Financial support for IPR

Intellectual property rights, especially patents, are expensive. Before you write them off as not worth the investment, take a look at the many financial measures offered by the authorities that will turn your patent into profit. Both federal and regional measures help SMEs and large companies to acquire and maintain intellectual property rights.

Deductions for innovation-related revenues

Through the innovation deduction (or innovation income deduction), net income arising from a number of intellectual property rights can be 85% exempt from corporate tax. Only 15% is taxable. This ensures an effective tax burden on this income of a maximum of around 4%.

Which companies?

Belgium-based and foreign corporations with a fixed Belgian seat.

What?

• patent
• complementary protective certificate
• plant breeders' right
• copyright-protected software
• orphan drugs
• data and/or market exclusivity for crop protection agents, medicine for human or animal use

Conditions

The deduction is 85% of the net revenue based on the intellectual property right and applies from the application date of the IPR in question. The non-used deduction is transferrable to the following fiscal periods.

In the case of copyright-protected software, it has to be the result of a research or development project/program.

sme-wallet

The pillar "advice" of the sme-wallet allows the financing of advice on intellectual property by recognized service providers of 40% for small companies (max. € 10.000) and of 30% for middle-sized companies (max. € 50.000).

Innovation subsidies

In the context of an "innovation" dossier subsidized by the Agency Innovation & Entrepreneurship, the costs to protect the results of an innovation by IPR, are financed to a maximum of € 20.000 to cover the preparatory cost, such as a freedom to operate research, and costs related to registration and the drafting of the dossier (with the exception of maintenance costs and costs in the case of a juridical dispute. The amount of the support is between 35 and 80%, depending on the type of the dossier.

The support of patent deposition is restricted to financially sound SMEs with a exploitation seat in Wallonia and includes three categories: 

• Patent Deposition (filing) (PATDE)
• Patent Expansion (PATEX)
• Patent Opposition (PATOP)