The Council of Ministers approved last Friday 14th of November 2014 the submission to the Courts of the new patent law’s draft bill, thereby connecting the clock for its launch. The reform aims to ensure the quality and reliability of Spanish Patents and update the current regulations in force since 1986.
This major reform intend to adapt the Spanish legal framework in patents field to the reality of Spain of XXI century.
We are going to discuss and briefly analyze which modalities are affected by the reform and how this change in the Spanish patents law affects the situation.
Draft bill of new Patent Law: Patents
- The draft bill of patent law simplifies the granting process and requires to pass a preliminary examination, through which is going to disappear the granting of weak patents. Thereby, patents that are finally granted shall demonstrate that they are new, involve an inventive step and have industrial application.
- The protection of innovation is encouraged by SMEs and entrepreneurs with the decrease of official rates’ cost.
Draft bill of new Patent Law: Utility Models
- The law also strengthens utility models, since international novelty will be required.
- Its scope of application is extended to chemicals.
- Besides, its solidity is ensured by requiring the Report on the State of the Art. (I.E.T in Spanish).
Draft bill of new Patent Law: Supplementary Protection Certificates
- The draft specifically includes among industrial property titles the Supplementary Protection Certificates which extends for a period of five years the protection granted by a patent of a pharmaceutical or phytosanitary product.
Through the following link, you can access to the complete text of the Draft Bill of New Spanish Patent Law (the text is in Spanish).
In its final ninth disposal we can see that this Law shall enter into force on 1 December 2016.
From Protectia we expect that date and will continue to detail the application of the Law in order to update and inform our clients on how it affects them, and as far as possible, also to the readers of our blog.
