How to apply for a patent abroad

The protection granted by INPI - National Institute of Industrial Property is only valid in Portugal. If you want to protect an invention in another country, you must apply for protection abroad.

Apply for a patent or utility model in one country or several

If you want to protect your invention directly in one country or in several countries separately, you should apply in the agency responsible for Industrial Property protection in that country and fill the application.

The utility model is a modality that only exists in some countries. Consult our contact list of international Organisations to know where to go.

Apply for a European patent

If you wish to protect your invention in the contracting countries of the European Patent Convention you can apply for a European patent through a single centralized procedure at the European Patent Office (EPO).

The scope of the patent granted by EPO is the same in all designated countries but only takes effect once validated in each of the countries where the invention is to be protected. This validation consists in the submission, at the institute of each country, of a translation of the granted patent, in the official language of that country.

The entire examination, award, and opposition process is promoted by EPO, according to its own rules and procedures.

Do not forget that if you have applied for a patent or utility model in Portugal for up to 12 months before, you can take advantage of this application to claim a priority in the European patent application.

European patent applications may be filed with INPI or EPO

If a priority of a prior national application is not claimed, the European patent application must be filed at INPI, otherwise the patent, once granted, may not be effective in the national territory.

The European patent application can be made:

• directly at EPO

• at INPI, in Portugal

The fees for the European patent application must be paid to EPO. If the application is filed with INPI, the act implies settlement of the application preparation fee and transmission to the IEP, which is paid at the time the application is submitted:

During the period of time that elapses between the application and the granting annuities are due and must be paid directly to EPO.

At the time of the validation of the European patent in the designated countries, national fees are due according to the scale in force in those countries. To request the validation of the patent in a particular country, you must present in the corresponding institute the translation of the document into the official language of that country.

For more information and clarification of doubts you can consult the EPO website. The EPO makes available the free telephone number 00 800 80 20 20 20.

Protect your invention in several countries with a single application

If you wish to protect your invention in any Contracting Parties of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) you can fill an international patent application. The PCT is managed by WIPO - World Intellectual Property Organisation.

The international application allows you to make a single patent application, valid for several countries, in a single language and with a single publication.

Through the PCT application it is possible to obtain protection for PCT contracting countries, not only through national channels, but also through regional routes, such as the European patent. 

The application will then go on to the national or regional phases for up to 30 months from the date of submission of the application or the earliest claimed priority date if priority claiming is made.

The application will be studied according to the national laws of each country, the final order, concession or refusal, being the responsibility of that country. This means that the same invention may be refused or granted in different countries or may even be granted with different texts in several countries.

The international application for a patent can be made online through the ePCT.

If you prefer, you can apply on paper

In this case, the international patent application is made at the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), but it can also be done through INPI or the European Patent Office (EPO). 

If you do not claim the priority of a national application you have already made, the international application must be filed at INPI, otherwise the patent will not have effects in the national territory.

A reduction of 90% in some of the PCT fees (international filing fee, including the per-sheet fee above 30, supplementary search treatment rate and treatment fee) may be applied for PCT applications that meet all of the following criteria:

The international patent application is made at WIPO but may also be made through INPI or the EPO

• directly to EPO

• to INPI, in Portugal

• at WIPO

The registration process takes at least 18 months

The registration process has an international phase and a national phase.

The formal examination is done by the entity that receives the application, and issues the respective notifications, when necessary. The replies to the notifications are also submitted to this entity, which will be responsible for sending them, along with the request, to WIPO and the EPO, in the case of applications that are submitted to INPI.

The request is published after 18 months after the earliest priority date, in conjunction with the search report.

By 30 months after the earliest priority date, the applicant shall enter the application at national or regional stages. To do this, it must present a translation, in the official language of that country, requesting the examination of the patent application.

In the case of national phases, the application shall be examined and shall be granted if it complies with the formal and patentability requirements of the national legislation of the country where the invention is to be protected, that is, it shall have the same treatment as a national application. In the case of regional phases, the request will be studied by the competent authority and, if granted, it should be validated in the designated countries.