Fancy having part of your application fees reimbursed? Read how here!
Do you want to register your trademark or your design? Take advantage of the "SME voucher" offer. It allows you to recuperate part of your application fee. Below you will find information about the offer and the conditions.
The SME voucher is an initiative organised by the European Commission, EUIPO (European Union Intellectual Property Office) and the official authorities for IP rights in various countries. For the registration of trademarks and designs in the Benelux it is our office: the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP).
What is the offer?
The SME voucher
Is your company an SME? If so, in 2023 you can recuperate 75% of your Benelux trademark or design application fee. You can do this with the SME voucher. The SME voucher is available for all companies established in the EU that meet the definition of an SME as determined by the European Commission.
What costs can you recuperate?
Both basic costs and additional costs (costs for extra classes, for example) qualify for this partial reimbursement:
- For an application for a Benelux trademark, that is a minimum of 183 euros (75% of the basic fee of 244 euros).
- For an application for a Benelux design, that is a minimum of 112.50 euros (75% % of the basic fee of 150 euros).
Through the SME Fund you can recuperate 75% of the costs of a trademark or design application with BOIP. But you can also recuperate:
- 75% of the costs of a European trademark or design application via EUIPO.
- 75% of the costs of a trademark or design application in an individual country that is part of the European Union.
- 50% of the costs of a trademark or design registration outside the EU via WIPO.
- 90% of the costs for an IP Scan (only for entrepreneurs in Belgium).
- From March 2023, you can also recuperate part of the costs for a national or European patent registration (such as patent search and patent application) and the application for plant breeders' rights in the EU. More information about this will follow shortly.
For more information about the SME voucher for the IP scan and patents in Belgium, contact: the FPS Economy.
For more information about the IP voucher and patents in Luxembourg, please contact l'Institut de la propriété intellectuelle (IPIL) or l'Office de la propriété intellectuelle.
For more information about the SME voucher for patents in the Netherlands, contact: the Netherlands Patent Office.
What is an IP scan?
The SME voucher also makes it possible to recuperate part of the costs of pre-diagnostic IP services (“IP scan”). In the Benelux, this service is at present only available for SMEs in Belgium. The IP scan is a service whereby an expert assigned by the Belgian Federal Economic Service (FSP Economy) analyses what campaigns in the field of intellectual property may be advisable for your company. For an IP scan application, you can recuperate 90% of the fee. In Belgium this amounts to a maximum of 1,350 euros (90% of 1,500 euros, the limit for the total cost of this analysis). For more information, contact: the FPS Economy.
Who is the offer open to?
Your company meets the definition of an SME as determined by the European Commission. This depends, inter alia, on the number of employees and the annual turnover or the annual balance sheet total. As a general rule:
- an SME has less than 250 employees
- an SME has an annual turnover of less than 50 million euros
- an SME has a balance sheet total that does not exceed 43 million euros.
Using the European Commission online SME check, you can check whether your company meets the definition.
Did you already make use of the "SME voucher" offer in 2022? You may do so again in 2023. You do not need to provide all your business details again.
What are the conditions?
SME voucher for trademarks and designs
The following conditions apply for the voucher to be granted:
- Your company must meet the definition of an SME as determined by the European Commission.
- You, the company or an IP professional can apply for the SME voucher with EUIPO. An IP professional is a legal expert in the field of intellectual property who can assist with your trademark or design registration.
- For trademark and design applications in the Benelux, the EU or in the individual EU countries, 75% of the fees paid can be recuperated, up to a maximum of 1000 euros. You can thus apply for partial reimbursement for more than one trademark or design application at the same time. The basic registration costs are not the only costs that qualify for this: for example, the costs for extra classes also qualify.
For an application for a Benelux trademark, that is 183 euros (75% of 244 euros).
For an application for a Benelux design, that is 112.50 euros (75% of 150 euros). - There are 4 separate vouchers: for the IP scan, for trademark and design registrations, for patents and for plant breeder's rights. In 2023, for each sort, you may apply for 1 SME voucher only. For example, you can apply for one voucher for trademark or design registrations and one voucher for patent applications. Per voucher you can request reimbursement of the costs for several applications. With the voucher for trademark or design registrations, for instance, you can request reimbursement for several trademark registrations. Please note: there is a maximum amount that you can recuperate for each voucher.
- Your voucher for trademarks and designs is valid for two months, so if you register several trademarks and designs within that period, you can claim them on the same voucher. You can extend the period by up to 2 months. Make sure you use the voucher within its period of validity!
SME voucher for the IP scan
Only available for companies registered in Belgium.
The following conditions apply for the voucher to be granted:
- Your company must meet the definition of an SME as determined by the European Commission.
- You or the company must apply to EUIPO for the SME voucher.
- 90% of the fees paid for an IP scan will be reimbursed. In Belgium this amounts to a maximum of 1,350 euros (90% of 1,500 euros, the limit for the total cost of this analysis).
- In 2023 you can apply for 1 SME voucher only per IP activity (see also the conditions, point 4). That means, for example, 1 voucher for an IP scan and 1 voucher for a trademark or design registration. The total amount to be recuperated for the IP scan in Belgium is a maximum of 1,350 euros.
Please note: First make sure you have received official confirmation from EUIPO that your SME voucher has been granted. You will receive confirmation within 15 working days from the date of application. Then apply for your trademark or design registration or your IP scan. If you apply for your trademark or design registration or your IP scan before you apply for the SME voucher, the SME voucher will not be issued to you
You can apply to register a Benelux trademark or design with BOIP. You can request an IP scan through the FPS Economy (only for companies in Belgium).
How does it work?
Follow these steps:
(Did you make use of this offer in 2022? If so, please proceed to step 2).
Step 1: Open an SME Fund account and fill in your SME profile
Step 2: Request your SME voucher
Wait for confirmation from EUIPO that your SME voucher has been granted (this takes approximately 2 weeks).
Step 3: Apply for your trademark or design registration and/or your IP scan
Step 4: Activate your SME voucher
Step 1: Open an SME Fund account and fill in your SME profile
(Please note: if you made use of this offer in 2022 already, please proceed directly to step 2).
- If you are making use of the SME voucher for the first time, you must first open an SME Fund account.
- Set up your SME profile in your account by filling in the information and uploading the documents required:
- A bank statement showing the name of the company as the account holder with the IBAN, country code and BIC/SWIFT code;
- A VAT certificate or national registration number certificate, issued by the competent national authority.
- Please ensure that the e-mail addresses supplied are correct as all communication relating to the procedure will take place via e-mail.
Step 2: Request your SME voucher
You can apply for an SME voucher between 23 January 2023 and 8 December 2023. Vouchers will be granted on a ‘first come, first served' basis. This means we cannot guarantee that the SME voucher will still be available when you apply for it.
- Please note: apply for your SME-voucher before you apply to BOIP or EUIPO for your design or trademark registration and/or before you apply to the FPS Economy for an IP scan (only for companies in Belgium).
- Start your application for your voucher through your user profile (‘SME Fund application’, ‘New application request’).
- Select the company you wish to request the voucher(s) for.
- Select the desired vouchers.
- Check the information already filled in. Fill in or correct if necessary.
- Will the application be made by an IP professional? Upload then the ‘declaration of honour’ (signed by an authorised representative of the company the application is being made for).
- After you submit your application, you will receive an e-mail with confirmation of receipt and the reference number of your application for your SME voucher. It can take up to 60 minutes before you receive the confirmation. The number is used in all communication regarding your application, so keep it safe!
- In principle, EUIPO will grant the application within two weeks by way of a signed decision. Vouchers are granted on a 'first come, first served' basis. This means we cannot guarantee that the SME voucher will still be available when you apply for it.
Step 3: Apply for your trademark or design registration and/or your IP scan
Please note: First make sure that you have received official confirmation from EUIPO that you have been granted your SME voucher (this takes approximately two weeks after applying for the voucher). Then apply for your trademark or design registration or your IP scan. If you apply for your trademark or design registration or your IP scan before your SME voucher has been granted, the SME voucher will not be issued to you.
You can apply to register a Benelux trademark or design with BOIP. You can request an IP scan through the FPS Economy (only for companies in Belgium).
Step 4: Activate your SME voucher
Once your SME voucher has been granted, you must activate it yourself:
- apply for an IP activity with the relevant responsible authority, for example a trademark or design registration with BOIP;
- pay for the activity;
- request the refund from the SME Fund through your SME user account. You must do this within 2 months of the date the voucher is granted:
- Log in to your SME Fund Account
- Fill in the claim form for the refund and upload the required proof of payment.
Within 2 months of your SME voucher being granted, you must activate your voucher by applying and paying for an IP activity and claiming the refund from the SME fund. You may extend this period if necessary, once only, by two months. Activating the voucher initiates the so-called implementation period. During that period you can apply and pay for extra IP activities and then claim the refund from the SME Fund. The implementation period runs for 6 months for Voucher 1 (IP scan) and Voucher 2 (trademarks and designs).
Payment is independent of whether or not your trademark registration is successful: if your trademark registration is refused you can still request the refund.
You will receive your refund within 30 days in principle, on the bank account with the number you provided.
About us
The SME voucher is issued from the ‘Ideas Powered for Business SME Fund’. This is an initiative of the European Commission, the EUIPO (European Union Intellectual Property Office) and the competent national authorities to support European companies that want to protect their IP rights in the Benelux, in individual countries within the EU or for the whole of the EU at once. BOIP is the competent authority for the registration of trademarks and designs in the Benelux.
About BOIP
When you register a trademark or a design, you select the countries in which you want to protect it. Are you only active in the Benelux or part of it? The most logical choice is then to register your trademark or design in the Benelux. You can do that with us, the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP), the official authority for trademark and design registration in the Benelux.
About EUIPO
As an entrepreneur are you also active outside the Benelux? Then there are various possibilities to register your trademark or design outside the Benelux. You can do this for the whole of the European Union at once, or for one or more countries together. If you want to register your trademark or design for the whole of the European Union at once, you can do that through EUIPO. That is the official authority for registration of a European trademark or design.
If you only want to register your trademark or design in some European countries and perhaps also countries outside, you can apply for international registration through WIPO or register in the individual countries with the appropriate competent authorities there.
If you have questions about where you want to register your trademark or design, contact our Information Centre or one of our partners below.
For this campaign we are working in cooperation with:
Institut de la Propriété Intellectuelle Luxembourg
Office de la propriété intellectuelle
