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Patent

How to register a patent

justica.gov.pt / Registos / Industrial Property / Patent / How to register a patent

In Portugal, patent applications are submitted at INPI - National Institute of Industrial Property.

The patent confers the right to protect the invention from being used, produced or commercialised by others without the holder's authorisation.


To apply for the patent of an invention you must consider certain requirements

Before filing the patent application, make sure that the invention:
  • is not yet protected
  • is not publicly known and has never been commercialised or described in any document by the inventor, the applicant or others in Portugal or in any other country.

You can apply for a patent now

Registering on this page is 50% cheaper than registering in another way. Use the "Register a patent" button to apply for a patent or utility model.

For this you will need to present the following elements:
  • Claims of what is considered new and inventive and characterizes the invention
  • A detailed description of the object of the invention
  • Drawings necessary for the perfect understanding of the description (when applicable)
  • Summary of the invention
  • Drawings for publication in the Industrial Property Bulletin (if there are drawings that are necessary to understand the abstract)
  • A title for the invention
  • Identification data of the inventor (name, address, telephone, email and TIN)
  • Entity code granted to you, if you have already made other requests
  • Details of who applies for registration (name, address, telephone, email and TIN)
  • Digital signature if you need to authenticate documents online
  • Payment of application fees.

If you prefer, you can register on paper

To do this, you will need to complete the PatMut1 application form or PatMut2 utility form if the invention has multiple applicants or inventors in Portuguese and in duplicate.

Once completed, the forms can be delivered:
  • at INPI, in person or by post

    - If you choose to do it in person, you can proceed with payment through cash or ATM;

    - If you wish to send by mail, you can pay by check to “IGCP - Agência de Gestão da Tesouraria e da Dívida Pública” or through Postal Order to “INPI, IP”.

    INPI - Public Helpdesk      
    Campo das Cebolas
    1149-035 Lisboa
  • in one of the Business Formalities Centres
  • at the Commercial Registry of Coimbra, Lisbon and Porto counters.

The application for a patent takes at least 21 months

The application for a patent does not have an automatic decision and generally passes through the following stages:
  • Submit the application
  • Formal examination
  • Publication of the application in the Industrial Property Bulletin (18 months from the date of request)
  • Deadline for interested parties to oppose (duration of 2 months after publication)
  • Examination of the invention
  • Decision
  • Deadline to appeal the decision (2 months). You can appeal to the Intellectual Property Court or to the arbitration centre ARBITRARE.

   

The patent has a duration of 20 years from the date of application

During the time that the patent is valid, the holder must:
  • Pay the annuities
  • Be vigilant, consult the Industrial Property Bulletin and denounce patent applications that may jeopardize your rights.

The non-payment of one of the annuities leads to the loss of the right.



If you choose the utility model, the process is simplified

The process, as a rule, consists of the following phases:
  • Submit the application
  • Formal examination
  • Publication of the application in the Industrial Property Bulletin (6 months from the date of request)
  • Deadline for interested parties to submit objections (duration of 2 months after publication of the application)
  • Examination of the invention (optional)
  • Deadline to appeal the decision (2 months). You can appeal to the Intellectual Property Court or the arbitration centre ARBITRARE.

Utility model application with examination

 

modelo utilidade nacional com exame


The utility model has a maximum duration of 10 years from the date of application

During the time that the utility model is valid, you, must:

 

Follow the process of your patent

Through INPI alerts, you can follow the development of your patent process. Whenever there is a change in the application, INPI will notify you by email.

These alerts also serve, after granting the right, to closely monitor the life of your patent.


Provisional Patent Application

A Provisional Patent Application is a simpler, easier and more affordable way to file patent applications.

This protection is indicated for applicants or inventors who:
  • do not have time to file an application that meets all formal requirements
  • have not yet had the opportunity to assess the potential of the invention
  • want to make a lower initial investment compared to the investment required by the patent application.
To request a PPA you need to:
  • present a description of the invention in Portuguese or English describing the object of the application in order to allow the invention to be executed by any person skilled in the art
  • pay a reduced fee.

The PPA has no practical effect if it is too simplified, vague or comprehensive. The submitted document must show all the technical characteristics that will be later claimed in the definitive application.

Registering on this page is 50% cheaper than registering in another way. Use the Register patent button to place the provisional patent application.

If you prefer, you can register on paper

To do this, you will need to complete the PatMut1 application form or PatMut2 utility form if the invention has multiple applicants or inventors in Portuguese and in duplicate.

Once completed, the forms can be delivered:
  • at INPI, in person or by post

    - If you choose to do it in person, you can proceed with payment through cash or ATM;

    - If you wish to send by mail, you can pay by check to “IGCP - Agência de Gestão da Tesouraria e da Dívida Pública” or through Postal Order to “INPI, IP”.

    INPI - Public Helpdesk      
    Campo das Cebolas
    1149-035 Lisboa
  • in one of the Business Formalities Centres
  • at the Commercial Registry of Coimbra, Lisbon and Porto counters.

The Provisional Patent Application may be converted into a definitive application

Before 12 months have elapsed from the date of application, the applicant shall request the conversion of the provisional application into a definitive patent application. If the application is not converted within the time limit, the applicant loses the priority and the application becomes ineffective.

To request a provisional order conversion request, you need to:
  • present, in Portuguese, all documents necessary for the instruction of a patent application (claims, descriptions, drawings and summary)
  • pay the fee corresponding to a definitive patent application.

Registering on this page is 50% cheaper than registering in another way. Use the Register patent button and select "provisional request conversion". For this act you need a digital signature.

If you prefer, you can register on paper

To do this, you will need to complete the PatMut3 form in Portuguese and in duplicate and mark Point 6 "Conversion of PPA to final". 

Once completed, the form can be submitted:
  • at INPI, in person or by post

    - If you choose to do it in person, you can proceed with payment through cash or ATM;

    - If you wish to send by mail, you can pay by check to “IGCP - Agência de Gestão da Tesouraria e da Dívida Pública” or through Postal Order to “INPI, IP”.

    INPI - Public Helpdesk      
    Campo das Cebolas
    1149-035 Lisboa
  • in one of the Business Formalities Centres
  • at the Commercial Registry of Coimbra, Lisbon and Porto counters.

 

Extend the validity of some patents

Through a Supplementary Protection Certificate (SPC), the protection conferred by a patent for a particular product, medicinal or plant protection product may be extended up to a maximum of 5 years in respect of the protection conferred by a basic patent (20 years).

To apply for an SPC, you need:
  • a summary of the product characteristics
  • a copy of the first Marketing Authorisation (MA) in Portugal in order to identify the product, including, namely, the number and date of authorisation
  • the number, date and country where the first Marketing Authorisation was issued (if the authorisation in Portugal is not the first Marketing Authorisation in the European economic area as a medicinal or plant protection product)
  • a copy of the first marketing authorisation in the European economic area or the publication in the Official Gazette of the authorisation as a medicinal or a plant protection product, with the number and the date of the authorisation (where applicable)
  • payment of the application and examination fees.

Once the application has been submitted to INPI, an examination shall be performed to check whether it was submitted within the time limit and meets the conditions determined by the Regulations of the European Parliament and by the Industrial Property Code regarding the creation of Supplementary Protection Certificates for medicinal and plant protection products.

The decision of refusal or grant of a SPC is published in the Industrial Property Bulletin.

Decisions issued by INPI can be subject of appeal to the Intellectual Property Court, within 2 months following its publication in the Industrial Property Bulletin.


Registering on this page is 50% cheaper than registering on paper. Use the Register patent button to request the Supplementary Protection Certificate.

 

If you prefer, you can register on paper

For this, you will need to complete the PatMut4 form, in Portuguese and in duplicate, and indicate the number and the title of the base patent, as well as the number and date of the first MA in Portugal.

  • at INPI, in person or by post

    - If you choose to do it in person, you can proceed with payment through cash or ATM;

    - If you wish to send by mail, you can pay by check to “IGCP - Agência de Gestão da Tesouraria e da Dívida Pública” or through Postal Order to “INPI, IP”.

    INPI - Public Helpdesk      
    Campo das Cebolas
    1149-035 Lisboa
  • in one of the Business Formalities Centres
  • at the Commercial Registry of Coimbra, Lisbon and Porto counters.

You can also protect your invention abroad

The protection granted by INPI is only valid in Portugal. Industrial Property rights are territorial rights and are only protected in the country in which they had been granted. 

For example, if your invention is only protected in Portugal, you can only enforce your rights in Portugal. Therefore, you cannot prevent someone in Spain from producing or selling an invention similar or even equal to yours. You can only prevent this person from exporting the protected product to Portugal.

To guarantee the protection of an invention abroad, you can apply for:
  • a patent or utility model (where applicable) directly in the country where you intend to protect your invention
  • an European patent
  • an international patent, based on the PCT - Patent Cooperation Treaty.

If you intend to protect your invention abroad, please be aware that the patent application or utility model filed in Portugal allows you to use a priority right of 12 months to file the application in another country. If this time limit is respected, the application made abroad will be regarded as having been filed at the same date as the origin application filed in Portugal.

This priority is a great advantage because it allows your application for registration abroad to be treated as if it had been made on the date when protection was sought in Portugal. In this way, it guarantees that no other application that has been submitted during this 12-month period could invalidate the protection of your invention abroad.

It is not mandatory to claim the priority of an application filed in Portugal to apply for the protection of an invention abroad. However, if you wish the European or international application to be valid in Portugal, you must present it at INPI.


Patent protection is not mandatory but is the only legal way of protecting the invention

The patent confers the holder the exclusive right to exploit the invention anywhere in the Portuguese territory. The patent also confers the right to prevent others from manufacturing, commercialising or using the product of the patent without the owner´s consent .

Once the patent or utility model has been granted, the holder may allow others, free of charge or paid, to use, produce and commercialise the invention.


If there is agreement between the owner of the invention and the suspected offender, they may choose to settle the matter at the ARBITRARE arbitration centre.

Information updated on 23 November 2023 18:20