officially end until the beginning of December 2024, but the funding can be closed early if the budget is exhausted. In order to benefit from SME funding for the last time, speed is required.
Interested in registering a trademark?
If not now, then when…Yes – we also register trademarks! For everyone – and anyone who wants to register a trademark safely and even free of charge and is or wants to become a client for our protection packages, we have the following offer:
For our new and existing clients in matters We do not charge a fee for protection packages under the following circumstances when registering a German trademark:
– For new clients: Anyone who decides to take advantage of one of our protection packages and chooses a minimum term of at least 12 months (mandatory in the Unlimited package) will receive one (1) trademark registration on top once per year. This means checking the registrability of a German trademark and carrying out the registration and payment procedures without charging our usual fee. The applicable official fees are of course excluded from this and will continue to be borne by the trademark applicant. Interest? Click here for our protection packages.
– For existing clients: Anyone who is already a client of the IT law firm and receives one of our protection packages and is only now deciding on a minimum term of 12 months (or had already decided on a minimum term (obligatory in the Unlimited package) when booking the package), He should also benefit from this regulation on de-trademark registration and receive the above advice on trademark registration free of charge. Interest?
Then please contact the lawyer at the IT law firm responsible for you or [email protected].
You can find out more about the included trademark registration in this article.
Tip: Do you have any questions about the article? Please feel free to discuss this with us in the
Entrepreneur group of the IT law firm on Facebook.