WHAT IS A PATENT?
A Patent or a Utility Model is a title granted by a government which grants the holder the exclusive right to use the invention within its country during a specific period of time.
With this right, the Patent owner is entitled to prevent third parties from using the object of the Patent Registration without consent. In exchange, the Patent is made available to the public for general knowledge.
A patent may relate to a new process, a new apparatus, a method of manufacture, a machine, a new product or a refinement or improvement thereof, in any field of technology.
The duration of a Patent is twenty years from the date of application.
An Utility Model protects inventions with a lesser inventive step than those protected by a Patent, consisting for instance in giving an object a configuration, structure or composition from which some practically appreciable advantage results for its use or manufacture. Procedural inventions cannot be protected as a Utility Models. .
The duration of an Utility Model is ten years from the date of application.
Annual fees must be paid to keep in force both Patents and Utility Models.
¿DID YOU KNOW THAT…
ideas, business initiatives, discoveries, scientific theories, mathematical methods, economic-commercial methods can NOT be registered as a patent?
ideas, business initiatives, discoveries, scientific theories, mathematical methods, economic-commercial methods can NOT be registered as a patent?
REQUIREMENTS FOR OBTAINING A PATENT OR UTILITY MODEL
A Patent may be granted for any type of invention, in all fields of technology, provided it is new, involves an inventive step and is capable of industrial application.
An invention shall be considered to be new if it does not form part of the state of the art. The state of the art shall be held to comprise everything made available to the public by means of a written or oral description, by use, or in any other way, before the date of filing of the patent application in Spain or in another country.
An invention shall be considered as involving an inventive step if, having regard to the state of the art, it is not obvious to a person skilled in the art.
An invention shall be considered as capable of industrial application if it can be made or used in any kind of industry, including agriculture.
DID YOU KNOW THAT…
prior disclosure of the invention before patenting makes your patent voidable?
prior disclosure of the invention before patenting makes your patent voidable?
Before showing your invention to the public it is highly advisable to contact a professional.
We offer you previous advice, vital to exploit and protect your patent. Our firm, with specialized patent engineers, can make a previous search and study on the novelty of your invention in the particular field of interest and/or investigate whether the new development or invention infringes other patented inventions , even if they are not being used
We help you to protect your invention as Patent, Utility Model, Trade secret or know-how, defining the geographical scope of protection, choosing the most appropriate route: National Patent (OEPM), European Patent, or International Application (Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) for countries of the world that have signed this Treaty, and designing a plan for the exploitation of the patent through licenses of use, if necessary.
SERVICES
Patentability/ Novelty Investigations
Non-infringement Reports/ Freedom to operate searches
Preparation and drafting Patent application documents by specialized engineers
Patent or Utility Model Registration in Spain
European Patent Registration
International Patent Registration through PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty)
Registration of Patents or Utility Models in other countries
Technical translations
Patent and Utility Model Surveillance Service
Technology information service
Control and payment of annual fees
License, assignment and co-existence agreements of Patents, Utility Models and trade secrets