Designs and Models

– Decree-Law No. 110/2018 of December 10, 2018, effective from July 1, 2019, with amendments, suppressions and additions to the Industrial Property Code of 2008 (Decree-Law No. 143/2008 of July 25, 2008) regarding the enforcement of IP rights.
– Decree-Law No. 143/2008 of July 25, 2008, effective from October 1, 2008, with amendments, suppressions and additions to the Industrial Property Code of 2003 (Decree-Law No. 36/2003 of March 5, 2003) regarding the enforcement of IP rights.
– Law No. 16/2008 of April 1, 2008, implementing into the Portuguese legal order the European Parliament and Council Directive No. 2004/48/EC of April 29, 2004.
– Decree-Law No. 15/95 of January 24, 1995 (improvements in the organization and administrative procedures of the Portuguese Institute of Industrial Property and the official patent and trademark agent profession).

Membership in International Conventions

– See under “Patents“.
– Portugal has not ratified the Agreement for the International Registration of Industrial Designs or Models (The Hague, 1925 and its revisions).
– International Classification for International Models and Designs, as established by the Locarno Agreement of 1968.

Filing

Applicant: as for “patent” applications. 

Applicants not living in the country: as for “patent” applications. 

Definition: the design or model represents the whole or partial appearance of a product ensuing from the features in whole or in part by virtue of, namely, such characteristics as lines, outlines, contours, colors, shapes, forms, textures or materials used in the product itself and of its decoration.

Not protectable: designs or models, which may be contrary to the public order or accepted principles of morality. 

Not registrable: (a) the features of the appearance of a product exclusively determined by their technical function; (b) the features of a product appearance which should, necessarily, be reproduced on their exact shape and dimensions, so as to enable that the product on which the design or model is incorporated, or on which it is applied, would be mechanically linked to another product, which may be placed on its inside, around it or against such other product, in such a way that both may fulfill the function thereof.

Novelty: required. The design or model should not have been published or disclosed in any other country before the date of filing in Portugal or the priority date.

Priorities: according to the Paris Convention, six months for designs or models.

Series applications: into a single registration may be included designs or models up to the limit of 100, provided that they belong to the same Locarno Class. Each of the designs or models included in the multiple application or registration may be separated or assigned irrespective of the remaining ones. 

Territory covered: designs are valid in Portugal (including the Azores and Madeira Islands).

Filing requirements for an application (to be sent to resident agent):
1. Name, nationality and address of the applicant;
2. Products in which the design or model will be applied or inserted, using the Locarno Classification;
3. A graphic or photographic representation of the design or model, the presentation of the model itself or of its pictures now depends on a notification of views (top, side, bottom, etc.);
4. The country where the basic application was filed and the date and number of that filing in case the applicant wishes to claim the priority;
5. Name, nationality and address of the creator(s) (company and/or singular person) (it is not mandatory to indicate the creator);
6. Description of the design or model (not mandatory) containing not more than 50 words per product, referring only to the elements appearing in the representations of the design or model, or in the displayed sample, omitting references to a possible novelty, the unique character or the technical value of the design or model;
7. Colors, if claimed;
8. Power of attorney signed by the applicant. No power of attorney is needed if the application is filed by an official industrial property agent, lawyer or solicitor.

Electronic filing: available. 

Electronic signatures: are accepted.

Examination

Amendments, alterations or corrections of applications: can be requested before the decision.

Publication: once having been filed in a regular or regularized form, the application for registration shall be published in the Industrial Property Bulletin, bearing the reproduction of the design or model, the transcription of the description (if any) and the international classification of international designs or models for opposition purposes of those who may feel damaged by the possible granting of the registration. The publication is made within six months from the date of the application, except if a postponement or anticipation of the publication had been applied for. The applicant may request postponement of the publication, which is acceptable for a period not longer than thirty months from the priority date (if any) or from the date of filing. Full copies of documents can be requested after the publication. 

Examination: no substantive examination is carried out if the design or model satisfies all legal requirements for registration. Substantive examination is only performed in case of an opposition filed with the Portuguese Institute of Industrial Property.

Opposition: within two months from the date of publication in the Bulletin, those who consider themselves prejudiced by the grant of the design or model can file an opposition. These proceedings can be continued by the applicant by lodging a reply after notification.

Appeal: any of the parties can appeal to the Intellectual Property Court or at ARBITRARE (Arbitration Centre for Industrial Property, Domain Names, Companies and Designations) against unfavorable decisions of the Portuguese Institute of Industrial Property, within two months from the publication of the decision of grant or refusal, and subsequently from the decision of that Court, to the Lisbon Court of Appeals. 

Provisional protection: the design or model application provisionally grants to the applicant from the date of publication of the application the protection as it would be conferred by the grant of the right.

Granting

Granting: if all the formal requirements are met, the design or model is granted.

Delivery of document: as for “Patents“. 

Beginning, duration and extension of protection: five years from the filing date, renewable for equal periods up to the maximum of twenty-five years.

Renewals: payment of fine and restoration: possible, as for “Patents“.

Working: not provided for.

Assignment: as for “Patents“. 

Licenses: as for “Patents“.

Modification of Protection after Registration

Right of prior user: non-existent. 

Opposition to granted designs and models: only by means of actions, brought before the courts, as for “Patents“.

Expropriation: not provided for. 

Infringement and penalties: legal action against infringement of design and model rights must be brought before the courts, as for “Patents“.