The BCCI took part in a meeting with Andrea Di Carlo, Deputy Executive Director of the EUIPO

The Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, being an employer organization that supports and promotes the development and protection of the intellectual property of its members, participated in the meeting with Andrea Di Carlo, Deputy Executive Director of the EU Intellectual Property Office.  The meeting, hosted by the Bulgarian Development Bank, was focused on EUIPO's Ideas Powered for Business SME Fund. The fund provides grants to small and medium-sized businesses to protect their intellectual property rights at national, European and international level.

EUIPO will open applications for Vouchers 3 and 4 under its small and medium-sized enterprises grant programme on 24 April, said Andrea Di Carlo, During the discussion, the advantages and opportunities provided by the programme were discussed. So far, a total of 10,350 small and medium enterprises have applied for funding from the SME Fund, submitting 10,532 applications.

There have been 23,927 requests for reimbursement of IP-related costs (IP diagnostics, trademarks and designs,) and 8,390 of them have been approved.

The total number of SMEs applying was 351, with a total of 355 applications. Those approved under Voucher 1 (IP Scan) were 31 and those approved under Voucher 2 (Trade Mark and Design) were 348. By type of enterprise, the applications came from 281 micro and 55 small businesses. By company focus, there were 154 start-ups and 105 international company offices applying.

Experts expect a strong interest in the newly activated vouchers.

Voucher 3 for national and European patents will extend the possibility of fee reimbursement when filing national and European patents and prior art searching. The grant amount and the reimbursement rate are also increased to EUR 1,500 and 75 % respectively.

Voucher 4 will cover 50% of the fee for electronic filing of plant variety applications at EU level, or EUR 225. By providing financial support for the registration of plant varieties, the SME Fund will assist companies involved in the green and digital transition, while supporting the objectives of the EC Green Deal. There will be no performance period for this voucher as only the application fee will be eligible for reimbursement.