[4th Call for Applications Now Open | Deadline: September 28] The INPIT Overseas Application Grant Covers Half the Cost of Acquiring Intellectual Property Rights Abroad! A Patent Attorney Explains …

For small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), startups, universities, and others aiming to expand overseas or grow their businesses in global markets, it is crucial to secure local intellectual property rights (patents, designs, trademarks, etc.) properly. However, obtaining rights in foreign countries involves significant costs, such as fees for local agents and translation expenses.

In such cases, you may want to consider utilizing the “INPIT Overseas Application Grant” administered by INPIT (Independent Administrative Institution, Industrial Property Information and Training Institute).

This grant program aims to support the development of international intellectual property strategies by subsidizing half of the costs incurred by businesses to secure intellectual property rights abroad.

In this article, based on the latest information regarding the 4th Call for Applications for Fiscal Year 2026, I will provide a clear explanation from a patent attorney’s perspective covering eligible businesses, applications, and expenses; the grant amount; evaluation and bonus criteria; required documents; and the preparation schedule leading up to the deadline.

1. Overview and Schedule of the 4th Call for Applications for Fiscal Year 2026

The INPIT Foreign Application Grant (Support for Application Procedures) is offered through multiple calls for applications within each fiscal year. For the 2026 fiscal year, there are a total of four calls (No. 1 through No. 4), and the fourth call—which is currently accepting applications—is scheduled to be the final one for this fiscal year.

The key dates for the 4th call for applications are as follows.

Please check the official INPIT Overseas Patent Application Grant page for the latest call for applications.

2. What types of businesses are eligible for this grant?

This grant is intended for businesses headquartered in Japan. Additionally, applicants must meet one of the following requirements:

• Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs):
  • Companies or individuals whose capital or number of full-time employees falls below the standards set for each industry (e.g., manufacturing,construction, transportation, and software industries: capital of 300 million yen or less or 300 full-time employees or fewer; wholesale: 100 million yen or less or 100 employees or fewer; service industries: 50 million yen or less or 100 employees or fewer; retail: 50 million yen or less or 50 employees or fewer).
  • In the case of sole proprietors, eligibility is limited to those with an address in Japan.
  • This also includes associations such as business associations, joint-venture associations, business cooperatives, and NPOs. Chambers of Commerce and Industry are eligible only for foreign applications related to regional collective trademarks.
• Start-up-Specific Corporations:
  • Corporations with capital of 300 million yen or less that have been in existence for 10 years or less as of the application date.
  • However, corporations are ineligible if a corporation with capital of more than 300 million yen solely owns at least one-half of the shares or jointly owns at least two-thirds of the shares.
• Research and Development Institutions, etc.:
  • Researchers at universities and technical colleges; entities that establish universities or technical colleges; and inter-university research organizations.
  • Entities approved as Technology Transfer Offices (TLOs) affiliated with universities and other institutions.
  • This also includes entities that establish specific independent administrative agencies, special corporations, and publicly funded research and testing institutions, as well as regional independent administrative agencies for research and testing.
• Licensees, etc.:
  • This refers to a party that, with respect to an application filed by an applicant falling into one of the above categories—small and medium-sized enterprises, specified start-up corporations, or research and testing institutions—receives a grant of a right of use or similar right and bears all or part of the costs associated with obtaining rights in foreign countries on behalf of the applicant. However, the party must also fall into one of the three categories listed above.

[Ineligible Entities]

The following entities are not eligible for this subsidy:

• Deemed large enterprises (e.g., small and medium-sized enterprises in which a single large enterprise owns at least one-half of the shares, or in which a large enterprise owns at least two-thirds of the shares). Entities that become deemed large enterprises during the subsidy project implementation period are also ineligible. Note that public entities, such as local governments, are also deemed “large enterprises.”
• Entities subject to suspension of subsidies or suspension of eligibility for contracts by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
• Businesses associated with organized crime groups or their members.
• Overseas subsidiaries (as the requirement is that the head office be located in Japan).

3. What Activities Are Supported? (Eligible Applications and Procedures)

The activities eligible for support are primarily applications filed with foreign patent offices and similar agencies (“Eligible Applications”). For the 4th Call for Applications (Subsidy for Application Procedures), only the costs of the application procedure are eligible for subsidy. Subsidies for “interim procedures”—such as requests for examination or responses to notices of refusal—are handled separately through the “Interim Procedure Subsidy” application(accepted from April 1 to December 14, 2026, for fiscal year 2026).

• Eligible Applications:
  • Applications filed with foreign patent offices, etc., based on a Japanese application and claiming priority under the Paris Convention. The filing method may be a direct application to a foreign country, national phase entry of a PCT international application, an international design registration application under the Hague Agreement, or an international trademark registration application under the Madrid Protocol.
  • Applications filed with foreign patent offices, etc., without claiming priority, using the following methods:
    • Submitting an international application under the PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) to a foreign patent office (through national phase entry procedures in each country or region). However, in this case, national phase entry procedures must be completed with the Japan Patent Office.
    • A design registration application filed with a foreign patent office under the Hague Agreement (Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Designs), designating Japan as one of the contracting states.
    • Trademark registration applications filed with foreign patent offices under the laws and regulations of each country or under the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement. However, eligible trademarks are limited to those corresponding to applications filed with or domestic registered trademarks held by the Japan Patent Office.

Applications filed with the European Patent Office (EPO) are also eligible for the subsidy. However, validation procedures in individual member states following a notice of grant, as well as applications for a European unitary patent, are not eligible for the subsidy.

4. What expenses are eligible for the grant?

Eligible expenses are those that can be clearly identified as related to the subsidized project and for which the necessity and reasonableness of the amounts can be verified with supporting documentation. Additionally, only expenses for which a contract (order) was entered into on or after the grant decision date and for which acceptance and payment were completed within the project implementation period are eligible. The details and amounts of eligible expenses will be verified based on the quotes submitted at the time of application.

The main eligible expenses are as follows:

• Fees paid to foreign patent offices, etc.:
  • Application fees, fees for domestic prosecution procedures in each designated country for international applications (excluding fees for prosecution in Japan), fees for requesting examination of an application, and fees for submitting amendments, etc.
• Agent fees, etc.:
  • Fees for domestic agents (patent attorneys, etc.) and local agents. As a general rule, expenses are covered for one domestic firm and one local firm per country of filing (fees for third-party intermediary agents are generally not eligible).
  • Fees for notarization applications, fees for preparing powers of attorney, bank transfer fees, remittance fees, etc.
• Translation Fees:
  • These are costs associated with translating the specification and other documents. The breakdown (e.g., “unit price × number of words [or number of pages]”) must be clearly specified in the estimate.

[Examples of Expenses Not Eligible for Subsidies]

• Costs associated with preparing grant applications or performance reports.
• Consumption tax, overseas value-added tax (VAT), service taxes, etc.
• Fees paid to the Japan Patent Office (e.g., fees to the home office for Madrid Protocol applications, fees for issuing priority certificates, etc.).
• Costs associated with prior art searches or prior trademark searches.
• Fees for the international phase of an international application (e.g., international application fees, preliminary examination fees).
• Fees required to remedy the expiration of deadlines for submitting translations or requesting examination of an application.
• Patent maintenance fees and registration fees.
• Agent fees corresponding to the expenses listed above that are not eligible for assistance.

5. What are the subsidy amount and subsidy rate?

The subsidy rate is 1/2 of the eligible expenses. The maximum subsidy amount is as follows:

6. Evaluation Criteria and Bonus Points (How to Increase Your Chances of Selection?)

Applications will be evaluated based on the evaluation criteria specified in the program guidelines. Meeting the requirements does not guarantee automatic selection; the likelihood of obtaining intellectual property rights and the prospects for commercialization will be assessed.

In addition, bonus points are awarded to businesses that meet the following criteria. If any apply to you, be sure to include this information and attach supporting documents when applying.

7. Checklist of Required Documents for Application

The main documents to be submitted based on the guidelines for the 4th call for applications are as follows (submission of originals is not required). Forms can be downloaded from the INPIT application (filing procedures) page.

*Additional materials may be requested during the review process. Please respond promptly if contacted by the Secretariat.

8. Main Process and Obligations Following Application and Selection

The overall process for the grant is as follows: Application Submission → Application Review → Notification of Selection → Grant Approval → Procedures with Foreign Patent Offices (Implementation of the Grant Project) → Performance Report → Finalization of Grant Amount → Request for Final Payment and Payment → Report on the Status of Rights Granting.

• Application Method: Only electronic applications submitted via jGrants (the electronic grant application system operated by the Digital Agency) are accepted. A G-Biz ID Prime account is required to apply, and it takes approximately 1 to 2 weeks to be issued. No extensions to the application deadline will be granted due to delays in obtaining a G-Biz ID.
• One Application per Company: Only one application is permitted per call for proposals. If applying for multiple projects, combine the documents into a single ZIP file and submit them in a single application. Applications cannot be submitted jointly with co-applicants; each individual wishing to receive the grant must apply in their own name.
• Proxy Application Function: jGrants offers a proxy application function, which allows a patent attorney acting as a proxy to review the application details before the applicant submits it.
• Restrictions on Duplicate Applications: Applications for grants may not be submitted concurrently with other government-funded support programs—such as the Japan Patent Office’s Overseas Application Support Program (administered by prefectural SME support centers, etc.)—for the same application seeking a grant.If duplication is discovered, the application may be rejected or the grant award decision may be revoked. However, it is possible to apply to the other program for the same application after the first application has been rejected.
• Grant Decision After Selection: There is no need to submit a separate application for disbursement after being selected; notification of the grant decision will be sent via jGrants. Depending on the results of the review, if part of the reported expenses is determined to be ineligible for the subsidy, the approved grant amount may be reduced.
• Obligations After Selection: Even after being selected as a grant recipient, you have several obligations. The following are particularly important points.
  • Patent applications that include inventions falling under the “Specific Technology Fields” defined in the Economic Security Promotion Act are not eligible for this grant.
  • Recipients who received bonus points for wage increases must report the status of those increases in the Report on the Status of Rights Acquisition.
  • Expenses not included in the application at the time of submission cannot be added later. Prior approval from INPIT (via an application for a plan change) is required for any changes to the allocation of expenses, changes to contract terms totaling 500,000 yen or more (including tax), or the suspension, termination, or transfer of the subsidized project.
  • After the subsidized project is completed, you must submit a performance report within 30 days from the date of completion or by the project completion deadline (March 26, 2027, for the 4th round), whichever comes first.
  • You are required to submit an Intellectual Property Rights Status Report annually for all applications eligible for the grant until the examination results and registration status have been fully reported. Failure to submit the report or submission of a false report may result in the revocation of the grant award, a demand for repayment of the grant, or the rejection of future applications.
  • If you fail to complete the rights acquisition process without a valid reason (such as deemed withdrawal due to the expiration of the examination request period, non-payment of registration fees, abandonment, or withdrawal), you may not be selected in future open calls for applications.
  • You must retain accounting records and supporting documents related to eligible expenses for five years after the completion of the subsidized project.
  • You must comply with any reporting requests or on-site inspections conducted by INPIT or the Secretariat.
  • Grant payments are made as a final settlement after the project is completed. Payment can only be made to a bank account in the name of the grant recipient. The grant is subject to taxation (as income for the fiscal year in which it is received).
  • In the event of misconduct or other violations, the grant award may be revoked, an order to repay the funds may be issued, or the matter may be made public.

9. What Should You Do by the Deadline? Application Preparation Schedule

Here is a guideline for preparing your application well in advance of the deadline (September 28 at 5:00 PM).

10. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Summary

The INPIT Overseas Application Subsidy is an extremely reassuring program for small and medium-sized enterprises, startups, and universities aiming to expand overseas, as it covers half of the costs associated with acquiring intellectual property rights abroad.The deadline for the 4th Call for Applications for FY2026 is 5:00 PM on Monday, September 28, 2026, and this is scheduled to be the final call for applications this fiscal year.

There are many key points to keep in mind—such as eligible entities, application requirements, the rule that orders cannot be placed until the grant is approved, and alignment with priority periods—but this program is by no means difficult if you organize everything in advance. We encourage you to consider utilizing this program as part of your intellectual property strategy for overseas expansion.

AUTHOR / Writer

Takefumi Sugiura

Managing Patent Attorney, EVORIX Intellectual Property Firm

We support clients across a wide range of industries—including IT, manufacturing, startups, fashion, and healthcare—with everything from patent, trademark, design, and copyright applications to appeals and infringement litigation.He is also well-versed in intellectual property strategies for cutting-edge fields such as AI, IoT, Web3, and FinTech. He is a member of several organizations, including the Japan Patent Attorneys Association, the Asian Patent Attorneys Association (APAA), and the Japan Trademark Association (JTA).

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