Key Objectives

Encouraging the competitiveness of legal entities in Montenegro through the protection of intellectual property domestically or internationally, as well as individuals engaged in innovation activities (inventors) to protect their inventions with patents to enable further examination of the invention, such as laboratory testing, prototype development, and subsequent development stages leading to potential commercialization and market placement, either domestically or internationally.

Grant Value and Co-financing Percentage

Two categories of vouchers:

1. Voucher for patent protection of inventions domestically:
   • Costs of national patent protection up to €200;
   • Costs of invention development up to €2,000.
2. Voucher for patent protection of inventions internationally (EPO/WIPO):
   • Patent application costs at EPO up to €5,000;
   • Patent application costs at WIPO up to €3,000;
   • Costs of invention development up to €5,000.

Co-financing by the applicant is not mandatory.

Who Can Apply?

The public call is open to legal entities registered in the Central Registry of Business Entities of Montenegro (CRPS) with headquarters in Montenegro and individuals who are citizens of Montenegro who have protected their invention with a patent domestically during 2024 or have filed an EPO/WIPO application and/or received a positive response that the application is acceptable for examination during 2024.

Eligible Costs

Eligible costs for the development of the invention:

• Costs of purchasing or renting equipment directly related to research and development;
• Costs of purchasing materials and biological means directly used for research and development;
• Costs of producing a laboratory prototype or creating a demonstration prototype;
• Costs of obtaining expert opinions, advisory services, and the transfer of specific knowledge and skills (know-how) acquired for the immediate needs of research and development.

Ineligible Costs for Invention Development

• Sales costs, such as advertising and promoting new products or services resulting from research and development investments;
• Costs of patent protection procedures related to legal services, consulting services, and translation services;
• Administrative and other general overhead costs that cannot be directly linked to research and development investments;
• Employee training costs;
• Maintenance costs for fixed assets used for research and development.

Project Duration and Implementation Period

Planned activities for further development of the invention with the awarded voucher for patent protection and development of the invention must be implemented by the beneficiary within nine (9) months from the date of signing the agreement between the Fund and the voucher beneficiary.

How and Where to Apply

Applications with complete documentation are submitted electronically via the portal www.programifonda.me.

Contact email for this public call at the Innovation Fund is patenti@fondzainovacije.me or tel. 020 653-052.

Additional Specifics for the Call

Vouchers will be granted on a first-come, first-served basis starting from the date of the public call announcement, up to the point of the allocated funds’ exhaustion within this public call. The Fund will notify each applicant of the outcome within fifteen (15) working days from the application submission date.