For the fifth consecutive year, the SME Fund is providing funding opportunities to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through the Ideas Powered for Business SME Fund programme. Together with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and the Patent Office of the Republic of Bulgaria, the Fund provides grants to support business protect their intellectual property rights.
Through this financial help, companies can benefit from the opportunity to increase the value of their intellectual property assets by registering their trademark at significantly lower cost.
For what services is financial aid available?
Programme active for applications 3 February 2025 to 5 December 2025., offers financial assistance in the form of vouchers that reimburse the cost of the following services:
– Registration of trademarks and industrial designs – here, a 75% reimbursement of the taxes paid for the application is intended. Fees are reimbursed for both national and European applications, and funding may be obtained for the registration of more than one trademark or industrial design. The maximum amount of funding that an SME can use is up to €700. Fees are reimbursed for both national and European applications, and funding may be obtained for the registration of more than one trademark or industrial design. The maximum amount of funding that an SME can use is up to €700.
Currently, the minimum state fee for registration of a trademark in Bulgaria is BGN 520 and applies to cases where the application includes up to three classes of goods or services defined in accordance with the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Registration of Marks (Nice Classification). If approved for funding, the undertaking will receive back BGN 390.
- Preliminary Intellectual Property Diagnostics for Small and Medium Businesses (IP Scan) - for this service companies can recover 90% of the costs. The service is suitable for companies that want to obtain a professional assessment and analysis of the potential of their intellectual property rights (trademarks, know-how, designs, patents, etc.).
Criteria for obtaining funding for trademarks and designs
- The grant applicant must be a micro, small or medium-sized enterprise. The classification shall take into account the number of employees employed and the annual turnover generated by the company.
- A VAT registration certificate or a certificate of current status from the Commercial Register, as well as a bank account certificate should be submitted.
- The company must not have received funding from national or EU schemes for the same services in the same calendar year.
Reimbursement of costs
Applications for funding under the SME Fund program are submitted electronically to EUIPO. Within three weeks of submitting the necessary documents, applicants whose applications have been approved for funding will receive a decision granting them a grant. Within one month of receiving this decision, an application for registration of a trademark or design must be submitted.
The state fee for the relevant service is payable in full at the time of submitting the application. A separate request must be submitted for a refund of the relevant part of the fee, and the amount will be transferred to the company's specified bank account within one month.
The funds shall be distributed in the order in which applications are received. The grant programme will be available until funds are exhausted. If the funds are depleted, the reception of applications will close early. In view of this, enterprises should apply at the beginning of the announced window.
If you wish to register your trademark, but high government fees prove to be an insurmountable obstacle for you, our team can be of assistance by:
- Assisting you in the SME Fund grant application procedure;
- Carrying out a preliminary inquiry into the existence of previous identical or similar trademarks in order to avoid infringing the rights of others;
- Advising you on identifying the right categories of goods and services for which your mark should be protected;
- We assist you in the trademark registration procedure before the Bulgarian Patent Office and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO);
- We monitor the deadlines for trademark registration renewal.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute a legal opinion or legal advice. For more information on the issues raised above, as well as for an initial consultation on the different steps in the procedure for obtaining funding for trademarks and designs, please do not hesitate to contact us at tel. + 359 876 267 112 / + 359 897 977 338 or through any of the other contact channels of Vatev & Partners.