Patenting Products or Processes
Patents in Spain
Protectia Patentes y Marcas has the experience and professionals to advise, prepare and manage the protection of inventions in Spain.
Patent Registration in Spain
A patent protects technological innovations characterised by the following three features:
- Novelty: that have not been made known to the public prior to the date of application either in Spain or abroad (international novelty).
- Involving an inventive step: the invention does not result from the “state of the art” in a way that is obvious to a person skilled in the art. The state of the art includes everything related to the subject matter of the patent that has been made known to the public in Spain or abroad prior to the application date.
- The patent must be of industrial application: the object of the patent may be manufactured or used in any kind of industry.
Its grants protection in Spain for a non-extendable period of 20 years, subject to the payment of an annual fee to keep it in force.
From the moment a patent application is filed, there is 12 months period to extend the application to any other country or group of countries by means of direct applications in the countries of interest or by means of existing international agreements.
Our technicians draft a patent specification and prepare the drawings, if included, in accordance with the regulations in force. We prepare the application, pay the necessary fees and monitor the process.
Through this process, the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (SPTO) defines the degree of novelty and inventive step of the object of a patent and the Examiner issues a written opinion.
Any person may submit observations. In this case, the applicant will be notified so that, if he wishes, he can submit allegations. These observations in no case interrupt the processing or Request for Substantive Examination, together with the payment of the corresponding fee, objections to the result of the EIT and the written opinion may be presented, as well as possible formal objections.
During the conduct of the Substantive Examination, the Examiner may raise objections to the patent. The owner will be notified and a time limit to remedy them will be established.
Once the Substantive Examination procedure has been completed and, where appropriate, the objections have been remedied, a final decision will be issued: granting or refusing.
(if there is nothing in the examination that prevents it) From the date of publication of the grant, the maintenance fees must be paid (annuities are paid from the 3rd year of the application, in advance), if applicable, during the following 3 months.
This publication opens a period of 6 months for possible oppositions.
(if there are oppositions) If oppositions have been filed, the SPTO will decide one way or the other. During the prosecution of a patent opposition, there is a possibility to reply to objections and to file amendments.
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