Patents

Patents

Funds Brussels SMEs filing national or PCT international patents for their R&D results, covering 50 percent of patent application and procedure costs.

Eligibility · Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium

The Patents program from Innoviris, the Brussels-Capital Region's public innovation agency, provides financial support to Brussels SMEs seeking to protect the results of their R&D through national and/or PCT international patent applications. The program covers 50% of eligible expenses related to the patent application procedure.

Eligible costs include fees, management costs, certification of official documents, translations, and other procedure-related expenses. For a PCT international patent application, expenses are eligible for a maximum of 3 years. For a national patent application followed by a PCT international application, the maximum eligible period is 4 years.

To be eligible, the company must be an SME with activities in the Brussels-Capital Region, must not have financial difficulties per European legislation, must have fulfilled all prior regional support obligations, and must demonstrate ability to finance its own share. Importantly, the patent application (whether initial filing or geographical extension) may not be filed before the aid application is submitted — applying to Innoviris first is mandatory.

If a patent attorney is involved, they must be officially recognised by the Belgian Office for Intellectual Property (OPRI) or by the European Patent Office (EPO).

Note: Innoviris announced on 24 March 2026 that no new projects can be funded in 2026 due to budget constraints. All programs are suspended. Applications submitted before the suspension remain in process and may be funded in 2027 pending available resources.