New Campaign for Grant Funding for the Protection of Intellectual Property

With the arrival of February, a new opportunity opens for Bulgarian businesses to strengthen their market positions through European funding.

Starting February 2nd this year’s intake for the SME Fund (Ideas Powered for Business SME Fund) an initiative that provides direct grant aid for the protection of intellectual property, including trademarks, industrial designs, patents, new plant varieties, and animal breeds.

The primary focus of the fund is to encourage innovation and intellectual property protection among Bulgarian companies.

Who can apply?

The funding is targeted at Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) registered in Bulgaria that wish to protect their intellectual property at national, European or international level.

What Does the Program Offer?

 The financial assistance provided by the fund consists of a percentage reimbursement of registration fees:

• Up to 75% reimbursement of fees for trademarks and industrial designs. The funding can be used for the registration of more than one trademark. For reference, the basic fee for national trademark registration is €265.87, while a European Union trademark fee starts at €850.
• Up to 50% reimbursement of patent fees at national, European, and international levels.
• 90% reimbursement of fees for the IP Scan service (initial diagnostic of intellectual property assets).

The total amount of financial support is up to EUR 700.

Application Deadlines

 Applications can be submitted starting February 2, 2026. It is important to note that time is a decisive factor. Funds are limited and are allocated on a "first-come, first-served" basis. Experience from 2024 and 2025 shows that, due to high demand, the budget was exhausted by mid-year, leading to the early closure of the application window. Therefore, early preparation of documents is critical to successfully securing the grant.

You can read more about the registration process here.

Why Should You Protect Your Intellectual Property?

 Registering a trademark, design, or patent guarantees legal protection and a competitive market advantage by preventing the unauthorized use of your brand and innovations.

How can we help you?

 KGK Law Firm's intellectual property attorneys can help you protect your trademark, design, patent or logo by::

• Analysis of your brand's intellectual property assets -more about the service here;
• Determining the most adequate type of protection - trademark, patent, design;
• Assistance in choosing the territorial scope of protection - national, European or international;
• Preparation of documents for the SME Fund application;
• Carrying out preliminary studies for trademarks, designs, patents;
• Preparation and filing of applications for registration with the Patent Office, EUIPO or WIPO;
• Representation in possible oppositions or disputes;
• Keeping track of registration renewal deadlines;
• Monitoring for infringement or misuse by competitors (more on the procedure here).

The KGK Law Firm team will ensure that your intellectual property is protected properly and effectively, while helping you to make the most of the financial assistance provided by the SME Fund.

For further information and application assistance, please contact us.