One-liner: OEPM's annual competitive grant that reimburses 80–90% of the official fees a company or individual pays to file/extend a patent or utility model — nationally in Spain, or internationally (PCT, European patent, foreign national offices) for Spanish-origin inventions. The concrete, dated instrument behind OEPM's "patent-fee reductions/subsidies" line item on its org page. 2026 edition is now closed (deadline 8 May 2026); recurring annually.
What you get
Two separate programs (can apply to either or both, per your filing):
- Programa exterior — subsidises the fees paid to extend a Spanish-origin patent/utility model abroad (PCT international application, European patent via EPO, or direct filing in a foreign national office). Open to individuals, PYMEs, large companies, and private non-profit institutions, provided Spanish tax residency. Subsidy: up to 80% of the Anexo I reference amounts for large companies, up to 90% for PYME/individuals.
- Programa nacional — subsidises fees for Spanish patents/utility models published in the BOPI during 2023–2025. Open to PYME and individuals only (not large companies or non-profits). Subsidy: up to 90% of the Anexo II reference amounts.
- Aid is classified as de minimis (EU Regulation 2023/2831) — a single company cannot receive more than €300,000 total de minimis aid from Spain across any 3-year period; factor this in if stacking with other grants (e.g. IVACE PIDI-CV 2026, which also treats patent costs as eligible).
Who it's for
- PYMEs and individuals filing or already holding a Spanish-origin patent/utility model who want to recover filing-fee costs — nationally or when extending protection abroad. Large companies and non-profits are eligible only for the exterior program, not the national one.
- Especially relevant to deeptech, hardware, and university spin-out founders whose core asset is IP (see OEPM & University OTRIs IP Support for the broader advisory/OTRI stack this call sits inside).
How to apply (when the next edition opens)
- Applications are exclusively electronic via OEPM's sede electrónica (https://sede.oepm.gob.es) and the dedicated form at https://tramites2.oepm.es/solicitudAyudas/ — the form only becomes available once the window opens.
- Window is short: historically ~1 month from the day after the BOE extract publishes (2026: 25 Mar–24 Apr, then extended 14 days to 8 May) — watch OEPM's "avisos y advertencias" / news feed in March for the next BOE publication date.
- Resolution/notification takes up to 6 months from the close of the window; no response within that window counts as a negative silent denial (silencio administrativo negativo).
- Required paperwork includes signed "declaraciones responsables" (different forms for persona física / persona jurídica no PYME / PYME) plus multi-titular variants if the patent has co-owners.
Key facts
- Legal basis (bases reguladoras): Orden ICT/677/2019, de 17 de junio (BOE núm. 148, 21 June 2019).
- 2026 convocatoria: signed 20 March 2026 by Elisa Rodríguez Ortiz (Directora, OEPM); BOE extract published 24 March 2026 (BOE-B-2026-9164, núm. 73).
- Deadline extension: Resolución de 17 April 2026 extended the window 14 calendar days — final deadline 8 May 2026 (BOE-B-2026-12465). As of this run (2026-07-05) the window is closed.
- Budget breakdown (exterior program): total max €5,000,000 across the two concepts — €4,820,000.00 for
private companies/individuals (concepto 471), remainder for non-profit institutions (concepto 484). Sourced
from FY2023 budget lines, carried over ("prorrogados") into 2026 per the 23 Dec 2025 Council of Ministers
agreement — a sign Spain's 2026 general state budget had not yet been newly approved at convocatoria time.
#status/verifythe separate national-program budget figure (Anexo II) — not fully broken out in the extract captured. - Recurring — monitor for next edition: this call runs annually; re-check oepm.es around March 2027 for the 2027 BOE publication, per the pattern of March convocatoria / April–May deadline seen in 2026.
Relations
- Run by: OEPM
- Part of: OEPM & University OTRIs IP Support
- See also: IVACE PIDI-CV 2026
- See also: Deeptech (niche)