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General information about patents in Portugal

What types of industrial property rights exist in Portugal?
In Portugal, industrial property rights include invention patents, utility models, registered designs and trade marks. There are also provisions for registering supplementary protection certificates, semiconductor layouts, logotypes, appellations of origin or geographic indications, trade names or insignia.

What is the status of patent protection in Portugal?
Portugal is a member of the Paris Convention (since 1883), member of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) since 1967, member of the European Union since 1986, and a World Trade Organization (WTO) member since 1995.

The following relevant treaties are also in force: Strasbourg agreement - since May 1, 1979; European Patent Convention (EPC) - since  January 1, 1992; Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) - since Nov. 24, 1992; UPOV Convention - since October 14, 1995;  Budapest Treaty - since October 16, 1997.

Portugal has established a specialized Intellectual Property Court (March 2012), which is expected to produce specialized quality decisions within reasonable time-frames. However, note that Portugal, though a signing party, has not yet notified WIPO on accession to the Patent Law Treaty (PLT). Also, Portugal has not acceded to the London Agreement.

Portugal is a participant in the enhanced cooperation on the unitary patent protection and has signed the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court.

How long are the terms of protection of Portuguese invention patents and utility model patents?
The term for invention patents in Portugal is 20 years from the filing date. The term for utility model patents is 10 years from the filing date, though they require explicit renewal action on the 6th and 8th years from filing date.

What subjects cannot be patented in Portugal?
According to the Portuguese Industrial Property Code, there are subjects which are not patentable in Portugal. The following are among those subjects:
a) Discoveries, scientific theories and mathematical methods
b) Materials or substances already existing in nature and nuclear materials;
c) Aesthetic creations
d) Schemes, rules or methods for intellectual acts, playing a game or doing business and computer programs, as such, with no contributions
e) Presentations of information

Furthermore, Inventions against the law or contrary to public policy, public health or morality are also not patentable:
a) Processes for cloning human beings;
b) Processes for modifying the germinal genetic identity of human beings;
c) The use of human embryos for industrial or commercial purposes;
d) Inventions for genetic modification of animals which may cause them suffering without any substantial medical benefit.

The following, in particular, are also not patentable:
a) The human body (exceptions apply to isolated genetic elements with specific application)
b) Plant and animal varieties and essentially biological processes for obtaining plants or animals;
c) Surgical or therapeutic methods for treating the human or animal body
d) Diagnostic methods used on the human or animal body

Can computer software be patented in Portugal?
Computer programs as such cannot be patented, but they may be protected under Copyright Law. An invention containing a computer program may be patentable if there are inventive technical considerations involved, following closely the European Patent Office practice and case-law.

What is the applicable law on Industrial Property?

There is an  English version of the Industrial Property Code at the Portuguese Industrial Property Office (INPI) website:
English version of the Industrial Property Code  
Please note that though this translation is correct in most of the essential matters, it may not be fully up to date, and the Office publishes a disclaimer: 'This translation is not an official translation and has been prepared only for information purposes by INPI, who will accept no liability for any discrepancy between this translation and the official text.' 
If the page above does not load, try resetting INPI's site language to 'EN', then retry. 

What language must I use for a patent application in Portugal?

Portuguese patent applications, whether provisional or not, may be submitted in Portuguese or English. In the case of the latter language, approximately within one month after filing there will be a communication setting a two-month period for furnishing a Portuguese translation. 

As a foreign applicant, do I need to appoint a professional representative? 

If a foreign applicant, enterprise or interested party is not established or domiciled in Portugal, it is not required to appoint a professional representative before the national office. Note that all procedural acts and responses are carried out in Portuguese.

Still, it is highly recommended for a foreign applicant to appoint a legally established patent agent for representation. 

If you require such specialized help, check here for how to contact us. 

Where can I find official information about patent fees in Portugal? 

You can find official information about patent fees on the Industrial Property Office of Portugal's (INPI) website:
List of fees at the Industrial Property Office of Portugal's (INPI) 
If the page above does not load, try changing the language to 'EN', then retry. Though not as useful for understanding the fee structure, the official Portuguese language fee list is here.