French Intellectual Property Fee Reduction for SMEs

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) account for 99% of all enterprises in the European Union. According to the relevant provisions of the French Patent Law, SMEs can request a 50% fee reduction in the main procedure of patent applications. In France, the main factors that determine whether a company is an SME are the number of employees, turnover or balance sheet total. The entity identification criteria for SMEs are:

1. Applicable to natural persons
2. Applicable to small and medium-sized enterprises with less than 250 employees
3. Applicable to non-profit organizations (NPO) for education or scientific research
4. Small and medium-sized enterprises and non-profit organizations must submit a request within the prescribed time (maximum 1 month) to pay the application fee and provide proof that they belong to the above-mentioned business types.

In addition, in France, SMEs can also enjoy support from the EU's SME Fund, which is a subsidy fund designed to "drive business through innovation" and is implemented by the European Commission and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) for European SMEs. The fund allows SMEs to receive part of the cost of patent applications from the French National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) to provide prior art search services. The fund includes a 20 million euro European subsidy program to promote cooperation between patent applicants and intellectual property offices in EU countries and regions, including INPI.

The fund aims to promote the development of intellectual property rights in European SMEs and provide financial assistance in the implementation of intellectual property rights to protect the innovation of SMEs. SMEs can apply for reimbursement for their patents, trademarks, industrial designs, etc. until December 6, 2024.

Required documents:
1. VAT number certificate or business registration certificate with the tax number;
2. Bank statement of the company’s identity;
3. A signed sworn declaration from the SME (legal representative of the SME only) certifying that the latter meets the eligibility criteria and that the applicant has never received any other EU funding.

The four types of subsidies under the SME Fund include:

1. Type 1, each company can get a full support service for company IP for only 1 euro, which is a new subsidy launched in 2024. This service includes a report written by an expert on issues related to the application of intellectual property rights, that is, a report on the existence or high probability of intellectual property infringement. Small and medium-sized enterprises can receive a subsidy of up to 90%.
2. Type 2 (currently unavailable), each company can apply for trademarks and designs at national, regional, EU or WIPO for only 1 euro per year. Companies can receive a subsidy of up to 75% of all national, regional and EU application fees; Madrid trademark international registrations in countries outside Europe can receive a subsidy of up to 50%.
3. Type 3 (not available at the moment) allows companies to file European patent applications for inventions and prior art searches by the INPI for only €3 per year. Companies can receive a subsidy of up to 75% of the application fees, i.e. the costs associated with the grant of the patent, and the costs of the prior art search by the INPI. Companies can also receive a subsidy of up to 50% of the drafting and filing fees for European patent applications, up to a maximum of €2, depending on the applicable national costs of these services (not applicable for PCT patent applications).
4. Type 4: Companies can receive a subsidy of up to 75% of the online application fee for new plant variety applications.

There is no limit on the number of intellectual property rights applications for authorization, including trademark, design and invention patent applications or prior art searches, as long as the maximum limit for each type is not reached.

The application steps are as follows: