A new Industrial Property Code was recently adopted in Cape Verde by Legislative Decree No. 2/2025 of 2 December. The new legislation repeals the current code (adopted in 2007) and will enter into force on 2 June 2026.
The new law aims to “harmonise Cape Verde’s industrial property legal framework with international best practices in this area of law”, as stated in the preamble. To this end, several amendments have been introduced, bringing Cape Verde’s law much closer to European Union law, in particular Portuguese law.
New Categories of Protection
The existing catalogue of industrial property rights is retained, namely patents, utility models, designs, trade marks, business names and signs, logos, and geographical indications or designations of origin; however, two new categories of rights are introduced: ‘plant varieties’, which will be considered industrial property of the breeder, or of the person who discovered and developed the variety, and ‘traditional knowledge’, understood as the common property of local and traditional communities. Furthermore, the new code establishes new rules for the protection of trade secrets against use or disclosure without the consent of the respective owner and provides for rules to preserve the confidentiality of trade secrets in legal proceedings.
Comprehensive and Procedural Differences
The new law expands the system of sanctions and effective protection in relation to all industrial property rights, through tougher penalties for infringements and a stricter regime for combating unfair competition.
Also noteworthy is the introduction of the concept of revalidation of rights, which exists in Portuguese law and allows for the restoration of a right that has lapsed due to non-payment of fees within one year of the date of publication of the notice of lapse.
Provisional Patents and User-Friendly Utility Models
As regards the protection of inventions, we highlight the introduction of the provisional application, which also exists in Portuguese legislation, and which will allow the inventor to secure a priority date even without initially having all the formal elements required for the definitive application.
As for utility models, it will suffice for the invention to present a “practical or technical advantage for the manufacture or use of the product or process in question” to satisfy the requirement of inventive step. An identical rule is contained in Portuguese law, with the aim of facilitating the protection of small incremental innovations. Furthermore, international protection of inventions via the PCT or ARIPO can now be obtained through the utility model and not just by patent, thereby increasing the options for protection in Cape Verde.
Finally, in line with European law, the new regime clarifies that protection is excluded only for computer programs as such, without any technical contribution.
Unregistered Designs
The new regime now provides for the protection of unregistered designs, which will be protected against copying for three years from the date on which the design was first made available to the public in Cape Verde. This type of protection is generally intended to meet the needs of industries with short economic life cycles, where the informal nature and short duration of protection are particularly relevant.
In the design registration procedure, provisional registration with optional examination upon request by the applicant is abolished, and definitive registration is now provided for, following an examination limited to essential aspects (forma examination and analysis of the grounds for refusal emerging from the public interest), leaving it to interested parties to invoke other grounds for refusal in the context of opposition procedures.
Simplification regarding Trade Marks
In the trade mark registration process, a key change is the removal of the requirement for a graphic representation of the sign, replaced by a representation that allows the sign to be clearly and precisely identified, which aims to pave the way for the registration of non-traditional trade marks (for example, distinctive sound signs).
The requirement to submit periodic declarations of intent to use for maintaining the trade mark in force has also been abolished. However, the new law provides that, in opposition proceedings and at the applicant’s request, the opponent will bear the burden of proving genuine use of the prior trade mark invoked, which has been registered in Cape Verde for more than five years.
The duration of the trade mark registration remains at 10 years; however, this period is now calculated from the date of the application for registration rather than the date of registration.
For more information or any question please contact us (sgcr@sgcr.pt).
