EUIPO Funds for SMEs 2026

The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), with the support of the European Commission and the Intellectual Property Offices of the EU Member States, has launched a new SME Fund scheme in 2026, to support SMEs in protecting and using their intellectual property (IP) rights. Launched on 2 February, the SME Fund 2026 continues the voucher-based reimbursement model, enabling SMEs to recover part of their IP-related costs.

• Voucher 1: IP Scan and IP Scan Enforcement - 90% reimbursement
• Voucher 2: Trade marks and designs - up to 75% reimbursement
• Voucher 3: Patents - up to 75% reimbursement
• Voucher 4: Community Plant Varieties - 75% reimbursement

100 000 SMEs financially supported through the SME fund

Before the launch of the SME Fund 2026, the programme has reached a significant milestone, with the 100 000th SME receiving reimbursement for its intellectual property costs.

This brings total financial support provided to European SMEs so far to almost €68 million.

Since its launch in 2021, the SME Fund has played a key role in helping small and medium-sized enterprises across the European Union protect and manage their IP assets. Almost 80% of all SME Fund applicants are new to IP and are registering IP rights for the very first time.

In 2025 alone, the SME Fund supported over 33 000 SMEs across the EU, granting a total of almost €29 million to help businesses protect their trade marks, designs, patents, plant varieties, and to develop their IP strategies.

These results highlight the SME Fund’s contribution to raising awareness on IP and integrating IP protection into the business strategies of European SMEs.

For more details, visit the EUIPO website.