INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
TRADE MARKS
COPYRIGHTS

Intellectual
Property - Trade Marks

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What are they?

A trade mark is a sign, or a set of signs capable of graphic representation, which distinguishes and protects the products and/or services commercialized by a company from those of its competitors.

What are Trade marks for?

The registration of a trade mark grants the holder of the registration the exclusive right to use, exploit and own a certain sign used to protect a delimited group of products or services. As such, after a trade mark registration is granted, its owner may prohibit and restrict its use, or the use of confusingly similar trade marks.

Benefits

1 – It identifies and associates, for the consumer, a certain product or service with its producer or supplier, distinguishing it from its competitors.
2 – The exclusive use of that sign for the products or services it designates.
3 – It protects the use of the distinctive sign, preventing third parties from taking unlawful advantage of its reputation.

Forms of Registration

There are three ways to register a trade mark in Europe:

National Registrations

The process for the registration of a National trademark takes place at a local Office of Industrial Property and only covers the National territory.

Registration in the European Union

The European Union trade mark registration process is carried out at the EUIPO – European Union Intellectual Property Office – and covers the entire territory of the 27 Member States of the European Union.

International Registration

The international registration process is carried out at WIPO – World Intellectual Property Organization. This registration may cover all the countries belonging to the Madrid International Convention. The application for international registration requires the existence of a previous application for registration of a National trade mark or a European Union trade mark as a base.

National Registration Process

In Portugal the process of granting a National Trademark takes approximately 4 months from the filing of the application at the National Institute of Property and then it lasts for 10 years from the date of filing. The registration of a trade mark is perpetually renewable.

Funds

A new Fund from the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and the European Commission was launched in January to support Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in obtaining Industrial Property rights. This fund provides:

  • Reimbursement of 75% of the value of official fees relating to the registration of European Union trade marks and Community designs, with a limit of €1.500,00 per SME;
  • Reimbursement of 75% of the value of the official fees for the registration of national trade marks and designs with a limit of EUR 1.500,00 per SME;
  • Reimbursement of 50% of the value of the official fees for international trade marks and designs, through the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), up to a maximum of EUR 1.500,00 per SME;
  • Reimbursement of 50% of the value of the official fees for national patent applications, with a limit of EUR 750,00 per SME.
    – Co-funding of 90% of the costs incurred with the pre-diagnosis service of Industrial Property, the IP Scan, up to the amount of 900 euros.

Legal framework - The titles of periodicals

In Portugal, the registration of the title of publications does not need to be registered as a trade mark, its deposit is sufficient, enjoying protection as a copyright.