28 January 2026: EU SME Fund vouchers available again from next week

EU SME Fund vouchers for 2026 will be available for application starting from 2 February 2026. The support schemes are largely the same as in the previous year.

EU SME Fund vouchers

The EU SME Fund supports micro-enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in protecting their intellectual property rights through the following vouchers:

Patents

National patent application

  • Voucher value: €1,000
    The EU covers 75% of official patent office fees
  • European patent application
    Voucher value: €2,500
    The EU covers 75% of official fees
    In addition, the voucher covers 50% of patent drafting costs up to €3,000

Trademarks

  • Trademark voucher
    Voucher value: €700

    • 75% of the costs for a national trademark or an EU trademark
    • 50% of the costs for international trademark protection

IP Scan

  • IP Scan voucher
    Voucher value: €1,800
    After reimbursement, the company’s own contribution is only €180
    The IP Scan voucher is available only in selected EU Member States.
    The IP Scan is carried out by an authorised expert.

Väisänen IP Oy services

Väisänen IP Oy assists its clients with:

  • EU SME Fund voucher applications
  • Voucher administration
  • Reimbursement applications

Our EU SME Fund services are provided free of charge to our clients.

We have assisted clients with EU SME Fund vouchers over several consecutive years, and many companies have used the scheme repeatedly as a reliable way to reduce IP-related costs.

Jaakko Väisänen is authorised by the Finnish Patent and Registration Office (PRH) to prepare IP Scan reports.
He has prepared multiple PRH IP Scan reports for companies across different industries. Each report is reviewed in substance by business experts of the PRH, providing valuable and practical feedback to our clients.

EU SME Fund vouchers for Ukrainian companies

EU SME Fund vouchers are also available to Ukrainian micro-enterprises and SMEs, subject to the applicable eligibility criteria.

For Ukrainian companies, the available voucher types include:

  • Trademark voucher, covering trademark protection and design protection
  • European patent application voucher
    Voucher value: €2,500

Väisänen IP Oy provides EU SME Fund–related services also to Ukrainian clients, including voucher applications and reimbursement procedures, free of charge.

 

 

Year-end 2025/2026 – Reflections on our first year

2025 marked the first year of operations for Väisänen IP Oy. While the company is new, our partnership is well-established: Andrea and I have worked together since 2014. Our clients include both new engagements and long-standing relationships dating back to the early 2000s, spanning three decades.

Throughout the year, we have rebuilt our operations on a modern foundation. We migrated all records into a controlled digital environment and implemented advanced tools for deadline and fee monitoring. Our goal has not been automation for its own sake, but rather to create a predictable and reliable framework for managing IP matters while upholding professional responsibility.

Artificial intelligence is a daily tool for us, used to support analysis and research. Confidential, non-public materials are processed in our company-owned local high-performance computing (HPC) environment. This allows us to utilize large language models at full accuracy without transferring sensitive data to public cloud services. Expert judgment and final assessment always remain with us.

We would like to thank our clients for the trust placed in us during this inaugural year. We remain available on weekdays throughout the holiday season and look forward to 2026 with confidence.