On 14 February 2017 our Lisbon office welcomed 24 graduate students in Law and ICT (information and communication technologies) at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands for a one day workshop organized by SGCR. The topics focused by various SGCR speakers were intellectual property in Portugal, the IP national and international legal framework, with a particular focus on patents, utility models, trademarks, appellations of origin and means of enforcement. The work was followed by an interesting presentation and tasting of Portuguese wines and cheeses with appellation of origin.

The international specialized magazine World Trademark Review has again given its maximum classification ranking – gold – to Simões, Garcia, Corte-Real & Associados in 2017. Individually, João Luís Garcia and António Corte-Real were distinguished as 2017 recommended trademark experts. The WTR 1000 research directory, which focuses exclusively on trademark practices and practitioners, has established itself as a definitive resource for those seeking legal trademark expertise. The WTR 1000 identifies the trademark industry's leading lights in 72 jurisdictions around the world.

The Decree Law 5/2017, of 6 January, approves the general principles of advertising for medicinal products and medical devices based on the European Commission guidelines established on the List of Guiding Principles Promoting Good Governance in the Pharmaceutical Sector. The principles are core ethical values for all stakeholders which aim at contributing to ensure good governance in the Health System. According to the Decree Law 5/2017, companies that produce, distribute or sell medicinal products or medical devices should observe the principles of integrity, respect, responsiveness, accountability, moderation, transparency and collaboration. This new law also provides…

On 15 December 2016 the TM Office of Mozambique has issued an official notice providing clarifications on the requirement to file declarations of intention to use a mark (DIU) and the relevant deadlines. 1- The requirement to file the DIU applies to both national and international registrations designating Mozambique. For such purpose the holder must submit an appropriate form in Portuguese directly to the TM Office of Mozambique and pay the prescribed fees. 2- Concerning national trademark registrations the initial DIU should be filed 5 years after the application date. The subsequent DIU shall be…

The Macao Economic Services and Macao Chain Stores and Franchise Association signed an agreement to support the setting up of a service platform to assist local small and medium-sized enterprises in registering their trademarks in the Mainland. The platform provides free information and consultancy services concerning trademarks in China, application procedures, agent referrals and assistance in preliminary contacts. The “Chinese Trademark Registration Information Centre” of Macao Chain Stores and Franchise Association was officially opened on 22 August 2016.

On 28 November 2016 the UK government announced that it will ratify the Unified Patent Court Agreement and will work with the Preparatory Committee to bring the Unified Patent Court (UPC) into operation as soon as possible. The information was given by the UK’s Intellectual Property Minister Lady Neville-Rolfe at a meeting of the EU’s Competitiveness Council.This announcement follows after months of uncertainty since the United Kingdom voted in favour of Brexit last June. It was thought that the Brexit vote would significantly delay the implementation of the UPC and the unitary patent effect because…

The Portuguese Government has amended the tax rules applicable to corporate income deriving from patents and other industrial property rights. The new law – Decree Law 47/2016, of 22 August – is expected to meet the requirements agreed upon in the European Union (EU) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for combating “erosion of the tax base and the transfer of profits” (tax avoidance strategies, in other words) usually known by BEPS project (Base Erosion and Profit Shifting). Many countries have established special tax regime for intellectual property revenues (known as “patent…

As from 5 August 2016, the search reports prepared by the Patent Office (INPI) in the scope of provisional patent applications (PPA) are to contain only the results of the state of the art search carried out, with the identification of the documents found which are considered most relevant, eliminating the “comments made by the examiner”. This amendment is intended to “minimize the impact” of the backlog in the area of inventions and reduce delays caused by a shortage of examiners. The national law does not specifically provide which elements a search report must contain.…

The Industrial Property Office of Portugal (INPI) and the Office of Quality Management and Intellectual Property of Cape Verde (IGQPI), have signed a Memorandum of Understanding which entered into force on 18 March 2016. The Memorandum reinforces the bilateral cooperation between Portugal and Cabo Verde in the field of Industrial Property and shall be implemented in the following technical areas: (a) Training of human resources; (b) Cooperation on the study of cases of major complexity on the granting, renewal and revocation of IP rights; (c) Cooperation on examining applications for the protection of patents and…

On June 24, 2016 the referendum results in the UK were in favor of leaving the EU. It is an unprecedented situation that potentially affects all fields governed by European Union law. At this point there is still a great uncertainty on what are the following steps. 1. The decision to leave the European Union is not an automatic consequence. For any such decision materializes, the specific procedure laid down in Article 50 of the EU Treaty will have to be observed. First, in accordance with Article 50, the Member State which decides to withdraw…