The new Industrial  Property Code entered into force on July 01, 2019.

   Please note the following changes:

- The clarification of the regime of collective marks and certification marks.

- The introduction of “bad faith” as basis for refusal of marks;

- Introdução da inadmissibilidade de alterações substancias aos pedidos após publicação;

- General classification of classes is no longer accepted. It is now required the specification of each designated good/service;

- The mark duration is now calculated from the date of filing rather than from the date of grant;

- The possibility of invoking the lack of serious use of the obstacle marks;

- The requirement of susceptibility of graphic representation in trademarks is abolished;

- The introduction of a registration fee to be paid upon granting of trademarks and Logos;

- No substantial changes can be requested upon publication of Applications;

- The decision for invalidation of some IP rights will be taken by an administrative competence of the INPI;

- It has been established that arbitration in disputes between medicinal products proprietors and generics manufacturers is now voluntary;

- The new law will feature specific wording excluding from patentability plant and animals products directly obtained by essentially biological processes;

- The Law provides for new rights against indirect patent infringement, which were until now nor available in Portugal;

- The law now allows for “double protection” whereby a European Patent validated in Portugal can co-exist with a national patent or utility model;

-  The trade secrets protection regime will be clearly enshrined in the code and will also be applicable to non-competitors;

    We are at your disposal for any additional information.