Pass PI & SME Fund: 2022 grants to finance your invention patent

[et_pb_section admin_label=”section”] [et_pb_row admin_label=”row”] [et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text”]

To encourage companies to build up a patent portfolio, and more broadly to implement an industrial property strategy, two new grants are available: the Pass PI(INPI) and the SME Fund(EPO). Their introduction from May 10, 2022 is a continuation of the initiatives for access to patent protection already introduced with the Loi Pacte and the Plan de Relance.

These two schemes can be combined. They provide small businesses with new forms of support to finance the protection of their innovations.  

---

Contents:

• Pass PI: national assistance to finance patenting
• 💡 Combining PI grants and financing
• What are the criteria for Pass PI?
• 3 steps to benefit from Pass PI
• SME Fund: new support for patent financing
• 💶 2 cheques to be requested in advance of expenditure
• SME Fund: eligibility criteria
• How do I get the SME Fund?
• Financing your patent: in a nutshell
• Example of the cost of a patent

---

Pass PI: national assistance to finance patenting

The Institut National de la Propriété Industrielle offers a wide range of grants for companies and individuals. Among them is a new grant: PASS PI Brevet France. This subsidy is designed to help companies file patent applications by covering part of the fees of their Industrial Property Attorneys.  

This new subsidy applies to the following services: 

• Regular” patent application,
• Provisional patent application (excluding regularization),
• Utility certificate application (excluding conversion).

You don’t know the difference between these different patents? 

• A patent protects your innovation for 20 years, as long as the annual maintenance payments are up to date. 
• The provisional patent application is a tool introduced by the Loi Pacte, enablingpatent applications tobe started on a smaller budget. The provisional application must be transformed into a regular patent application after one year, or disappear. 
• The utility certificate is an industrial property title particularly recommended for companies wishing to protect a technical solution that is likely to be rapidly obsolete. The term of protection for a utility certificate is 10 years, compared with 20 years for a conventional patent.

💡 Combining PI grants and financing

The Pass PI and the SME Fund are two interdependent aid schemes that you can benefit from at the same time. YesMyPatent can help you find out which grants you may be eligible for to finance your industrial property strategy.

What are the criteria for Pass PI?

• INPI finances up to 50% of the fees of the IP consultancy you wish to work with, up to a maximum of €6,000 per service.
• A company benefits from 3 Pass PI in the course of its existence, for a total invoiced amount of €10,000 incl. VAT (i.e. a total of €5,000 incl. VAT inINPI aid, since INPI covers 50%).
• Companies are the only beneficiaries of the Pass PI. A SIRET number and a bank account in the company’s name are required.
• Any patent application is eligible if it encourages the construction of a patent portfolio.

It should be noted that the 1000-employee threshold for obtaining the Pass PI is no longer in force. The European definition of an SME applies:  

• less than 250 employees. 
• Sales under 50 million euros
• must not be more than 25%-owned by a company that is not an SME.

To build up your company’s patent portfolio, you should also be aware that several Pass PI brevet FR procedures can be launched at the same time. This means you can order several patent applications from a patent attorney at the same time.

💸How much will your patent cost thanks to these new features? 

Drafting and filing of a patent application: €3,000 ex VAT
INPI filing fees: €273
PASS PI Brevet France covers €1,500 ex VAT of drafting fees
SME Fund covers €136.50 of fees
CIR: 30% of your remaining expenses 
Final cost of patent application in France: €1,050 excl. tax + €136.50 INPI fees

The 3 steps to benefit from Pass PI Brevet France

1. An IP diagnosis with an INPI account manager or A “Positive” PASS PI patentability procedure
2. An application for a SME FUND grant, an acknowledgement of receipt being sufficient to trigger PASS PI Brevet France.
3. A guarantee that a prior art search has been carried out by the Industrial Property Attorney

N.B.: A single SME Fund application per year is sufficient, and is not required to apply for a utility certificate.

In practice? 

• Contact your local INPI to ask about PASS PI Brevet France.
• An INPI representative will discuss your patent application project with you and help you through the process.
• If he deems it useful, he can grant you a PASS PI Brevet France.
• You will then receive a quotation form to send to the IP firm you wish to work with, as well as an agreement to complete.
• The CPI firm you have chosen will return the completed quotation form to you, and you will forward it to your account manager, who will validate it, if applicable.
• The IPC firm will then receive an INPI Order Form which will allow it to begin the service.
• At the end of the patent application drafting and filing service, the IPC firm will send the INPI project manager a deliverable to prove the end of the service and the filing of your patent application.
• INPI will pay the CPI firm 50% of its fees directly.

SME Fund: new support for patent financing

Initially introduced in 2021 to help companies reimburse their trademark and design fees, the SME Fund now also covers patents. This new feature for 2022 provides a new tool for companies wishing to protect their inventions.

💶 2 cheques to be requested in advance of expenditure

• Cheque 1 (trademarks and designs): up to €1,500 tax refund
• Cheque 2 (patents): up to €750 tax refund

SME Fund: eligibility criteria

• Applying as a legal entity
• SMEs (fewer than 250 employees, sales of less than €50 million, annual balance sheet of less than €43 million) established within the European Union
• Not to have requested the same cheque again in the same year
• Do not use cheques to finance annuities
• Only for services begun after the grant has been awarded

For reimbursement of the relative fees payable when you apply for a patent (filing, search, examination, grant, publication), you need to apply for the 2nd cheque. This covers up to 50% of the fees, up to a total of €750. The same company can only apply for one  SME Fund patent check per year (check 2). It is valid for 4 months and can be extended for up to 6 months.

How do I get the SME Fund?

1. Apply for the grant online.
2. Get an answer within 15 days
3. If the request is accepted, start IP activities.
4. Once the taxes have been paid, you can apply for a refund via your online account, and receive a refund within 1 month on your company account.

 Financing your patent: in a nutshell

• The Pass PI is an INPI subsidy covering 50% of the fees paid to an industrial property attorney for eligible services.
• The SME Fund reimburses part of the registration fees for patents, trademarks and designs.
• The BPI also offers its own grants and financing(see the BPI Grants page).
• Thanks to the CIR, you can recover a further 30% of your industrial property invoices. This aid can be combined with the PASS PI Brevet France.

[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column] [/et_pb_row] [/et_pb_section]