FY2026 Itabashi Intellectual Property Acquisition Support Subsidy

This subsidy is operated by the Itabashi Industrial Promotion Foundation (a Tokyo Itabashi-ward public-interest foundation) to support advancement and stronger management foundations among Itabashi-area SMEs by reimbursing part of the costs of obtaining a patent, utility-model right, trademark, or design right. The FY2026 application window is open until March 5, 2027 (Fri), or earlier if the budget is exhausted. Each business is limited to one application per fiscal year for one right; for example, if both a patent and design right cover the same Product A, only one of the two can be claimed. One 'right' equals one registration-number set, and the right's registration MUST already be complete to apply. Eligible applicants must satisfy ALL of: (1) be an SME under the Small/Medium Enterprise Basic Act with a head office or business establishment inside Itabashi Ward; (2) have been doing business inside Itabashi Ward for one year or longer (SME or sole proprietor); (3) NOT be substantially controlled by a large enterprise; (4) have no delinquency on the previous-year corporate municipal tax or corporate business tax; (5) NOT be receiving the same-purpose subsidy from another local government for the same right; (6) NOT have received this same subsidy for the same right in the past. Filing is allowed only within one year of the right's registration date. Eligible expenses cover domestic examination-request fees, registration fees, patent-attorney fees, and other expenses directly related to protecting the product or technology. Indirect costs such as consumption tax, bank transfer fees, and postage are excluded. For trademark rights, patent-attorney fees are capped at JPY 100,000 of eligible expense. The subsidy amount is: for patents, the lower of (i) 1/2 of eligible expense or (ii) JPY 300,000 (rounded down by JPY 1,000); for utility models, trademarks, or design rights, the lower of (i) 1/2 of eligible expense or (ii) JPY 200,000 (rounded down by JPY 1,000). The process is: phone the Foundation first; submit documents by email for pre-screening; then bring or mail the package to the Foundation. Required documents are: (1) Application form (Form 1), with the representative's signature or seal; (2) copy of the right's Certificate of Registration (printed PDF accepted for electronic delivery); (3) tax certificates — for corporations, corporate business tax and corporate municipal tax (Tokyo Metropolitan tax office; payment receipts and filing-receipt confirmation also acceptable); for sole proprietors, the previous year's individual municipal tax certificate (or non-taxation certificate) AND the individual business tax certificate (or none-required note); (4) Certificate of Registered Matters (corporations only, within three months); (5) copy of business-opening notification (sole proprietors); (6) operating permit, where required; (7) receipts (with itemised breakdown) or invoices plus transfer-receipt records; (8) copy of the consignment contract with the patent firm (or JPO acceptance notice with applicant + attorney names listed); (9) licence agreement / use-permission letter where the application is based on a licence; (10) the prescribed pre-application checklist. After the grant decision, the Foundation sends the decision notice and a request-for-payment form by post; the applicant returns the payment request and receives the subsidy. Contact: Itabashi Industrial Promotion Foundation, Management Support Group, TEL 03-3579-2175, FAX 03-3963-6441.