Reduce the cost of your IP protection with grants and support measures
Protecting your intellectual property (IP) is a crucial investment to secure your competitive advantage. Companies therefore invest not only in patents, trademarks and designs, but also in studies that provide insight into their market position. Think of an IP scan, freedom-to-operate, prior art and patent landscaping.
Support measures at various levels
There are various support measures, at regional, federal and European level. Below we give you an overview of the most relevant subsidies, vouchers and tax benefits.
Federal support: free IP scan for SMEs
As a Belgian SME, you can get an IP scan from the FOD Economy. During this research, a recognized IP expert analyzes your business activities. The expert identifies your existing and potential IP assets such as patents, trade secrets, software, data and models. You will then receive advice on steps to take.
European support: EUIPO SME Fund
The EUIPO SME Fund reimburses part of the costs for IP protection that you incur as an SME. In this article , we summarize which vouchers will be available in 2026. The vouchers are awarded in order of application and are limited in number, so it is important to be quick.
EPO Tariff Reductions for Small Entities and Non-Profit Organisations
Since 1 April 2024, the European Patent Office (EPO) has been providing a 30% discount on filing, search, designation,
grant and renewal fees for:
- Micro-enterprises, natural persons, universities, non-profit organisations and public research organisations
- Applicants who have filed fewer than five European patent applications in the last five years
Regional support in Flanders
In Flanders, there are several schemes that help SMEs to strategically manage their intellectual property:
Exemption from payment of withholding tax for researchers
Are you a company or knowledge institution investing in research and development? Then you can be exempted from paying 80% of the withholding tax due on the wages of the researchers you employ to the tax authorities.
i-DEPOT
Via an i-DEPOT at the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property, you can obtain a timestamp to prove that you were already working on a certain idea on that date. VLAIO gives a discount of € 10 on the cost of such an online i-DEPOT.
VLAIO subsidy for research and development projects
For research into innovative products, services or processes, you can apply for a grant from VLAIO. You can also include in your application the costs you incur to check whether your innovation is commercialisable.
Are you an SME and are you submitting a development project? Then you can also include up to €20,000 in costs for the protection of your project results. Consider, for example, the costs of applying for a trademark, design or patent.
Regional support in Brussels
Innoviris offers support to SMEs in the Brussels-Capital Region through the following schemes:
Innovation vouchers
You can apply for this support for small-scale technical studies or feasibility studies with recognised research partners. For this, you can get 75% of the costs reimbursed, up to € 10,000 per year (excl. VAT)
Patent subsidy
As a Brussels SME, you can receive a subsidy for 50% of the costs of a national and/or international PCT patent application. It concerns the application and procedure costs for patents, including official fees, translations and lawyers’ fees. Please note: apply for the subsidy before submission.
Regional support in Wallonia
In Wallonia, SPW Économie supports your IP activities with two main tools:
Intellectual Property Cheques (IP Cheques)
As a Walloon SME, you will receive a 50% subsidy for IP analyses and strategic studies, with a maximum of €45,000 (excl. VAT), over 3 years.
3. Win4Expertise – Brevets
You can get about 50% subsidy for the costs of the patent application and procedure (national, European or PCT). Please note that this requires a letter of intent before submission, which is valid for 7 months.
Federal tax benefits
When your intellectual property starts to generate income, you can optimize profits with several federal tax benefits:
Innovation Income Deduction (“Innovatieaftrek”)
With this tax benefit, you pay less corporate tax on income from your innovations. You can get a tax exemption for up to 85% of the net income from patents, supplementary protection certificates, protected plant varieties (plant breeders’ rights), innovative software and certain medicines and plant protection products.
Investment deduction and tax credit for R&D
Are you investing in a patent as a company? Then you can benefit from the ‘Technology Deduction‘ under certain conditions. Through this tax benefit, you can deduct part of your investment from your taxable profit, which means that you pay less tax.
As a company, you can also opt for a tax credit for research, where the tax benefit consists of a tax reduction on the corporate income tax due.
If you opt for the tax credit, you can no longer make use of the technology deduction within the investment deduction for the same investments. So you choose one of the two systems.
Get support from our IP experts
Protecting your intellectual property is a strategic investment in the future of your business. Through a combination of regional support, European vouchers, federal support and tax benefits, you can significantly reduce the costs of protecting your innovation.
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Clear answers to every IP question
Why is an IP strategy important?
The right IP protection strengthens your market position. It grants exclusive rights to commercialise your invention, trademark or design and creates a substantial competitive advantage. Your intellectual property is also an intangible asset on your balance sheet and therefore an added value to your company. In addition, IP can offer financial benefits through the patent deduction for inventions. Small-sized companies can use patents to boost their competitiveness. Larger companies often manage broader IP portfolios, making it essential to monitor each individual IP asset while maintaining a clear overall view.
What does the innovation deduction or patent deduction involve?
The innovation deduction allows a company to deduct up to 85% of its net innovation income from its taxable corporation tax base. The revenue to be considered includes licence fees, such as royalties, revenue from the sale of patent rights and any damages received. The related R&D expenses incurred in the year in which the revenue was generated as well as the historical R&D expenses linked to the intellectual property right need to be deducted from this revenue. The historical costs may be spread over a period of up to seven fiscal years. To give you a clear view of the optimal application of the innovation deduction, we map your intellectual property portfolio in detail. If you want, we involve tax specialists to support you in applying the innovation deduction.
How can I patent my idea?
A patent cannot be granted for an idea alone. It must relate to a specific technical invention that is novel and inventive. To determine whether your technical invention is patentable, we carry out a targeted search.
How can I protect my trademark?
Unlike patents, which are limited in time, a trademark can remain your property indefinitely, provided it is renewed on time with the local or regional trademark registers. The initial filing date of your trademark is crucial in this, as it determines the start of your monopoly and can give you a six‑month priority right worldwide. You can count on our trademark attorneys and paralegals to handle all the administration required to register and protect your trademark rights. After an initial discussion and a favourable preliminary search, we file your trademark in all relevant countries. We subsequently ensure that your trademark is renewed everywhere in good time, so that it remains your property. You can expect transparency, clarity and a proactive approach.
How can I protect my design?
You can do so by registering the design rights. A registered design right offers protection for a definite period and in specific geographic areas. A design right can be valid for a maximum of 25 years in the European Union, provided it is renewed every five years. This allows designers to maintain long‑term protection as long as the registration is renewed in good time.
Design protection only applies in the countries where the design is registered. A design registered in the EU, for example, does not offer protection in the United States or China unless a separate registration is made there.