The OEPM grants for international patents reimburse part of the official fees that Spanish applicants pay to extend their inventions abroad through the PCT, the European Patent Office and national offices in Latin America, Africa and elsewhere. The 2026 call, published in the Spanish Official Gazette (BOE) on 24 March 2026 with a budget of EUR 5.3 million, covered fees paid during 2025. This guide explains what it covered, who could apply and how to organise this year’s filings and paperwork so that you are ready if the next call follows the same model.
Key takeaways
- The 2026 call had two programmes: up to EUR 5 million for filings abroad and up to EUR 300,000 for Spanish patents and utility models filed by SMEs and individuals.
- Only foreign filings with a Spanish origin qualified: priority from an application filed at the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (OEPM), or a PCT or European application filed at the OEPM.
- The grant covered up to 80% of fixed reference amounts per country and procedure, rising to 90% for SMEs and individuals, with a cap of EUR 60,000 per applicant (EUR 65,000 for SMEs and individuals).
- Expenses had to be incurred between 1 January and 31 December 2025, and invoices had to be issued to the applicant, with official fees broken down by office.
- Most rejections are avoidable: they come from paperwork, not from the inventions.
What did the 2026 OEPM call cover?
The call was approved by a resolution of the OEPM Director of 20 March 2026, under the regulatory bases of Order ICT/677/2019. Its extract appeared in the BOE on 24 March 2026. Grants are awarded by competitive procedure and fall under the EU de minimis regime (Regulation (EU) 2023/2831), which caps de minimis aid at EUR 300,000 per undertaking over three years.
| Point | Programme for filings abroad | Programme for Spanish filings |
|---|---|---|
| Budget | Up to EUR 5,000,000 (EUR 4.82 million for companies and individuals; EUR 180,000 for non-profit institutions) | Up to EUR 300,000 |
| Who could apply | Individuals, SMEs, large private companies and private non-profit institutions, all resident and tax-domiciled in Spain | Individuals and SMEs resident and tax-domiciled in Spain |
| What was funded | Official fees for European, PCT and foreign national or regional procedures | Official fees for Spanish patents and utility models without foreign priority |
| Eligible period | Expenses incurred from 1 January to 31 December 2025 | Acts published in the Official Industrial Property Bulletin (BOPI) in 2023, 2024 and 2025 |
| Maximum intensity | 80% of the reference amounts; 90% for SMEs and individuals | 90% of the reference amounts |
| Cap per applicant | EUR 60,000; EUR 65,000 for SMEs and individuals | EUR 65,000 |
If total eligible requests exceed the budget, the percentages are reduced proportionally and equally for all activities and countries. In other words, the real reimbursement is only known when the call is resolved.
Which international patent filings qualified?
The programme for filings abroad funded fees paid in procedures that start from Spain. The foreign application had to claim Paris Convention priority from a Spanish patent or utility model, from a PCT application filed at the OEPM as receiving office, or from a European application filed at the OEPM, or be that PCT or European application itself. The eligible steps were:
- Foreign national and regional offices: filing, prior art search, examination and grant fees. Regional offices listed in the call include the EPO, ARIPO and OAPI; national offices listed include Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Morocco, Egypt, the United States and China, and other countries fall into regional blocks such as Central and South America or Africa.
- EPO: designation fees, excess claims fees and pre-grant renewal fees. The reference amounts for pre-grant renewals ran from EUR 690 for the third year to EUR 1,310 for the seventh and later years.
- PCT: the international application when the OEPM was the receiving office, the international search when it was the International Searching Authority and the preliminary examination when it was the examining authority.
- European patent validations in other states, at amounts set per country.
Two exclusions matter. Validations of European patents in Spain and PCT national phase entries in Spain are never funded. And, according to the OEPM’s frequently asked questions, renewal fees after grant are not covered: only pre-grant renewals at the EPO qualify.
How did the 2026 procedure run?
The timeline shows how long the money takes to arrive, which matters for cash planning:
- 25 March 2026: the one-month submission period opened, exclusively online through the OEPM electronic office and signed with a qualified electronic certificate.
- 21 April 2026: the BOE published a 14-day extension, so the period closed on 8 May 2026.
- Correction stage: the OEPM publishes requests to correct incomplete applications in its electronic office, with ten working days to respond. Applicants who do not respond are treated as having withdrawn.
- Provisional and final resolution: the call gives the OEPM six months from the end of the submission period to resolve and notify; without an express resolution in that time, applications may be understood as rejected. Payment is made in a single transfer once the final resolution is issued.
At the date of this article the 2026 call is still being resolved, and the OEPM has not announced the next one.
What this means for your business
The 2026 call reimbursed fees paid in 2025. If the next call keeps that pattern, the filings you make during 2026 are the ones it could cover. Nothing guarantees that it will keep the same rules, but organising your files now costs little:
- Start from the OEPM. File the priority application in Spain, or file the PCT application at the OEPM and choose it as International Searching Authority, if you want those steps to qualify. A PCT filed directly with WIPO’s International Bureau only qualified for search and examination when the OEPM performed them.
- Ask your agents for invoices in your company’s name, showing the application number and the official fees per office separately from professional fees. Invoices addressed to an agent were not accepted.
- Pay by bank transfer referencing each invoice, and keep the filing receipts showing the application number, claimed priority, applicant and filing date with the office’s validation.
- Check your de minimis aid of the last three years and your SME status before applying.
- Prepare the formalities early: qualified electronic certificate, notarised power of the signatory and a bank ownership certificate for a Spanish account.
Extending a Spanish invention into Latin America and Africa is where these grants are most useful, because each national phase or Paris filing generates official fees in a different office. Our team for international patent filing through the PCT, the EPO and national offices can plan the routes so that the documentation fits the call from day one.
Where applicants lose OEPM grants
- The wrong origin. A family whose first filing was made at the EPO or in another country, without a Spanish priority, did not qualify for the programme abroad.
- Invoices that do not fit. Global invoices without a breakdown by office, invoices addressed to the agent or dated outside the eligible year caused rejections; the OEPM also checks that the filing itself falls within that year.
- Missing the correction window. Ten working days is short, and silence means withdrawal.
- Co-ownership left unexplained. When the applicant for the grant, the priority owner and the foreign applicant do not match, the call required a signed declaration; without it, the grant is reduced to the share of costs actually borne.
- Counting on the money too early. Grants are paid after the final resolution, months after the fees were paid abroad.
Frequently asked questions
Who could apply for the OEPM grants for patents abroad in 2026?
Individuals, SMEs, large private companies and private non-profit institutions with residence and tax domicile in Spain, provided they had extended abroad a patent or utility model with a Spanish origin and paid official fees during 2025. The programme for Spanish filings was reserved to individuals and SMEs.
Does the grant cover patent attorney fees?
No. The grant is calculated on reference amounts for official fees per procedure and country, and the call’s documentation table asks applicants to exclude agents’ fees from the invoices submitted. Professional fees for drafting, prosecution and local agents remain a cost for the applicant.
Are renewal fees covered by the OEPM grants?
Only partly. The 2026 call funded renewal fees paid to the EPO before grant, at reference amounts from EUR 690 for the third year to EUR 1,310 from the seventh year. According to the OEPM’s FAQs, renewal fees after grant, including those for validated European patents, were not covered.
Can IP Global Guard prepare my filings so they qualify for the next call?
Yes. We plan the route from the Spanish priority through the PCT or the EPO to national offices in Europe, Latin America and Africa, and coordinate qualified representatives and local correspondents so that filing receipts and invoices meet the call’s documentary requirements. Preparing the grant application itself can be coordinated alongside.
How IP Global Guard can help you protect abroad
IP Global Guard, the intellectual property services line of META Channel Corporation Limited, handles international patent filings across more than 25 jurisdictions in Europe, Latin America and Africa, with one strategy and one billing relationship. Before the OEPM and the WIPO systems we act directly where our professionals are entitled to and otherwise through qualified representatives, and we coordinate European patent attorneys and local correspondents for the rest. See our coverage across the corridor.
Tell us which inventions you plan to extend in the coming months and in which markets. We will map the route, the official costs and the documentation you need to keep for the next call. Contact our patent team.
This article is general information, not legal advice, and describes the 2026 call as published; future calls may change the rules.
Sources
- OEPM, Grants for patent and utility model applications, 2026 call (web page)
- BOE No. 73, extract of the 2026 call, BOE-B-2026-9164 (24 March 2026)
- OEPM, Resolution calling the 2026 grants (20 March 2026)
- BOE No. 97, extension of the submission period, BOE-B-2026-12465 (21 April 2026)
- OEPM, Frequently asked questions on the 2026 call
- BOE, Order ICT/677/2019 of 17 June (regulatory bases)
