The Inventor Assistance Program (IAP) operates in nine countries: Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Kenya, Morocco, Peru, the Philippines, Singapore and South Africa. The criteria for each participating country is shown below.

The IAP supports inventors and small businesses by helping them develop high quality patent applications. This increases their chances of securing a patent, and ultimately increases the total value of IP assets in the economy. It also facilitates communication with applicants, reducing time IP offices spend dealing with poorly drafted patent applications.

The IAP can also provide support in selected jurisdictions, serving as a standalone program or a plug in to other domestic initiatives.

Implementing the IAP in a country takes:

  • an established culture of innovation;
  • a low success rate of local innovators to use the patent system;
  • an established local patent profession at the time of admission; and
  • a willingness to partner with WIPO to implement the Program.
Become a participating country

Governments interested in becoming participating countries should send to WIPO an official letter of intent agreeing to abide with the IAP Guiding Principles and provide details on the capacity of the local IP and innovation ecosystems to accommodate the Program in the country, such as:

  • Actions that your government would take to promote the IAP locally;
  • Statistics that demonstrate the IAP would be effective in the country, such as the number of resident patent applications, the number of local applicants, and the percentage of local applicants rejected on procedural grounds;
  • A list of local groups, such as law firms, attorneys, bar groups, inventor groups or corporations that will support local implementation and promotion of the IAP.

You can use this template:

Country membership in the IAP is subject to approval of the IAP Steering Committee.

Contact us to set up a consultation.

Find out more

More questions about the IAP? Read our full list of FAQs.

Country Local IAP portal Income eligibility criteria Invention eligibility criteria
Chile National Institute of Industrial Property (INAPI)
  • Any natural person (Chilean national or resident in Chile) with an active RUT number (tax ID number) and an average monthly income over the previous six months that does not exceed the equivalent of 45 UF (units of account).
  • Companies deemed by the Internal Revenue Service (SII) to be small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); that is, those with annual sales ranging from 2,400 UF to 100,000 UF.
  • Entities deemed by SII to be micro-enterprises; that is, those that conduct economic activity on a regular basis, whether artisanal or otherwise, as a family business or partnership, and generate annual sales of less than 2,400 UF.
  • An invention application has not yet been filed.
  • The invention does not include subject matter excluded from patentability under Act No. 19.039 and does not exist in the state of art.
  • The invention has strong commercial potential.
Colombia Colombian Patent Office (Superintendencia de Industria y Comercio)
  • Inventors with a fixed or variable monthly income not exceeding four monthly legal minimum salaries (consult Act 789 of 2002).
  • Small companies as defined by law 905 of 2004: those with between 11 and 50 staff and total assets equivalent to between 501 and 5,000 minimum monthly salaries.
  • Micro companies as defined by law 905 of 2004: those with no more than 10 staff and total assets less than 500 minimum monthly salaries.
  • The invention must not be subject to any exclusions or exceptions to patentability as defined by Articles 15 and 20 of Decision 486 of 2000.
  • The invention must be usable by industry over the next 10 years.
Ecuador

Servicio Nacional de Derechos Intelectuales

The applicant is:

  • An individual earning less than 3 monthly “remuneración básica unificada” (unified basic remuneration); or
  • A microenterprise having between 1 and 9 employees with a turnover of less than $100,000.00; or
  • A small enterprise having between 10 and 49 employees, with a turnover of between $100,001.00 and $1,000,000.00
 None
Kenya Kenya Industrial Property Institute (KIPI)
  • An individual whose turnover does not exceed one million Kenya shillings or $10,000.
  • A micro enterprise whose annual turnover does not exceed one million Kenya shillings or $10,000; and which employs less than ten people.
  • A small enterprise whose annual turnover ranges between one million or $10,000 and five million Kenya shillings or $50,000; and which employs between ten and fifty people.
  • The invention must be, at face value, a patentable invention; and
  • The invention should not have subject matter excluded from patentability as provided for under sections 21(3) and 26 of the Industrial Property Act.
Morocco Moroccan Technology and Innovation Support Centers
  • Individual inventors not engaged in any other business activity.
  • Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) whose turnover does not exceed 75 million dirhams and whose permanent employees do not exceed 300, pursuant to Law No. 53.00 constituting the SME charter.
  • Self-employed people, as defined by Law No. 114.13, whose turnover is less than or equal to 500,000 dirhams for business activities or equal to 200,000 dirhams for service provision (this is a new legal category in Morocco for self-employed individuals).
  • Very small enterprises (VSEs) whose annual pre-tax turnover is less than 3 million dirhams.
  • The invention must not be subject to the exceptions to and/or exclusions from patentability, within the meaning of Law No. 17-97 on the protection of industrial property.
  • Technical and economic relevance of the invention.
Peru National Institute for the Defense of Competition and Protection of Intellectual Property (INDECOPI)
  • Natural person: demonstrate a monthly income below to a minimum wage and a half of: S/. 1,350 (presenting copy of last income tax return before SUNAT or proof of income for the last three months).
  • Microenterprise: demonstrate annual income less than one hundred fifty (150) UIT: S/. 630,000 and less than 10 employees (presenting copy of last income tax return before SUNAT or proof of income for the last three months, and proof of registration in the Registry of Small and Micro Enterprises - REMYPE https://bit.ly/2DqGnP1
  • A positive feasibility report in INDECOPI’s PATENTA program this year.
Philippines Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL)
  • Any natural person who is earning P500,000.00 or less per annum.
  • Duly registered entity such as micro, small, start-up, spin-off companies with total assets LESS THAN P15,000,000.00 (Republic Act No. 9501).
  • The invention does not fall under the enumerations of non-patentable subject matter under Section 22 of the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines, as amended by Republic Act No. 9502;
  • Commercial Potential: No prior art (arrangement that the applicant has to commercialize the technology subject of the application is a plus factor in the evaluation of an application for IAP).
Singapore Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS)
  • Applicant is a Singapore citizen or permanent resident between 18 and 35 years old, who is a full-time student in an approved education institution.
  • Applicant must not be on a job arrangement with full-time remuneration at the time of application.
  • Applicant has not engaged a patent attorney/agent (either local or foreign) previously for the filing of any invention.
  • The invention concerned, at face value, meets patentability requirements as defined by sections 13-16 of the Singapore Patents Act.
  • Applicant has documentation to prove that they own the rights to the invention.
South Africa Companies and Intellectual Property Commission

The applicant is an individual or SME that is either:

  • A person earning less than R 30 000 per month after tax, or
  • An enterprise with an annual turnover of less than R5 million.

The invention concerned:

  • (on face value) meets patentability or functional design requirements.
  • has prospects for commercial success.