PATENTS

It can be an object of a Patent all invention, whether relating to new products as to new procedures, implying an inventive activity, if susceptible of industrial application.

The duration of a Patent is 20 years as from the application date.

National Patent

A National Patent is a right granted by the State, conferring to its owner an exclusive right of exploitation of the invention under object, it that National territory.

European Patent

The European Patent is a single procedure for granting Patents which application can obtain protection in one or several contracting States, conferring the exclusive right of exploitation of the invention under object, in that designated States.

International Patent (PCT)

O PCT is an application made under the terms of the Patent Cooperation International Treaty (only obtainable by the States contracting the Paris Convention) that aims to facilitate the request, research and examination of the Patent application.

CCPM É um Título de protecção complementar para medicamentos que tenham sido objecto de protecção por patente e relativamente aos quais, tenha sido concedida autorização de colocação no mercado.

CCPM

is a Supplementary Protection Certificates for medicines having been object of a Patent protection, in relation to which a suitable authorization has been granted to be launch in the marked.The CCPM aims to guarantee to the Patent Owner the benefit of an exclusive right with a maximum duration of 15 years, counting from the date of the first authorization to launch the medicine in the community marked.The duration of the CCPM cannot exceed 5 years.

Biotechnological Inventions

The research and development, namely in the field of genetic engineering demand high level of investments, of an considerable amount, which profitability can only be possible through an efficient protection and harmonized throughout the State members.

Utility Model

The Utility Models seek the protection of an invention through an administrative procedure much more simplified and faster by comparison with the Patent.Hence, the Utility Models have lower level of exigency in relation with the inventive activity, a smaller period of protection and a nThe Utility Models seek the protection of an invention through an administrative procedure much more simplified and faster by comparison with the Patent.Hence, the Utility Models have lower level of exigency in relation with the inventive activity, a smaller period of protection and a non-compulsory examination.This protection has the duration of 6 years counting from the application date, and can be deferred for 2 periods of two years each, until the maximum duration of 10 years.

National Utility Model

The national Utility Model is a Title granted by a State and confers to its owner the exclusive right of exploitation of the invention under object in that territory.on-compulsory examination.This protection has the duration of 6 years counting from the application date, and can be deferred for 2 periods of two years each, until the maximum duration of 10 years.

International Utility Model (Via PCT)

O PCT is an International Treaty of Cooperation in the filed of Patents (only obtainable by the States contracting the Paris Convention) that aims to facilitate the request, research and examination of the Utility Model application.

Semicondutor Topgraphies

Topographies are an ensemble of related images, either fixed or codified, representing the three-dimensional arrangement of the layers of the product, possessing each image the display or part of it, of a surface of the same product in any phase of its manufacture.

The duration of the registration is 10 years, non-renewed.

TRADEMARKS

A Trade/Service Mark is formed by a sign or an ensemble of signs susceptible of graphic representation, namely words, designs, letters (characters), numbers, sounds, suitable to distinguish the products or services of a specific Firm from the ones pertaining to other Firms.

It can also be protected as Trade/Service Mark publicity slogans possessing distinctive character.
The validity of a Trade/Service Mark is 10 years, renewed by equal periods of 10 years without limit.

The application of a Trade/Service Mark may have several geographic hypotheses:

National Trade/Service Mark

The registration of a National Mark produces effect in the country in which it is applied for.

International Trade/Service Mark

The registration of an International Mark is based in the Madrid Agreement and Protocol and permits to its owner to determine through a single application the States in which it pretends to protect the registration of its mark.

European Union Trade/Service Mark

Through a single application, the European Union Trade/Service Mark embraces all the countries pertaining to the European Community and the refusal in one country will be extended to all the others.

MODELS OR DESIGNS

Design or Model is the Industrial Property right that protects the design configuration of the products resulting from the Firm’s and relative designers inventive activity.

Design or Model designates the total or partial appearance of a product resulting from its characteristics and features, such as line, profile, color, shape, texture or the material of the product and its decoration.

It can be designated as product any industrial or handmade article.

It exists two forms of protecting Designs or Models:

Registered

It is a protection submitted to an examination, conferring major juridical guarantee and has a longer duration, by other words it is protected for quinquenniums to be renewed for a maximum limited of 25 years.

Non-Registered

It has a faster protection, conferring to a Design or Model only a provisional registration, with a minor duration of only 6 years, renewed for two periods of 2 years, until a maximum of 10 years.

National Design or Model

The registration of a Design or Model only produces effect in the Country in which it is applied for.

Previous Application for registration

It is a special mechanism for protecting textile and clothing Designs and Models with the duration of 6 months and conferring, in Portugal, the priority right for eventual future Design and Model application.

European Union Design

Through a single application, the Design or Model will have full protection after the grant in all countries of the European Union.

International Design

Through a single application, the Design or Model will have full protection after the grant in more than 62 counries or jurisdictions.

Other Distinctve Signs

Logotypes

A sign or an ensemble of signs susceptible of graphic representation, suitable to indicate any entity rendering services or commercializing products, forms the Logotype.

A logotype is the adequate sign to identify an entity that provides services or commercialize products, distinguishing from others, and that could be used, namely, in establishments, commercials and correspondence. It is the way by which a certain entity intends to be known by the public.

Awards

Awards are merit decorations conferred by the Governments, such as Official medals, certificates, prizes, bestowed in expositions, markets and contests and officially recognized, diplomas and analysis attestations or praise, Head of State official Supplier Titles, each and every prizes or Official preferential demonstrations.

An award is a sign in the form of words, a figure or a symbol that is conferred upon industrialists, retailers, farmers and other businessmen, as a prize or as an indication of praise or preference for their products.

Appellation of Origin

An appellation of origin can be a name of a certain region, a specific location, or in exceptional cases a Country, that is used to designate or identify a product from that region, local or Country, which quality or characteristics are essentially due to the geographical environment, including natural and human factors, occurring in that limited geographical area the product manufacture, transformation and assembly.

Geographical indication

A Geographical indication can be the name of a certain region, a specific location or in exceptional cases a Country that is used designate or identify a product from that region, local or Country which reputation, certain quality or other characteristics are due to that geographical region, occurring in that limited geographical area the product manufacture, transformation and/or assembly.The major difference between an appellation of origin and a geographical indication rests with the type of link that exists between the qualities or characteristics of the product and the natural environment from which they originate. This link is stricter for appellations of origin than for geographical indications.

Domain Names

Domain Name is an Internet address arbitrarily defined as a succession of letters and digits corresponding, univocally, to numeric addresses, localizing it in the net.

The importance of the Domain Names arises naturally with the globalization and the consequent growth of the computer utilization, and today is completely indispensable for the owner of a distinctive signal to register it as a Domain Name, not only to protect it but also to commercialize its mark.

The Domain Names can be divided into:

Top Domains

a) Generic Top Domain Name:

b) Top Domain Names identifying countries:

• "pt" - Portugal
• "es" - Spain
• "fr" - France

.pt - Domain Name ".pt" is run by a non-profitable organization, with address in Lisbon the “FCCN”.

.eu - Domain Name ".eu" are run by a non-profitable organization, with address in Belgium "EURID", that only accepts the registration of Domain Names filed by qualified entities.

At the present time, the registration of Domain Name “.eu” is only permitted to single or collective persons residing in Europe and functions in a “first come, first served” system, in other words it will be granted registration to the first one to demand it.

Sub-Domains:

Domains registered within the Top Domains, as for example “.com.pt”, “.jogos.com.”, “.net.es”.

Others

It keeps growing the number of Domains and sub-Domains Names due to the greater use of Internet.

Author Rights / Copyrights

It is through copyright and connected right that the intellectual creations in the literary, artistic or scientific fields are protected, that are somewhat expressed beyond the author’s rights.

It includes the work and creations from the spirit that do not benefit from other special ruling.

The current copyright law protects:

Additionally, the translations, adaptations, revisions, updates, compendiums, repairs or any other transformation of previous works may be object of protection by the copyright code and connected right.

The copyright confers (in lack of special disposition) 70 years of protection after the author’s death.

It is only required that the masterpiece is original and liable of reproduction to be object of an application.

Copyright and connected rights distinguish two types of different rights:

Moral rights

Are inalienable, non-transmissible and non-renounced, always belonging to the author the right to the work.

Patrimonial rights

They may by contract or by the work in question be attributed to another entity rather than the moral author’s work.