Invention Incentive Program

Invention Incentive Program

Funds Rhode Island small businesses and inventors through reimbursements that support patent filing and filing-related costs.

Eligibility · United States · US-RI

⚠ This may reflect a past cycle — verify the current call on the funder's site.

Rhode Island Commerce Corporation's Invention Incentive Program reimburses Rhode Island small businesses and individual inventors for the direct costs of filing a patent application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The program covers legal fees charged by registered Rhode Island patent practitioners and USPTO filing fees, up to a maximum reimbursement of $5,000 per applicant. The FY2026 cycle ran from April 7 through May 1, 2026 at 5:00 PM EST, with eligible expenses covering the period from May 27, 2025 through May 1, 2026.

Eligible applicants are Rhode Island small businesses with 500 or fewer employees and at least 51 percent of the workforce based in-state, or individual inventors and co-inventors who reside in Rhode Island. Applicants must hold an active USPTO patent application at the time of submission. Previous recipients of the award are permanently ineligible to reapply — the program imposes a lifetime limit of one award per entity or individual. Small businesses must provide RI incorporation documentation; individual inventors must provide proof of Rhode Island residency such as a utility bill, property tax bill, or lease statement.

The program runs annually and the FY2027 cycle is expected to reopen in spring 2027. Because prior recipients cannot reapply, the applicant pool turns over each year, and the program is competitive primarily on completeness of documentation rather than merit scoring. Applicants should verify that their patent practitioner is registered in Rhode Island before incurring fees, as non-RI practitioners' fees are not reimbursable. Contact: innovation@commerceri.com or (401) 278-9100.