Innovation Vouchers – Call I
You can now save up to 75% on the services of patent attorneys thanks to the subsidy Innovation Vouchers – protection of industrial property rights – call I. Eligible expenses are those related to the publication of a patent application or the registration of a trademark, industrial design or utility model . (updated 19.1.2023)
Aided activities include:
- patentability, freedom-to-operate and other searches
- providing professional advice, consultations and assistance
- preparation and drafting patent, trademark, utility or industrial design applications
- representation before authorities in the Czech Republic and abroad, responses to objections, searches, translations
- administrative fees paid to the respective authorities, if invoiced by the representative
Eligible expenditure
The subsidy may be applied to services billed by patent attorneys that occurred after January 1, 2021. The services must be associated with a specific application or applications.
Support amount: 50 000 – 500 000 CZK per project
EU share: 75 %
Grant provider: Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic (more about the call – pdf)
The subsidy will be reimbursed retroactively upon successful completion of the project. In case of patent applications upon their publication, in case of other rights upon their registration. If you include more than one application in your submission, the project closure occurs after the publication/registration of the last application.
Who can apply for a subsidy?
- small or medium-sized enterprise (SME)
- a research and knowledge-dissemination organisation
- a natural person assigned a Czech ID number and authorized to conduct business
Who meets the definition of an SME? Enterprises with <250 employees, a turnover ≤ €50 million or an annual balance sheet total ≤ €43 million.
Main conditions of the subsidy:
- the physical realization of the project must be in the Czech Republic outside NUTS2 Prague
- the subsidy is provided under the de minimis regime (the applicant’s maximum support for the last 3 accounting periods must not exceed 200 000 EUR)
- the applicant must publish their financial statements for the last 2 accounting periods
- the applicant has listed the beneficial owner in the Register of Beneficial Owners
- the economic activity listed in the register (according to CZ-NACE) corresponds to the project
What you need when applying for a subsidy:
- a confirmation of application submission from the relevant authority
- a contract with the patent attorney
- an account confirmation
- a power of attorney (if you are not processing the subsidy yourself)
SME Fund – administrative fees
In 2023, SMEs can also recoup administrative fees under the Ideas Powered for Business SME Fund. The maximum support per enterprise is up to 1 810 EUR.
Jak velké dotace můžete využít?
- 90 % for pre-diagnostic IP services and audit (IP Scan) – €90 EUR instead of €900
- €1, 000 to cover trademark and design eligible fees (75% off national and regional EU applications, 50 % off international applications)
In 2022 alone, we helped dozens of our clients save over CZK 2,500,000 thanks to the same programme.
The grant applies to:
- Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME): <250 employees, turnover < or = €50 million, annual balance sheet total < or = €43 million
- non-VAT payers if they have an ID number
- Submissions between 23.1.-9.12.2023
The SME Fund is reimbursed retroactively and an increase in VAT must be taken into account.
