Before you file a patent application, you should take some preliminary precautions:

1. You should find out what cannot be protected (more information available at www.inpi.pt on the menu [Patents – What is a patent?].
2. You should find out whether your invention is already in the public domain, (in other words, whether it has already been described in any disclosed document or sold). To this end, you should research existing patent documents in INPI (www.inpi.pt – INPI Online – Patent – Search) and other databases that may contain relevant information (Esp@cenet, specialist publications, etc.)
3. It is also important to take into account whether the invention you would like to protect or register has already been disclosed to the public in some way. If your invention has already been disclosed to the public, this disclosure will invalidate an application for protection in Portugal, unless it obeys to some criteria set out by the law. See www.inpi.pt on the menu [Patents – What is a patent? – What inventions can be protected].

To submit an application for a patent, the applicant must present the following to INPI, in Portuguese:

1. a summary, a description and claims to novelty and distinguishing features of the invention;
2. any drawings that may be required for a complete understanding of the description (where applicable);
3. image(s) for publication, if drawings are required to understand the summary (max. 8cmx8cm and min. 3cmx3cm);
4. documents proving the statements made, such as: priority claim, inventor’s declaration;
5. name, address, phone contacts, electronic address and VAT number of the inventor(s), applicant(s) and of the legal representative (in case you have it);
6. Identification Card of the applicant(s) or, in case the applicant is a company, of the company responsible(s);
7. payment of the application fees.

In case of not being established in Portugal you can still act directly to INPIs services by indicating an address in Portugal, an e-mail address or a fax number in order to receive notifications.
If you are being represented by an authorized representative, you should provide the relevant power-of-attorney.

Go to INPI’s website at www.inpi.pt and click on the INPI Online menu [Patents – Filing].

Once a patent application is filed, it is submitted to a formal examination and then published online in the Industrial Property Bulletin 18 months after the filing or priority date. At the time of application, the applicant can request the publication to be anticipated.

Following the publication of the application, a two-months opposition phase begins, during which anyone who considers themselves harmed as a result of the grant can file a complaint.

Once the opposition phase has come to an end, the application is submitted to an examination.

Decisions issued by INPI are subject to appeal at the Intellectual Property Court, in the two months that follow the publication of the decision in the Industrial Property Bulletin. The Court of Arbitration which works in conjunction with the Arbitration Centre, ARBITRARE, is able to appraise the appeals from INPI’s decisions that are submitted within a two-month deadline, represents an alternative to the law court. For more information about how the Court of Arbitration works and the advantages it offers, visit www.arbitrare.pt.