Trademark registration is unquestionably an investment for a business — but there is a fact that often gets overlooked when planning the budget: a significant part of that investment can be covered by state grants. For SMEs in particular, industrial property expenses fall within the scope of non-repayable support. In this article we look at which schemes exist, which expenses they cover, and how to run the process in the right order.
Why Does the State Support Trademark Registration?
Industrial property rights are an indicator of a country's capacity for value-added production. A business with a registered trademark can export, grant franchises, attract investment and fight counterfeiting. For that reason, trademark and patent registration is an area that economic policy actively encourages.
The practical takeaway for business owners is simple: a significant part of an expense you would have to incur anyway can be covered, if you apply to the right programme at the right time.
KOSGEB's Industrial Property Rights Support
Among KOSGEB's support programmes, there is a dedicated line item for obtaining industrial property certificates. Expenses typically covered under this scheme include:
- Expenses for a trademark registration certificate obtained from TÜRKPATENT
- Expenses for a patent and utility model certificate
- Expenses for a design registration certificate
- Other industrial property certificates, such as integrated circuit topography
- Attorney/agent service fees incurred in obtaining these certificates
The support is non-repayable, and an upper limit applies as set for the relevant programme period. Because rates and limits are updated annually, you should confirm the current implementation rules of the relevant programme before applying.
Industrial Property Under Other Programmes
Industrial property expenses are not confined to a single support line — they can appear within several programmes at once:
- Entrepreneurship support programmes: Industrial property items can also be considered among the setup and business-development expenses of newly founded businesses.
- R&D and innovation programmes: In innovative product development projects, the intellectual property expenses that protect a project's output can be included in the project budget.
- Business development programmes: Trademark registration can be supported under a corporate-development heading.
This is why there is no single answer to "does KOSGEB support trademarks?" — the most suitable line item depends on which programme your business fits, and at what stage.
Support for Overseas Trademark Registration
A separate support area exists for companies that export or plan to. Registering a trademark abroad is considerably more expensive than in Turkey — every country requires its own official fee and, in most cases, a local representative's fee.
Part of this cost can be covered under export-oriented state support schemes. Typical covered items include overseas trademark filing fees, renewal costs, and legal consultancy fees relating to trademark protection activities.
To compare international filing routes, see our articles on the Madrid Protocol and the EU Trademark (EUTM). Because the Madrid system lets you reach multiple countries with a single application, it also helps you use your support budget efficiently.
The Right Order: The Most Common Mistake
The most common mistake in grant applications is getting the order wrong. Many businesses spend the money first and only afterward ask "could we have gotten support for this?" Yet under most support programmes, the expense must be documented according to a specific procedure, and the stages the programme sets out must be followed.
A sound process looks like this:
- Eligibility check: Does your business meet the SME definition, and which programme does it fall under?
- Programme selection: Which support line fits your situation?
- Confirming the requirements: Review the rules currently in force — limits and rates change from period to period.
- Making and documenting the expense: Invoices, payment receipts and the registration certificate must all be kept in full.
- Applying for the grant: The application is filed together with the supporting documents.
What to Watch in Documentation
Most grant applications that get rejected are turned down not for legal reasons but for paperwork reasons. Common problems include:
- The invoice being issued to a partner as an individual rather than to the business
- The trademark being registered in the founder's name rather than the business's name
- The invoice description not being sufficiently descriptive
- A missing proof-of-payment document (receipt)
- The official fee and the service fee not being itemised separately
The second point is especially critical: registering a trademark in an individual's name can make sense in some situations, but if you plan to apply for a grant, the registration is generally required to be in the name of the business receiving the support. We covered the details of that ownership decision in our article Registering a Trademark Without a Company.
Items Not Covered by These Grants
For the sake of managing expectations, it also helps to know what these grants do not cover. Items generally excluded include:
- Services that do not result in a registration certificate, such as trademark searches and preliminary analysis
- Legal costs of opposition and litigation proceedings (some programmes may cover these to a limited extent)
- Trademark watching and portfolio monitoring services
- Fees paid for applications that are refused
This list shows why your planning needs to be realistic: a grant covers part of the registration cost, not your entire trademark-protection budget. Items such as trademark watching and opposition defence, in particular, need to be planned separately in your own budget — they are just as critical as registration itself, yet fall outside the scope of most grant programmes.
Another important point is that grants focus on processes that result in a certificate. Just as the fee for a refused application is not refunded, it is not covered by a grant either. This underlines, once again, the economic value of researching before you file: a good preliminary search reduces not only the risk of refusal but also the risk of missing out on the grant.
The Preparation File for a Grant Application
A business that wants to run the grant process smoothly should have the following documents ready:
- Trademark registration certificate (or the application certificate, depending on the programme's requirements)
- Official fee payment receipts — showing payments made to TÜRKPATENT
- Attorney/agent service invoice — issued in the business's name, with a clear description
- Proof of payment — bank receipts or account statements
- Business documents — tax registration certificate, trade registry record, SME declaration
The soundest approach is to build this file continuously, as each expense is incurred. Gathering documents retroactively at year-end both wastes time and increases the risk of missing paperwork.
Which Should Be Supported First: Trademark or Patent?
This is a question businesses with a limited budget ask often. The answer depends on the nature of the business, but a general priority rule can be given.
If your commercial activity is already underway and your brand is visible in the market, your trademark should be protected first, because the name is at risk every single day, and losing it wastes your entire investment in visual identity. If your invention has not yet been publicly disclosed, filing the patent application should not be delayed either, because the novelty requirement, once lost, cannot be recovered.
We compared how these rights differ from one another in our article Trademark or Patent?
Calculating Your Total Cost Correctly
The total cost of trademark registration is made up of two main components: the official fees paid to TÜRKPATENT, and the attorney/agent service fee. VAT does not apply to official fees; it is added to the service fee. Because official fees vary with the number of classes, your class decision directly affects your budget.
For current figures, see our article Trademark Registration Fees 2026. We discussed the return on this investment in our article Is Trademark Registration an Investment or a Cost?
Do Not Delay Filing While Waiting for the Grant
A final, and perhaps the most important, warning: the grant process should never be a reason to delay your trademark application. Priority in trademark rights is determined by the filing date. During the months spent waiting on a grant application, the possibility that someone else registers the same name exists every single day.
The right approach is to secure your trademark on time and run the grant process in parallel. The damage caused by losing a mark to someone else far exceeds any grant you could have received.
Plan the Process with Webx
Trademark registration and a grant application are two processes that reinforce each other when run in the right order. Get the order wrong, and you risk losing both the grant and time.
At Webx, we manage your trademark registration process and prepare the documentation your grant application needs, complete and in order. Explore our trademark registration service or contact us for a plan that fits your budget.