WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION 
ORGANISATION MONDIALE DU COMMERCE 
ORGANIZACION MUNDIAL DEL COMERCIO 
Council for Trade-Related Aspects 
of Intellectual Property Rights IPIN/IIMACIIJ2 
17 May 2000 
(00-2007) 
Original: English/ 
anglais/ 
ingles 
MAIN DEDICATED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY 
LAWS AND REGULATIONS NOTIFIED UNDER 
ARTICLE 63.2 OF THE AGREEMENT 
MACAU, CHINA 
The present document reproduces the text 1 of the Decree-Law N° 97/99/M of 13 December 
1999, as notified by Macau, China under Article 63.2 of the Agreement (see document 
IP/N/lIMAC/lIRev.1). 
Conseil des aspects des droits de propriete 
intellectuelle qui touchent au commerce 
PRINCIPALES LOIS ET REGLEMENTATIONS CONSACREES A LA 
PROPRIETE INTELLECTUELLE NOTIFIEES AU TITRE 
DE L'ARTICLE 63:2 DE L'ACCORD 
MACAO, CHINE 
Le present document contient le texte1 du Decret-Ioi nO 97/99/M du 13 decembre 1999, notifie 
par Macao, Chine au titre de l'article 63:2 de l'Accord (voir le document IP/N/lIMAC/lIRcv.l). 
Consejo de los Aspectos de los Derechos de Propiedad 
Intelectual relacionados con el Comercio 
PRINCIP ALES LEYES Y REGLAMENTOS DEDICADOS A LA 
PROPIEDAD INTELECTUAL NOTIFICADOS EN VIRTUD 
DEL pARRAFO 2 DEL ARTicULO 63 DEL ACUERDO 
MACAO, CHINA 
En el presente documento se reproduce el texto1 del Decreto Ley N° 97/99/M de 
13 de diciembre de 1999 notificado por Macao, China, en virtud del parrafo 2 del articulo 63 del 
Acuerdo (vease el documento IP/N/1/MAC/1/Rev.1). 
1 In English only. The text of this decree-law in its original languages, i.e. Chinese and Portuguese, is 
available for consultation by interested Delegations at the WTO Secretariat.!En anglais seulement. Les 
delegations interessees peuvent consulter le texte de ce decret-loi dans ses langues originales, chinois et 
portugais, au Secretariat de l'OMC.lEn ingles solamente. Las delegaciones interesadas podnln consultar en la 
Secretaria de la OMC el texto de este Decreto Ley en sus idiomas originales, es decir en chino y en portugues. IP/N/1/MAC/I/2 
Page 2 
INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY LAWS AND TREATIES, publication 
eN 1-004 
jbm, 11.4.2000 
PREAMBLE MACAU, CHINA 
Industrial Property Code 
Decree-Law N° 97/99/M of 13 December 1999 
Article 1. 
Article 2. 
Article 3. 
Article 4. 
Article 5. 
Article 6. 
Article 7. TABLE OF CONTENTS' 
Adoption ofthe Industrial Property Code 
Industrial property rights under the previous law 
Processes stemming from the National Institute of Industrial Property 
Watch Committee 
Amendments to the Code 
Repeal of prior legislation 
Entry into effect 
PART I -GENERAL PROVISIONS 
CHAPTER I -GENERAL PROVISIONS 
Article 1. 
Article 2. 
Article 3. 
Article 4. 
Article 5. 
Article 6. 
Article 7. 
Article 8. 
Article 9. 
Article 10. 
Article 11. 
Article 12. 
Article 13. 
Article 14. Adoption of the Industrial Property Code 
Subjective scope 
Objective scope 
Territorial scope 
Content of industrial property rights 
Proof of industrial property rights 
Temporary protection for compensation purposes 
Jurisdiction 
General grounds for refusal 
Publication of acts and decisions 
Assignment of industrial property rights -nature and forms 
Contractual licences 
Privileges and limitations of the licensee 
Gamishment, attachment and pledge 
CHAPTER 11 -PRIORITY RIGHT 
Article 15. Priority claim 
Article 16. Priority right 
Article 17. First application 
Article 18. Proof of priority right 
CHAPTER III -ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES 
Article 19. Entitlement to file 
Article 20. Entitlement to take action 
Article 21. Applicant not domiciled, registered or established in the Territory 
Article 22. Access to the processes 
Article 23. Printed forms and formal documentary requirements 
Article 24. Rectification of application 
Article 25. Rectification 
Article 26. Recognition of signatures 
Article 27. Notifications 
Article 28. Copies ofthe expositions 
Article 29. Compilation and return of documents 
Article 30. Inspections 
Article 31. Unofficial amendment of the decision 
• Added by WIPO Article 32. 
Article 33. 
Article 34. 
Article 35. 
Article 36. 
CHAPTER IV -FEES 
Article 37. 
Article 3S. 
Article 39. 
Article 40. 
Article 41. 
Article 42. 
Article 43. 
Article 44. 
Article 45. 
Article 46. Alteration of unessential elements 
Documents appended to other proceedings 
Delivery of the title-deeds 
Counting deadlines 
Full restitution 
Fees due 
Forms of payment 
Calculation of periodic fees 
Payment period 
Surcharge and revalidation 
Reduction of fees 
Refunding of fees 
Suspension of payment of fees 
Rights belonging to the Territory 
Use of the fees 
CHAPTER V -EXTINCTION OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY RIGHTS 
Article 47. 
Article 4S. 
Article 49. 
Article 50. 
Article 51. 
Article 52. 
Article 53. General causes of nullity 
General causes of annulment 
Procedure for a declaration of nullity or annulment 
Effects of the declaration of nullity or annulment 
General causes of forfeiture 
Applications for a declaration offorfeiture 
Renunciation 
PART 11-INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY REGISTRATION 
Article 54. 
Article 55. 
Article 56. 
Article 57. 
Article 58. 
Article 59. Jurisdiction and purpose 
Register of approved agents 
Elements relevant to the registration of rights granted 
Facts subject to registration 
Initial steps and formalities 
Aecess to the registers 
PART III -TYPES OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY RIGHTS 
CHAPTER I -INVENTIONS 
Section I -General Provisions 
Sub-Section I -Object of Protection 
Article 60. Subject matter of protection 
Article 61. Patentability requirements 
Article 62. Exceptions and limitations to patentability 
Article 63. Special cases ofpatentability 
Article 64. Biological processes and biological matter -definitions 
Article 65. Prior art 
Article 66. Inventive step 
Article 67. Industrial application 
Article 68. Non-opposable disclosures 
Sub-Section II -Patent Entitlement 
Article 69. Patent right 
Article 70. Invention discovered in the context of an employment contract 
Article 71. Attribution of entitlement to the invention 
Article 72. Inventor's remuneration 
Article 73. Inadmissibility of prior renouncement 
Article 74. Most favoured regime 
Article 75. Right ofthe inventor to be named 
Article 76. Application to public entities 
Sub-Section III -The Patent Procedure 
Article 77. 
Article 78. 
Article 79. 
Article SO. 
Article 81. The form of request 
Description ofbiotechnical inventions 
Additional elements of the request 
Unity of request and invention 
Multiple priorities IP/N/1/MAC/I/2 
Page 3 IP/N/1/MAC/I/2 
Page 4 
Article 82. Examination as to form 
Article 83. Notice of disclosure to the public 
Article 84. Objections 
Article 85. Examination report and designated entities 
Article 86. Examination of the invention 
Article 87. Examination report request filed by a third party 
Article 88. Rejection of an examination report request 
Article 89. Amendments to claims, description or drawings 
Article 90. Rectification subsequent to the examination report 
Article 91. Divisible applications 
Article 92. Divisible application following upon legal action 
Article 93. Deadline and content ofthe divisible application 
Article 94. Access to deposited biological material and substitution thereof 
Article 95. New deposit 
Article 96. Withdrawal of application 
Article 97. Partial granting 
Article 98. Reasons for refusing the patent 
Article 99. Notification of grant or refusal of patent 
Article 100. Publication of the pamphlet 
Sub-Section IV -Effects of the Patent 
Article 10 l. Scope of protection 
Article 102. Inversion ofthe onus of proof 
Article 103. Duration 
Article 104. Rights conferred by the patent 
Article 105. Limitation on the rights conferred by the patent 
Article 106. Non-contravention of the patent 
Sub-Section V -Use of the Patent 
Article 107. Indication ofthe patent 
Article 108. Loss and expropriation ofthe patent 
Article 109. Mandatory licences -admissibility 
Article 110. Mandatory licences -general rules 
Article Ill. Mandatory licences issued in the case of no or inadequate exploitation of the patent 
Article 112. Interdependent licences 
Article 113. Public interest 
Article 114. Application for mandatory licences 
Article 115. Cancellation and reappreciation of the mandatory licence 
Article 116. Notification and appeal with respect to the granting, refusal or cancellation of licence 
Article 117. Public tender for the exploitation of an invention 
Sub-Section VI -Expiry of the Patent 
Article 1I8. Nullity of patents 
Article 119. Partial nullity or cancellation 
Section TI -Utility Models 
Article 120. Subject of protection 
Article 121. Duration and renewal 
Article 122. Indication ofthe utility model 
Article 123. Fees due for the utility model 
Article 124. Redemption 
Section TII -The complementary certificate for the protection of medicines and phyto-pharmaceutical 
products 
Article 125. 
Article 126. 
Article 127. 
Article 128. Certificate request 
Examination and publication of the request 
Duration ofthe complementary certificate 
Extinction of the complementary certificate 
Section IV -Extension of patents granted abroad 
Sub-Section I -European Patents 
Article 129. Extension of European applications and patents 
Article 130. Effects ofthe European patent application 
Article 131. Effects of the European patent 
Article 132. Original text and translations 
Article 133. Prohibition of dual protection 
Article 134. Extension and renewal fees Sub-Section II -Other Patents 
Article 135. Redemption 
CHAPTER II -SEMICONDUCTOR TOPOGRAPHY PRODUCTS 
Section I -Subject Matter of protection 
Article 136. Subject matter of protection 
Article 137. Definition of semiconductor product 
Article 138. Definition of semiconductor product topography 
Section 11 -Other Provisions 
Article 139. 
Article 140. 
Article 141. 
Article 142. 
Article 143. 
Article 144. 
Article 145. 
Article 146. 
Article 147. 
Article 148. 
Article 149. Temporary limitations on the exercise ofthe right 
Additional elements of the application 
Grounds for refusing to register a topography 
Duration 
Rights conferred by registration 
Limitation on the rights conferred by the registration 
Indication of the registration 
Mandatory exploitation licence 
Nullity of the topography registration 
Partial nullity or cancellation 
Referral 
CHAPTER HI -INDUSTRIAL MODELS AND DESIGNS 
Section I -Subject matter of protection 
Article 150. Subject matter of protection 
Article 151. Product definition 
Article 152. Requirements for registration 
Article 153. Novelty 
Article 154. Unique character 
Article 155. Industrial models or designs incorporated into components 
Article 156. Exceptions to and limitations on registration 
Article 157. Disclosure 
Article 158. Non-opposable disclosures 
Section 11 -Right to register industrial models and designs 
Article 159. Right to register 
Section III -The registration procedure for industrial models and designs 
Fonn of application 
Complementary elements of the application IP/N/1/MAC/I/2 
Page 5 
Article 160. 
Article 161. 
Article 162. 
Article 163. 
Article 164. 
Article 165. 
Article 166. 
Article 167. 
Article 168. 
Article 169. 
Article 170. 
Article 171. 
Article 172. 
Article 173. 
Article 174. 
Article 175. Unity of application and of registration of industrial model or design 
Multiple applications 
Examination as to form 
Notice of public disclosure 
Opposition 
Examination report and designated entities 
Examination of the industrial model or design 
Request for examination report by third parties 
Rejection of the examination request and amendments - renunciation 
Rectification following the examination report 
Divisible applications, multiple priorities and withdrawal of application -renunciation 
Grounds for refusing to register a design or model 
Partial granting 
Notification of granting or refusal of registration 
Section IV -The effects of registration of industrial models and designs 
Article 176. Duration 
Article 177. Rights conferred by registration 
Article 178. Limitation on the rights conferred by the registration 
Article 179. Relationship with copyrights 
Section V -The use of drawings and models 
Article 180. Indication of the industrial model or design 
Article 181. Inalterability of the designs or models 
Article 182. Alterations of details of drawings or models 
Section VI -Expiry of registration of industrial models and designs 
Article 183. Nullity ofthe registration of industrial models or designs IP/N/lIMAC!V2 
Page 6 
Article 184. 
Article 185. Nullity of the registration of designs or models 
Design or model registration refused, declared null or cancelled 
Section VII-Prior protection of industrial models and designs 
Article 186. Subject matter ofthe application for prior protection 
Article 187. Deposit of samples or reproductions 
Article 188. Secrecy and archiving 
Article 189. Form of application for prior protection 
Article 190. Proof of deposit of samples 
Article 191. Duration of prior protection 
Article 192. Rights conferred 
Article 193. Lapse of prior protection 
Article 194. Conversion of the prior protection application 
Article 195. Registration application for administrative acts or court action 
Article 196. Fees 
CHAPTER IV -TRADEMARKS 
Section I -SUbject matter of protection 
Article 197. Subject matter ofthe trademark 
Article 198. Linguistic requirements 
Article 199. Exceptions and limitations to protection 
Article 200. Collective trademark 
Section 11 -The right to register a trademark 
Article 201. Right to registration 
Article 202. Free or unregistered trademark 
Article 203. Right to register collective marks 
Section III -The trademark registration procedure 
Article 204. Unity of application and registration ofthe trademark 
Article 205. Registration for products and services 
Article 206. Forms of application 
Article 207. Additional elements ofthe application 
Article 208. Priority right 
Article 209. Examination as to form 
Article 210. Publication of the registration application 
Article 211. Complaint and response 
Article 212. Examination and study ofthe proceedings 
Article 213. Decision 
Article 214. Grounds for refusal of registration 
Article 215. Reproduction or imitation ofthe trademark 
Article 216. Partial refusal 
Section IV -Effects of registration of trademark 
Article 217. Legal presumption of registration 
Article 218. Duration and renewal of registration 
Article 219. Rights conferred by the registration 
Article 220. Limits on the rights conferred by registration 
Article 221. Preclusion of action by virtue of tolerance 
Article 222. Relationship with social styles and company names 
Section V -Use of the trademark 
Article 223. Optional use of the trademark 
Article 224. Inalterability of the trademark 
Article 225. Indication of registration 
Article 226. Use of certification trademark 
Article 227. Assignment of the trademark 
Article 228. Limitations on assignment 
Section VI -Termination of trademark registration 
Article 229. Nullity of the trademark registration 
Article 230. Annulment ofthe trademark registration 
Article 231. Forfeiture oftrademark registration 
Article 232. Serious use of trademarks 
CHAPTER V -NAMES AND EMBLEMS OF ESTABLISHMENTS 
Section I -Subject matter of protection 
Article 233. Subject matter of protection Article 234. Establishment emblem 
Article 235. Exceptions to protection -renunciation 
Article 236. Non-prohibited constituent elements 
Article 237. Forbidden or conditional constituent elements 
Section 11 -Right to the name and emblem 
Article 238. Right to the name and emblem 
Section III -Registration of the name and emblem of an establishment 
Article 239. Form of application 
Article 240. Complementary elements of the application 
Article 241. Unity of application and registration of the name and emblem 
Article 242. Examination as to form 
Article 243. Publication ofthe application 
Article 244. Subsequent formalities 
Section IV -Effects of registration of name and emblem 
Article 245. Duration of registration 
Article 246. Rights conferred by the registration 
Article 247. Relationship with corporate styles and company names 
Section V -Use of the name and emblem 
Article 248. Indication of the name or emblem 
Article 249. Inalterability ofthe name or the emblem 
Article 250. Assignment 
Section VI -Annulment of registration of name and emblem 
Article 251. Annulment of name or emblem registration 
Article 252. Annulability ofthe name and emblem registration 
Article 253. Forfeiture of the name and emblem registration 
CHAPTER VI -DESIGNATION OF ORIGIN AND GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS 
Object of protection 
Registration application 
Grounds for refusing the registration of designations of origin 
Duration of registration 
Indication of registration 
Rights conferred by the registration 
Relationship with corporate styles and company names IP/N/1/MAC/I12 
Page 7 
Article 254. 
Article 255. 
Article 256. 
Article 257. 
Article 258. 
Article 259. 
Article 260. 
Article 261. 
Article 262. Annulability of registration of designations of origin or geographical indications 
Forfeiture of registration of designations of origin or geographical indications 
CHAPTER VII -AWARDS 
Article 263. 
Article 264. 
Article 265. 
Article 266. 
Article 267. 
Article 268. 
Article 269. 
Article 270. 
Article 271. 
Article 272. 
Article 273. 
Article 274. Subject matter of protection 
Right to the registration 
Registration application 
Items to accompany the application 
Grounds for refusing the registration of awards 
Effects of registration 
Restitution of documents 
Indication of awards 
Assignment 
Conditions under which mention may be made of the awards 
Annulability of award registrations 
Forfeiture ofthe registration of awards 
PART IV -LEGAL RECOURSE 
Article 275. 
Article 276. 
Article 277. 
Article 278. 
Article 279. 
Article 280. 
Article 281. 
Article 282. 
Article 283. Legal recourse 
Right to appeal 
Deadline for appeal 
Response-referral of proceedings 
Citation by the opposing party 
Request for technical expertise 
Representation of the DES 
Appeal against the court decision 
Publication of the final decision IP/N/1/MAC/I/2 
Page 8 
PART V -MONITORING AND PENALTIES 
CHAPTER I -GENERAL PROVISIONS 
Article 284. Timing of supervision 
Article 285. Competent bodies 
Article 286. Seizure at points of entry 
Article 287. Unspecified precautionary measures 
Article 288. Commitment to inform 
CHAPTER II -UNLAWFUL ACTS 
Section 1-Types of unlawful acts 
Article 289. Violation of the exclusivity of a patent or of the topography of semiconductor products 
Article 290. Violation of exclusive rights relating to designs or models 
Article 291. Counterfeiting, imitation and illegal use oftrademark 
Article 292. Sale, circulation or concealment of products or goods 
Article 293. Violation and illegal use of designations of origin or geographical indications 
Article 294. Industrial property rights obtained in bad faith 
Section n -Other provisions 
Article 295. Monitoring and apprehension 
Article 296. Fate of seize items 
Article 297. Assistants 
Article 298. Referral and subsidiary right 
CHAPTER HI -ADMINISTRATIVE OFFENCES 
Section 1-Types of administrative offences 
Article 299. lllegal reference to or use of awards 
Article 300. Violation of name and emblem rights 
Article 301. Use of illicit marks 
Article 302. Improper use of name or emblem of establishment 
Article 303. Mention or improper use of private rights 
Article 304. Lack of mandatory trademark 
Section 11 -Sundry provisions 
Article 305. Perpetrators and responsible parties 
Article 306. Determination of administrative penalties 
Article 307. Reduction or waiver of penalties 
Article 308. Repeated offences 
Article 309. Notices 
Article 310. Power to investigate and penalize 
Article 311. Payment of tines 
Article 312. Liability for payment of fines 
Article 3l3. Prescription 
Article 314. Destination of fines Decree-Law N° 97/991M 
of 13 December 1999 IP/N/lIMAC/I/2 
Page 9 
In the modem world, industrial property is considered a fundamental factor in the promotion of economic de­
velopment. 
Indeed, it contributes decisively to the motivation of inventive activity only if, given the considerable resources 
that the mobilization of technological investigation implies, protection by the industrial property system can guaran­
tee appropriate economic compensation for the investments made in the quest for new products and processes. 
Conversely, industrial property is a factor that favours the transfer of technology, in that the owners of techno­
logical knowledge in other countries will be far more open to transferring that knowledge ifMacao has an appropri­
ate system to protect their exclusivity rights to that technology. 
The introduction of an autonomous industrial property system will also benefit companies in Macao in that they 
will begin increasingly to have access to a considerable amount of technical information that will accumulate in the 
Industrial Property Register once patent applications in Macao have been published or patents have been extended 
from outside the Territory for consultation by the public in general and by investigators and interested economic 
agents in particular. 
The technical documentation contained in the patents certainly constitutes an important factor in making new 
companies aware of the state of the art in their technological area, in order that they may better prepare for a global 
market where they will have to face ever stiffer competition. But it is also a source of technical updating or adapta­
tion for existing companies, in other words, a source of innovation that can be ignored by such companies, only on 
pain of stagnation or obsolescence. 
Furthermore, there can be no question as to the importance of trademarks and other distinctive signs. They help 
guarantee the identification of the product with the producer, and that identification ensures a certain guarantee of 
quality or origin and consequently they help ensure the survival of the qualities and characteristics of the product. 
These distinctive signs are in themselves, therefore, a very relevant factor in motivating companies in distinguishing 
themselves for their quality and ensuring the safety of the consumer. 
In addition to the economic advantages briefly referred to, there is the fact that Macao, as member ofthe World 
Trade Organization, and as results from the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, is 
bound to introduce into its legislation the appropriate legal mechanisms to protect the following industrial property 
rights: patents, including the protection of new plant species; industrial designs and models; trademarks, including 
services marks; geographical indications, including appellations of origin; and the configuration topography of inte­
grated circuits. 
Current industrial property legislation in Macao comprises only an independent trademark protection system, as 
embodied in Ordinance-Decree N° 56/95/M, of6 November 1995. 
The remaining rights merely enjoy derived protection that has to be initiate and processed through the National 
Institute of Industrial Property of Portugal, in application of the Industrial Property Code, adopted by Decree-Law 
N°. 16/95, of24 January 1995 and published in the Official Bulletin N°.36, Series I, of 4 September 1995. And men­
tion should be made of the lack of protection resulting from the fact that the said Code does not refer to topographies 
of semiconductor products or bio-technological inventions in the plant domain. 
It is therefore necessary to revise the applicable legislation, not only by "localizing" the rights system that is 
protected merely by the extension of the legislation ofthe [portugueseJ Republic but also by plugging existing gaps 
and consequently ensuring full compliance with the international commitments assumed by the Territory. 
This being so, 
Having heeded the Advisory Council; 
The Governor hereby decrees, pursuant to Article 13(1) of the Constitution of Macao, that the following be enacted 
in the Territory ofMacao: IP/N/1/MAC/I/2 
Page 10 
Article 1. 
(Adoption ofthe Industrial Property Code) 
The Industrial Property Code is adopted and published to­
gether with the present Statute and forms an integral part 
thereof 
Article 2. 
(Industrial property rights under the previous law) 
1. Industrial property rights granted under the Industrial 
Property Code, adopted by Decree-Law N°.16/95 of 24 
January 1995 for application in Macao, shall remain valid 
in the Territory from the time the relevant legal obliga­
tions have been met and for their full duration, and shall 
enjoy no greater legal guarantees than those accorded un­
der the Legal System to any equivalent or similar rights 
bestowed by Macao. 
2. When they are not subject to a time limit, the rights re­
ferred to in the previous sub-paragraph shall be guaran­
teed, on the same conditions, until the end of the current 
period of protection, whereafter the respective renewals 
shall be effected with the Directorate of Economic Serv­
ices, hereinafter referred to in short as the DES. 
Article 3. 
(processes stemming from the National Institute ofln-
dustrial Property) 
1. The DES shall take all necessary steps with respect to 
processes stemming from the National Institute of Indus­
trial Property, once the fees required for the documents in 
question have been paid. 
2. Should it be determined that the fees due have not yet 
been paid, the steps will be taken only if the applicant 
makes the respective payment to the DES, after having 
been notified to that effect. 
3. The DES shall officially have notice concerning the for­
feiture of rights for failure to pay fees published in the 
Official Bulletin if such publication has not yet been ef­
fected by the National Institute ofIndustrial Property. 
4. Non-payment of fees owing to the DES within 60 days 
of the date of the publication referred in the previous 
paragraph shall result in the forfeiture of the industrial 
property rights in question. 
Article 4. 
(Watch Committee) 
1. The Governor shall appoint a Committee comprising 
legal experts, entrepreneurs and technical experts to su­
pervise the application of the Code for the first 5 years it 
is in force. 
2. The function of the Watch Committee shall be to re­
ceive any petitions aimed at improving the Code and to 
propose to the Governor any measures it deems conven­
ient to that end. 
Article 5. 
(Amendments to the Code) 
Future amendments to the subject matter of the Industrial 
Property Code shall form an integral part thereof and shall 
be added in an appropriate place in this Code, by substi­
tuting the amended articles and making the deletions and 
additions necessary. Article 6. 
(Repeal of prior legislation) 
All legislation counter to the provisions and terms of the In­
dustrial Property Code is hereby repealed and, specifically, 
the following Statutes: 
(a) The Industrial Property Code, adopted by Decree-Law 
N°.l6/95, of24 January 1995, and published in the Official 
Bulletin N°.36, Series I, of 4 September 1995; 
(b) Decree-Law N°.56/95/M, of6 November 1995; 
(c) Administrative Rule N°J06/95/M, of 4 December 1995. 
Article 7. 
(Entry into effect) 
The present Statute shall enter into effect on the date of pub­
lication in the Q/ficial Bulletin of the ruling referred to in 
Article 37 ofthe Code. 
Adopted on 13 December 1999. 
To be published. 
The Governor, Vasco Rocha Vieira. 
THE INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY CODE 
PART I 
GENERAL PROVISIONS 
CHAPTER I 
GENERAL PROVISIONS 
Article 1. 
(Object) 
The present Statute shall govern the allocation of industrial 
property rights to inventions and other creations and the dis­
tinctive signs therein referred to and shall, in particular, 
serve to protect creativity, technological development, fair 
competition and consumers' interests. 
Article 2. 
(Subjective scope) 
1. The present Statute shall apply to: 
(a) All individuals holding a Macao Resident's Identity Card; 
(b) All bodies corporate registered in Macao and constituted 
according to the Law of the Territory; 
(c) All individuals or bodies corporate, nationals of the 
countries or territories being members of the World Trade 
Organization, hereinafter referred to as the WTO, and the 
International Union for the Protection of Industrial Property, 
hereinafter referred to as the Union, in accordance with the 
terms of the Paris Convention of 20 March 1883 and revi­
sions thereof, regardless of place of domicile or establish­
ment, save according to the special provisions as to compe­
tence and procedure. 
2. Nationals of any countries of the WTO or of the Union 
who are resident or have an industrial or commercial estab­
lishment, in fact and not as a matter of form, in any of the 
countries or territories of the WTO or of the Union shall be 
considered nationals of the WTO or of the Union. 3. With regard to any other persons not covered by the 
previous paragraphs, the provisions of international 
agreements between Macao and the respective countries 
or territories shall apply and, in the absence of such, the 
principle of reciprocity shall apply. 
4. The existence of reciprocity shall be recognized by 
ruling of the Governor, to be published in the Official 
Bulletin, after consultation with the Directorate of the 
Justice Services. 
Article 3. 
(Objective scope) 
Industrial property includes all sectors of economic activ­
ity, including agricultural, forestry, livestock and fishing 
activities, the extracting and processing industries, trade 
and services, as well as all manufactured or natural prod­
ucts. 
Article 4. 
(Territorial scope) 
The rights conferred under the terms of the present Statute 
shall cover the whole Territory. 
ArticleS. 
(Content of industrial property rights) 
Industrial property rights shall confer on the respective 
holder full and exclusive enjoyment, use and disposal of 
the inventions, creations and distinctive signs, within the 
limits, conditions and restrictions determined by Law. 
Article 6. 
(Proof of industrial property rights) 
1. The proof of industrial property rights, referred to in the 
present Statute, shall be provided by means of the corre­
sponding certificates which shall contain the elements 
necessary for the perfect identification of the right at is­
sue. 
2. Industrial property right certificates issued by interna­
tional organizations whose effects extend to Macao shall 
be equivalent to the certificates referred to in the afore­
going paragraph. 
3. On request, holders of various industrial property rights 
may obtain: 
(a) Certificates whose content is similar to that of the cer­
tificate they hold; 
(b) Certificates, conferring protection on industrial prop­
erty rights in the Territory, issued by international organi­
zations and whose effects extend to Macao; 
(e) Certificates bearing witness to the filing of applica­
tions. 
4. The models of the certificates referred to in paragraph 1 
above shall be approved by an order of the Governor and 
be published in the Qfficial Bulletin. 
Article 7. 
(Temporary protection for compensation purposes) 
1. Application for the granting of an industrial property 
right shall provisionally confer on the applicant, as from 
the date of the respective publication in the Qfficial Bulle­
tin, the protection that would be conferred by the granting 
of that right, simply for the purpose of calculating any 
compensation due. IP/N/lIMAC/I/2 
Page 11 
2. The same temporary protection shall also be ensured, even 
before the date of the publication of the application, in rela­
tion to any persons to whom the applicant has disclosed 
knowledge of the presentation of the application and re­
vealed details of the procedure. 
3. No legal decision may be handed down in relation to acts 
proposed on the basis of the protection provided under the 
present article until the patent or registration has been finally 
granted or refused. 
Article 8. 
(Jurisdiction) 
The jurisdiction to grant industrial property rights shall lie 
with the Director of the Department of Economic Services, 
herein referred to as the Director ofthe DES. 
Article 9. 
(General grounds for refusal) 
1. The following shall constitute grounds for refusing to 
grant industrial property rights: 
(a) The object is not suitable to be protected; 
(b) Violation of rules of public order or good mores; 
(e) Recognition that the applicant intends to practise unfair 
competition, or that this is possible irrespective of his inten­
tion; 
(d) Violation of the rules that define to whom the right be­
longs; 
(e) Failure to submit documents required under the terms of 
the present Statute or of the respective regulations; 
(f) Failure to comply with the procedures or formalities for 
the granting of the industrial property right; 
(g) Failure to pay of the fees due. 
2. In the cases provided for in sub-paragraphs (e) to (g) of 
the previous paragraph, the cases shall not be submitted for 
decision without firstly notifying the applicant in writing and 
setting a deadline within which he may rectifY the situation. 
3. Where circumstances are discovered that could constitute 
grounds for annulling the requested certificate, instead of re­
fusal it may be decided wholly or partially to grant it should 
the party concerned so request. 
Article 10. 
(Publication of acts and decisions) 
1. The Department of Economic Services, herein referred to 
as the DES, shall ensure the publication in Series 11 of the 
Official Bulletin of the following act and decisions: 
(a) Notice of applications for the various types of industrial 
property rights; 
(b) Notice of complaints, of opposition, or the filing of nul­
lity or cancellation and other suits ; 
(e) Notifications of rulings; 
(d) Granting and refusal of industrial property rights, in­
cluding extensions of foreign patents; 
(e) Declarations of public offer to exploit inventions, as well 
as their respective withdrawal or forfeiture; IPINIllMAC/I/2 
Page 12 
(f) Renewals and revalidations of industrial property 
rights; 
(iJ Assignments of industrial property rights; 
(h) Declarations of waiver of industrial property rights; 
(i) Applications for declaration of forfeiture of industrial 
property rights, as well as declarations of forfeiture; 
0) Legal decisions handed down in appeal cases or which 
constitute jurisprudence on industrial property. 
2. Publication in the Official Bulletin shall serve directly 
to notii)' both parties and, save any provision to the con­
trary, it shall mark the beginning of the periods for ap­
peals and other purposes. 
3. Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding para­
graph, if the parties were notified in writing, the period 
shall be that set in the written notification and shall, in 
general, run from the date thereof 
4. The parties directly involved, or any other interested 
parties, may directly apply to the DES to be provided with 
a statement of the decision on the applications and the 
relative grounds therefor, even before publication of the 
corresponding notice in the Official Bulletin. 
Article 11. 
(Assignment of industrial property rights -nature and 
forms) 
1. Save express legal limitation, industrial property rights 
may be assigned, total or partially, free of charge or for a 
consideration. 
2. Assignment inter vivos shall be effected in writing 
failing which the assignment shall be null and void. 
3. The provision in the previous paragraphs shall apply to 
rights deriving from applications for the granting of in­
dustrial property rights. 
Article 12. 
(Contractual licences) 
1. Save express legal limitation, industrial property rights 
may, with or without consideration, be licensed for ex­
ploitation in whole or part and, when for a limited dura­
tion, for all or part ofthat duration. 
2. The provision in the previous paragraph shall apply to 
rights deriving from industrial property right applications, 
but a refusal to grant such rights shall imply the forfeiture 
of the licence. 
3. The exploitation contract licence shall be in writing. 
Article 13. 
(privileges and limitations of the licensee) 
1. Save stipulation to the contrary, the licensee shall, for 
all legal purposes, enjoy the privileges conferred on the 
title-holder to which the exploitation licence was issued, 
with the exceptions set forth in the following paragraphs. 
2. The exploitation licence shall be deemed non-exclusive. 
3. An exclusive exploitation licence shall be understood to 
be that in which the owner of the industrial property right 
forswears the right, for the full currency of the licence, to 
grant any other exploitation licences for the rights to 
which the licence refers. 4. Unless otherwise stipulated in the respective contract: 
(a) The granting of an exclusive exploitation licence shall 
not preclude the owner from also directly exploiting the in­
dustrial property right covered by the licence; 
(b) The right obtained through the exploitation licence may 
not be ceded without the written consent of the industrial 
property right owner; 
(e) No exploitation sub-licences may be granted without the 
written authorization of the of industrial property right 
owner; 
Article 14. 
(Garnishment, attachment and pledge) 
Save express legal limitation, industrial property rights are 
subject to garnishment and attachment and they may be 
given in pledge. 
CHAPTER 11 
PRIORITY RIGHT 
Article 15. 
(Priority claim) 
1. Except for the cases foreseen in the present Statute, in­
dustrial property rights shall be granted to the first party to 
present the application in due and proper form accompanied 
by all the documents required for that purpose. 
2. Ifthe applications be sent by mail, the mail should be sent 
registered or in some equivalent manner and priority shall be 
awarded according to the date of registration. 
3. In the case of two applications for the same right being 
simultaneous or having identical priority, the matter shall not 
be pursued until the applicants have previously solved the 
question of priority by agreement or through the competent 
civil court. 
4. If the application was not in the first instance accompa­
nied by all the required documents, priority shall be granted 
from the day and time at which the last missing document is 
presented. 
5. If the object of the application is altered in relation to the 
initial notice published in the Official Bulletin, a new notice 
will have to be published and the priority of the alteration 
shall be counted from the date on which that was requested. 
Article 16. 
(priority right) 
1. Anyone having regularly filed an application for the 
granting of an industrial property right as envisaged in the 
present Statute, or any similar right, and who has so done in 
any of the countries or territories members of the WTO or of 
the Union, or in any intergovernmental organism with juris­
diction to grant rights the effects of which extend to Macao, 
or successor of any such person, shall, on filing the applica­
tion in Macao, enjoy the priority right established in the 
Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property. 
2. Any application, being a regularly filed application, for­
mulated pursuant to the terms of the domestic law of any 
country or territory member of the WTO or of the Union, or 
of bilateral or multilateral treaties between countries or ter­
ritories members of the WTO or of the Union shall be rec­
ognized as creating a priority right. 3. A regular application shall be understood to be any fil­
ing that is adequate to establish the date on which the ap­
plication was filed in the country or territory concerned, 
whatever may be the subsequent fate of the application. 
4. In consequence of the provision in the previous para­
graph, any subsequent filing in Macao, before the expiry 
of the priority period, shall not be invalidated by reason of 
any acts accomplished in the interval, in particular, an­
other filing or the publication or exploitation of the object 
of the filing. 
Article 17. 
(First application) 
1. A subsequent application concerning the same subject 
as a prior first application shall be considered the first ap­
plication of which the filing date shall be the starting point 
of the period of priority, if, at the time of filing the subse­
quent application, the said prior application has been 
withdrawn, abandoned or refused, without having been 
laid open to public scrutiny and without leaving any rights 
outstanding and if, moreover, it has not served as a basis 
tor claiming a priority right. 
2. In the case foreseen in the previous paragraph, the prior 
application may not thereafter serve as a basis for claim­
ing a right of priority. 
3. Anyone wishing to take advantage of the priority of a 
prior filing shall accompany the application filed in Ma­
cao by a declaration indicating the date and number of 
such filing and the country or territory in which it was 
made. 
4. In a case where an application claims several priorities, 
the period shall be determined from the date of the oldest 
priority. 
Article 18. 
(Proof of priority right) 
1. The DES may request parties claiming the right of pri­
ority to file a copy of the first filing, duly certified by the 
filing authority, as well as certification of the date of filing 
and, if necessary, a translation into one of the official lan­
guages. 
2. The requirement referred to in the previous paragraph 
may be met at any time, but the applicant may meet it 
within a period of3 months from the date of the filing. 
3. The copy of the application shall be exempt from le­
galization and may be filed free of charge within the pe­
riod referred to in the previous paragraph. 
4. When, for any reason, the right of the initial applicant 
has passed to a successor, proof shall be required of that 
succession when filing the patent application or registra­
tion in Macao. 
5. Failure to comply with the provisions of the present ar­
ticle shall incur forfeiture of the priority right claimed. 
CHAPTER III 
ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES 
Article 19. IP/N/1/MAC/V2 
Page 13 
(Entitlement to file) 
Any party having an interest in a legal act shall be entitled to 
file before the DES. 
Article 20. 
(Entitlement to take action) 
1. Legal action may be taken only by: 
(a) An individual interested in or owning an industrial prop­
erty right, or by an agent especially empowered for the pur­
pose by virtue of being established or domiciled in the Ter­
ritory; 
(b) A body corporate interested in or owning an industrial 
property right and having its registered office in the Terri­
tory, through its director, manager or employee duly accred­
ited for the purpose; 
(c) An official industrial property agent authorized or ac­
credited in the Territory; 
(d) An appointed lawyer. 
2. When there is an appointed agent, notices shall be ad­
dressed directly to him. 
3. If there are more than one appointed agent, and unless 
otherwise indicated by the applicant or holder of the indus­
trial property right, notices shall be addressed to the last to 
have been involved in the proceedings in writing or, if this 
criterion should not be applicable, to anyone of them indif­
ferently. 
4. In the case of irregularities or omission in the performance 
of a given act, the representative shall be notified directly 
and required to comply with the legal conditions demanded 
within a non-extendible period of 1 month, without loss of 
the priorities to which he is entitled. Failure to comply shall 
result in the act being is considered ineffective. 
Article 21. 
(Applicant not domiciled, registered or established in the 
Territory) 
1. When the application for the granting of industrial prop­
erty rights is submitted or sent by a party not domiciled or 
registered or established in the Territory, the DES shall no­
tify that party, instructing it to retain an agcnt within a period 
of 1 month, pursuant to the terms of the previous article, if it 
has not already done so. 
2. Failure to retain an agent in the set period shall result in 
refusal of the application. 
Article 22. 
(Access to the processes) 
1. Once the process has reached the publication stage, any 
interested party may request the documents referring thereto 
as well as photocopies or ordinary copies of drawings, pho­
tographs, plans and models filed with the patent application 
or registration, provided that this does not prejudice third­
party rights. 
2. In any process, the publication stage shall be deemed 
reached when the application is published in the Qlficial 
Bulletin. 
3. The applicants and their respective agents shall, pursuant 
to the terms of the previous article, have access to the pro­
ceedings before publication of the application, save as de­
termined in the following sub-paragraphs. IP/N/1/MAC/I12 
Page 14 
4. The DES can, even before the publication of the appli­
cation, disclose to third parties and render public: 
(a) The application number; 
(b) The filing date of the application and, if so demanded, 
the priority right, the priority date, the country or territory 
in question and the application number on which that right 
is based; 
(e) The name ofthe individual or body corporate that filed 
the application; 
(d) The title or short title that synthesizes the subject or 
subjects for which protection is being sought or the pur­
pose it is meant to serve. 
S. Access to the proceedings is permitted, even before 
publication of the application and regardless of whether or 
not the applicant agrees: 
(a) To anyone who proves to be entitled, su~ect to re­
specting the request not to disclose the inventor's or crea­
tor's name, if this is apparent from the documents at­
tached; 
(b) In the course of publication of a divisible application 
pursuant to the terms of Article 91 (6). 
Article 23. 
(Printed forms and formal documentary require-
ments) 
1. Applications for the granting of industrial property 
rights shall be set out on the appropriate printed forms, 
according to models to be approved in a ruling by the 
Governor, to be published in the Official Bulletin. 
2. The ruling referred in the previous paragraph can: 
(a) Establish the compulsory use of printed forms for 
other acts or procedures in addition to those provided for 
in the present Statute; 
(b) Determine the conditions in which the printed forms 
are substituted when computer procedures are used. 
3. The printed forms referred to in the present article are 
available free of charge from the DES at the offices open 
to the public. 
4. The DES may, by notice published in the Official Bul­
letin, set formal requirements to be met with respect to the 
documents and other items to be appended to the applica­
tions. 
Article 24. 
(Rectification of application) 
1. If, upon initial examination, it appears that the applica­
tion for the granting of industrial property rights was in­
correctly formulated, the applicant shall be notified and 
required to file it in accordance with the indicated condi­
tions, notwithstanding the provisions of article 120(3). 
2. Until the decision to grant or refilse the right is handed 
down, the applicant also may, of his own initiative, refor­
mulate the application requesting the granting of a right 
different from that initially requested. 
3. Once a refusal has been handed down, the applicant, 
during the appeal period or, if this is interrupted, until a 
final decision is reached, may assign the rights deriving 
from the application, limit the application itself or file any 
additional documents or declarations. 4. In the case referred to in the previous paragraph, any other 
interested party may also contribute documents or declara­
tions to the file with a view to a possible court appeal. 
S. In the cases foreseen in paragraphs 1 and 2, the applica­
tion shall be re-published in the Qfficial Bulletin, and the ap­
plicant shall be accorded the priorities to which he was enti­
tled. 
6. Other formal rectifications may be authorized up to the 
moment of the decision, provided that they are requested 
with sufficient grounds and are properly published. 
Article 2S. 
(Rectification) 
Whenever, before the publication of the notice in the Official 
Bulletin, the existence of any irregularity or inadequacy is 
found, the applicant shall be notified thereof so that, within 1 
month, he may make the necessary rectifications. 
Article 26. 
(Recognition of signatures) 
Signatures on documents not submitted by an appointed 
lawyer or a person entered in the register of qualified agents 
shall be legally certified. 
Article 27. 
(Notifications) 
1. The DES shall immediately notifY parties involved in the 
process of any complaints, oppositions, interpretations, ex­
piry requests and other procedural items contributed to the 
proceedings. 
2. Notices of complaints, oppositions and expiry requests 
shall be published in the Official Bulletin for information 
purposes. 
Article 28. 
(Copies ofthe expositions) 
Any complaints and other similar procedural items shall be 
accompanied by as many copies containing reproductions of 
all the documents that accompanied the original, as there are 
parties involved in the proceedings, as well as an additional 
copy to be kept on file and subsequently used as a basis for 
revising the proceedings, should that be necessary. 
Article 29. 
(Compilation and return of documents) 
1. The documents shall be appended to the brief in which the 
facts referred to are alleged. 
2. If it can be demonstrated that was is impossible to obtain 
them in good time, documents submitted after the deadline 
may still be appended to the proceedings, on the basis of a 
founded ruling and notification thereof to the opposite party. 
3. Even if submitted in good time, the inclusion of the fol­
lowing will always be refused: 
(a) Impertinent or unnecessary documents, including the 
useless repetition of allegations already produced; 
(b) Any documents written in disrespectful or improper 
terms. 
4. The parties or their respective agents shall be notified to 
remove items refused, that are untimely or for the reasons 
given in the previous paragraph, within 5 working days, failing which they will be filed and excluded from the 
proceedings. 
Article 30. 
(Inspections) 
1. An interested party may, with clearly stated reasons, re­
quest the DES to conduct an inspection of any establish­
ment or other place, in order to support or to explain alle­
gations produced in the process. 
2. This request shall not be granted without hearing the 
other interested party which shall be notified for this pur­
pose within 3 working days from when the DES received 
the request to conduct the inspection. 
3. The cost of the inspection shall be financed by the re­
questing party. 
4. The party that requested the measure may freely re­
nounce it up to the day before it is scheduled. 
5. The sums paid shall be returned to the requesting party 
should it suddenly foreswear or refuse the inspection re­
quest. 
6. Refusal by any of the parties to a proceeding to co­
operate with a request from the DES that they clariJY the 
situation shall be freely appreciated in the decision, not­
withstanding the fact that the onus of proof will fall on the 
counter-party if the requesting party that bears the onus of 
proof by inspection is thus deprived of the possibility of 
obtaining that proof.. 
7. An inspection may also be conducted on the initiative 
of the DES, whenever this appears indispensable for the 
proper clarification of the subjects raised in the proceed­
ings. 
Article 31. 
(Unofficial amendment of the decision) 
1. If, before the publication of a ruling, it is recognized 
that it should be amended, the proceedings shall be re­
ferred to a superior ruling, with information on the facts 
that have come to light and which mitigate in favour of an 
amendment to the decision handed down. 
2. By a superior ruling is understood that issued by the hi­
erarchical superior to the authority that effectively handed 
down the decision to be amended. 
Article 32. 
(Alteration of unessential elements) 
1. Any alteration or correction that does not affect the es­
sential and characteristic elements of the patent or the 
registration may be authorized in the proceedings them­
selves provided they are well founded and duly published. 
2. No request for an amendment or correction as foreseen 
in the present article can be received if any forfeiture pro­
ceedings are pending in relation thereto. 
3. The amendments or corrections referred to in paragraph 
I above shall be duly recorded in the respective docu­
ments. 
Article 33. 
(Documents appended to other proceedings) 
1. With the exception of powers-of-attorney that are al­
ways appended to each proceeding even when the appli­
cant is represented by the same agent, the documents filed IP/N/1/MAC/I/2 
Page 15 
to provide information on the applications may be appended 
to just one of the proceedings and just referred to in the oth­
ers. 
2. In the case of appeal, the appellant shall, at his own cost, 
by means of certified copies, complete the files for all pro­
ceedings in which such documents have been mentioned [but 
not appended]. 
3. Failure to meet the conditions set in the previous para­
graphs shall be mentioned in the official letter referring the 
proceedings to judgement, the deadline for which cannot be 
exceeded for that reason. 
Article 34. 
(Delivery of the title-deeds) 
1. The industrial property right title-deeds shall be delivered 
to the interested parties only after the end of the appeal pe­
riod or, if this is interrupted, after the final court decision is 
known. 
2. The title-deeds shall be delivered to the title-holder or his 
agent, against receipt. 
Article 35. 
(Counting deadlines) 
1. Unless otherwise stipulated, the deadlines set in the pres­
ent Statute shall be continuous. 
2. The maturity of annuity payment, renewal and revalida­
tion deadlines shall be is communicated to the title-holders 
in advance, merely for the sake of informative. 
Article 36. 
(Full restitution) 
1. An applicant or industrial property title-holder that, 
through no fault of his own and despite all the vigilance de­
manded by circumstances, has been unable to respect a 
deadline which could incur the refusal or affect the validity 
of that right, shall have his rights restored providcd that, cu­
mulatively: 
(a) He submits a written and duly founded application within 
2 months of the date of cessation of the hindrance; 
(b) He performs the omitted act within the period referred to 
in the previous paragraph, and pays the fee due in respect of 
the said act. 
2. The application referred in the previous sub-paragraph is 
admitted only within a maximum of 1 year from the date of 
the unobserved deadline. 
CHAPTER IV 
FEES 
Article 37. 
(Fees due) 
1. Fees shall be due for the various acts contemplated in the 
present Statute as determined by a ruling ofthe Governor, to 
be published in the Official Bulletin. 
2. Each separate act of issue of an element to complement a 
requests for the granting of a right shall incur the payment of 
the fee foreseen for that purpose. IP/N/1/MAC/V2 
Page ]6 
Article 38. 
(Forms of payment) 
1. The payments shall be made in cash, by cheque or 
postal order together with the applications for the acts 
provided for in notices to be published by the DES in the 
Official Bulletin. 
2. Except as provided in the previous paragraph, payment 
of the application transmittal fee may be made within 8 
working days ofthe transmission to the DES. 
Article 39. 
(Calculation of periodic fees) 
1. Annual fees relating to patents, the registration of semi­
conductor product topographies and the relative five­
yearly fees for the registration of drawings and models 
shall be calculated from the dates of the respective appli­
cations. 
2. Annual fees relating to complementary protection cer­
tificates shall bc calculated from the day following thc ex­
piry ofthe validity ofthe respective patent. 
3. Periodic fees for all other registrations shall be calcu­
lated from the date of the respective granting. 
4. Whenever, due to a court decision or the application of 
transitory provisions, the date of commencement of valid­
ity of patents or registrations does not coincide with the 
date resulting from the application of the previous para­
graphs, the respective annual or periodic fees shall be cal­
culated from the date of commencement of validity. 
Article 40. 
(payment period) 
1. Fees in respect of the first two annuities due in respect 
of patents and registrations of semiconductor product to­
pographies and the first five-year payment due for the 
registration of designs or models shall be deemed included 
in the application fees, except when article 39(4) applies. 
2. Subsequent annual and five-yearly fees shall be paid 
within the 6 months preceding their respective expiry, 
even if the rights have still not been granted. 
3. The first annual fee relative to complementary protec­
tion certificates shall be paid within the last 6 months of 
validity of the respective patent and the subsequent annual 
fee shall be paid within the last 6 months preceding their 
respective expiry. 
4. When the period of validity of the complementary pro­
tection certificate is less than 6 months, no annual fee 
need be paid. 
5. Fees relative to other registrations not covered by para­
graph 1 above shall be paid: 
(a) Together with those for the respective title-right, after 
the date of grant up to a maximum period of six months 
after the date of publication of the grant in the Official 
Bulletin; 
(b). In the final 6 months of respective validity, in the case 
of fees for the renewal of a registration. 
Article 41. 
(Surcharge and revalidation) 
1. The fees mentioned in the previous article may be paid, 
with a surcharge, up to a maximum of 6 months after ex-piry of the validity of the right, fuiling which the industrial 
property rights shall lapse. 
2. The revalidation of any patent or registration that has 
lapsed due to failure to pay the fees may be requested within 
1 year ofthe date of expiry of validity. 
3. The revalidation referred to in the previous paragraph can 
be authorized only on payment of triple the fee owing and 
notwithstanding third-party rights. 
Article 42. 
(Reduction of fees) 
1. When applicants can prove that they do not have suffi­
cient income to bear such expenses, the fees due in respect 
of applications for patents and registrations of semiconduc­
tor product topographies and models and designs and for the 
maintenance of such rights may be reduced in accordance 
with terms to be set by a ruling of the Governor, to be pub­
lished in the Official Bulletin. 
2. The ruling referred in the previous paragraph shall also set 
the periods for which such fee exemptions or reductions 
shall apply to patent applicants or holders who have called 
for public tenders for exploitation ofthe invention. 
Article 43. 
(Refunding of fees) 
1. The fees referred to in the previous articles shall not be re­
funded to the parties except when it can be proven that they 
were improperly paid. 
2. The refund referred in the final part of the previous sub­
paragraph shall be determined by a ruling of the Director of 
the DES, on the request ofthe interested party. 
Article 44. 
(Suspension of payment of fees) 
1. If legal action concerning any industrial property right is 
pending or if seizure or attachment could be declared in re­
spect thereof, the said right shall not be declared forfeit for 
default in the payment of periodic fees that may have fhllen 
due. 
2. Once any of the decisions referred in the previous para­
graph have become res judicata, the DES shall have the fact 
published in the Official Bulletin and all fees owing shall fall 
due for payment without any surcharge within 1 year of the 
date of publication. 
3. If on expiry of the deadline set in the previous sub­
paragraph, the outstanding fees have not been paid, the re­
spective industrial property right shall lapse. 
4. As soon as the legal action has ended or the seizure or at­
tachment has been lifted, the court registrar shall ex officio 
or at the request of the party, officially inform the DES for 
the purpose provided in paragraph 2 above. 
Article 45. 
(Rights belonging to the Territory) 
fudustrial property rights belonging to the Territory shall be 
subject to the formalities and duties stipulated in respect of 
an application, the grant and the respective renewals and re­
validations thereof, when exploited or used by companies of 
any kind. 
Article 46. 
(Use of the fees) Of the fees collected under the terms of the present Stat­
ute, 40% shall constitute revenue of the Territory, and 
60% shall go to the Industrial Development and Market­
ingFund. 
CHAPTER V 
EXTINCTION OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY 
RIGHTS 
Article 47. 
(General canses of nullity) 
Industrial property rights shall be total or partially null 
and void when: 
(a) The subject matter cannot be protected; 
(b) The subject matter violates the rules of public order or 
of good mores; 
(c) The procedures or formalities essential for the granting 
ofthe industrial property right were not performed. 
Article 48. 
(General causes of annulment) 
1. The industrial property rights shall be total or partially 
annulled if they violate the provisions that define to whom 
the industrial property right belongs and, in general, if 
their granting infringes the rights of third parties based on 
priority or other legal title. 
2. If the legal conditions are met, the interested party may, 
instead of annulment, request the total or partial reversion 
of the title to him. 
3. Unless otherwise provided, annulment suits should be 
filed before the General Court (Tribunal de Competencia 
Gent!rica) within 1 year of the appellant learning of the 
fact on which the suit is based. 
4. The right to request the annulment of a title obtained in 
bad faith shall not be subject to the statute oflimitations. 
Article 49. 
(procedure for a declaration of nullity or annulment) 
1. A declaration of nullity or annulment can result only 
from a court decision. 
2. Action shall be taken by the Public Prosecution Service 
or by any interested party against the registered title­
holder and notice shall also be served on anyone who, on 
the date of the publication of the notice of action, has ap­
plied to the DES to register rights derived therefrom. 
3. The Court Registrar shall inform the DES that a suit has 
been filed and when the case will be heard, sending it a 
typewritten copy or a copy on a medium deemed appro­
priate for the purpose ofthe present Statute. 
Article 50. 
(Effects of the declaratiou of nullity or annulment) 
The declaration of nullity shall not prejudice effects aris­
ing from the fulfilment of commitments, court decisions 
in res judicata or transactions, even if they have not been 
ratified, or as a result of other similar acts. 
Article 51. 
(General causes offorfeiture) 
1. Industrial property rights shall be forfeited: IP/N/1/MACIV2 
Page 17 
(a) on expiry of the period of validity; 
(b) in default of payment offees; 
(e) if waived by the title-holder. 
2. The causes of forfeiture envisaged in sub-paragraphs (a) 
and (b) above shall apply automatically regardless of publi­
cation. 
3. The general cause of forfeiture envisaged in sub­
paragraph (c) above and the other specific causes of forfei­
ture envisaged in the present Statute shall not take effect 
automatically but may be invoked by any interested party in 
court or out. 
4. Any interested party may also require the registration of 
forfeiture for reasons that apply automatically, if that has not 
been done. 
Article 52. 
(Applications for a declaration offorfeiture) 
1. Applications [or declarations of forfeiture shall be sub­
mitted to the DES. 
2. Save in cases where the title-holder waives the right, the 
title-holder shall be notified of the application for a declara­
tion of forfeiture in order to have the opportunity, if so de­
sired, to respond within 2 months. 
3. On the request of the interested party, presented in good 
time, the period referred to in the previous paragraph may be 
extended by I additional month. 
4. Further extensions for like periods can be granted only if 
no express opposition is raised by the other party and if justi­
fied by cogent reasons. 
5. Once the response period has elapsed, the DES shall, 
within 1 month, decide on the declaration of forfeiture of the 
patent or registration. 
Article 53. 
(Renunciation) 
1. The title-holder may renounce his applications for the 
granting ofindustrial property rights as well as any industrial 
property rights he may own, by so requesting the DES in 
writing. 
2. The renunciation may be partial when the nature of the in­
dustrial property right so permits. 
3. If the renunciation application is not signed by the inter­
ested party, the respective legal representative shall file a 
power-of-attorney with special powers. 
4. Renunciation shall not prejudice duly registered third­
party rights provided that the respective title-holders, after 
due notification, substitute the holder of the main right for 
the purpose of preserving the rights to the extent necessary 
for safeguarding those rights. 
5. Once the renunciation of the application has been con­
firmed, the rights inherent therein shall also be forfeited. 
PART 11 
INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY REGISTRATION 
Article 54. 
(Jurisdiction and purpose) IP/N/lIMACIII2 
Page 18 
1. The Industrial Property Register shall be kept on com­
puter by the DES in order at any time to be able to provide 
information on industrial property rights granted, as wen 
as on any act amending or nullifying them. 
2. No details of the application for the granting of an in­
dustrial property right shall be entered in the Register 
prior to publication, except on the express authorization or 
request of the applicant, and without prejudice to the pro­
visions of article 22. 
Article 55. 
(Register of approved agents) 
The Industrial Property Register shall be supplemented by 
a Register of Agents for the purpose of ensuring that the 
public know of the persons referred to in the final palt of 
alticle 20 (l(b» and of any limitations on their respective 
powers, as well as of the Macao industrial property agents 
authorized by the DES, and of the official property agents 
of other countries that are accredited to function in the 
Territory under the terms of the applicable law. 
Article 56. 
(Elements relevant to the registration of rights 
granted) 
1. The registration of industrial property rights granted 
shall include: 
(a) The type of right at issue; 
(b) The name or style of the title-holder or holders; 
(e) The number allocated to the title; 
(d) The date of commencement of validity; 
(e) The title or sholt title that synthesizes the sUQject mat­
ter of the invention or the topography and a description of 
the respective subject matter; 
(f) The reproduction of the subject of the design, model, 
trademark or emblem registered. 
2. The Director of the DES may determine the inclusion 
of other elements in the registration beyond those referred 
to in the previous paragraph, provided that the limitations 
or prohibitions applicable to disclosure to the general 
public be safeguarded. 
Article 57. 
(Facts subject to registration) 
1. The following items are subject to registration by being 
written on the title and mentioned in the respective grant­
ing register: 
(a) The transmission of industrial property rights; 
(b) The granting of exploitation licences; 
(e) Declaration of public calls for tender to exploit inven­
tions, as wen as their respective withdrawal or forfeiture; 
(d) The constitution of rights of warranty or usufruct, as 
wen as seizure and attachment; 
(e) Lawsuits for nullity or annulment of rights; 
(f) Amendments of acts performed under article 32; 
(g) Any other facts or decisions that modiry or extinguish 
industrial property rights. 2. The facts referred to in paragraph 1 above may be raised 
by the parties or their successors at any time but shall pro­
duce effects in relation to third paIties only after having been 
registered. 
Article 58. 
(Initial steps and formalities) 
1. The registration shall be effected on application by any of 
the interested parties accompanied the documents bearing 
out the facts to be registered. 
2. If the registration of the assignment be requested by the 
assignor, the assignee shall also sign the document giving 
proof thereof or shall expressly declare acceptance of the as­
signment. 
3. After the registration has been effected, the certificate 
shall be returned to the requesting party and the request and 
suppolting documents shall be appended to the respective 
file. 
4. The DES may, ex officio, have the obligatory granting of 
exploitation licences registered, as well as the legal actions 
referred to article 57(I(e». 
Article 59. 
(Access to the registers) 
The registers referred to in articles 54 and 55 shall be public 
and anybody may by name request a celtificate of registra­
tions effected, documents filed and of decisions published, 
as well as indication of the date on which any of the publi­
cations mentioned in the present Statute were issued. 
PART III 
TYPES OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY RIGHTS 
CHAPTER I 
INVENTIONS 
SECTION I 
GENERAL PROVISIONS 
SUB-SECTION I 
OBJECT OF PROTECTION 
Article 60. 
(Subject matter of protection) 
Only inventions meeting the patentability requirements set 
forth in the present sub-section can be protected under the 
present Statute, by the granting of a patent certificate. 
Article 61. 
(Patentability requirements) 
Any inventions, in any area of technology, pertaining to 
products or processes for obtaining products, substances or 
compositions, even if they involve a product composed of 
biological matter or that contains biological matter or a pro­
cess that permits the production, processing or use of bio­
logical matter, shall be patentable provided that such inven­
tions: 
(a) Be novel; 
(b) Involve an inventive step; and 
(e) Be industrially applicable. Article 62. 
(Exceptions and limitations to patentability) 
1. The following shall not be patentable: 
(a) Discoveries, as well as scientific theories and mathe­
matical methods; 
(b) Materials or substances already existing naturally and 
nuclear matter; 
(e) Aesthetic creations; 
(d) Schemes, rules and methods for performing mental 
acts, playing games or doing business as well as computer 
programs,assuch; 
(e) Presentation of information. 
2. Likewise, the following cannot be patented: 
(a) Inventions whose commercial exploitation would be 
illegal, contrary to public order, public health or morality; 
(b) Methods for the surgical or therapeutic treatment of 
the human or animal body and methods of diagnosis ap­
plied to the human or animal body, excluding products, 
substances or compositions used in any of those methods; 
(e) Plant varieties or breeds of animal, as well as essen­
tially biological processes for the production of plants or 
animals. 
3. Pursuant to sub-paragraph 2(a) above, the following are 
specifically not patentable: 
(a) The human body, in the various stages of its formation 
and development, as well as the simple discovery of one 
of its elements, including the sequence or partial sequence 
ofa gene; 
(b) Human cloning processes; 
(e) Human germinal genetic identity modification proc­
esses; 
(d) The use of human embryos for industrial or commer­
cial purposes; 
(e) Processes for the modification of the genetic identity 
of animals that can cause them suffering without any sub­
stantial medical benefit to mankind or animalkind, as well 
as the animals obtained by those processes. 
4. The provision in paragraph I excludes patentability 
only when the object for which the patent is requested is 
limited to the elements mentioned therein as such. 
5. For the purposes of sub-paragraph 2(a), patentability of 
the invention cannot be excluded by the simple fact that 
the commercial exploitation thereof is prohibited by Law 
or regulation. 
Article 63. 
(SpeCial cases of patentability) 
1. The provisions of the previous article shall not exclude 
the patentability of: 
(a) A substance or composition included in the prior art 
which is used in the working of one of the methods men­
tioned in paragraph 2(b) of the same article, provided that 
its use for any of the methods mentioned therein is not in­
cluded in the prior art; IP/N/l/MAC/I/2 
Page 19 
(b) Any isolated element of the human body or produced in 
some other way by a technical process, including the se­
quence or partial sequence of a gene, even if the structure of 
that element is identical to that of a natural element; 
(e) An invention whose object is plant or animal matter if its 
technical feasibility is not limited to a certain plant variety or 
animal species; 
(d) A biological substance isolated from its natural environ­
ment or produced on the basis of a technical process, even if 
it pre-exists in the natural state; 
(e) An invention, the object of which is a microbiological or 
other technical process or products obtained by such proc­
esses. 
2. For the purposes sub-paragraph l(b) above, the industrial 
application of a sequence or of a partial sequence of a gene 
must be concretely stipulated in the patent application. 
Article 64. 
(Biological processes and biological matter -definitions) 
For the purposes of articles 62 and 63: 
(a) An essentially biological process for obtaining plant or 
animal matter shall be understood as any process that con­
sists entirely of natural phenomena such as crossing or se­
lection; 
(b) A microbiological process shall be understood as any 
process that uses microbiological matter, that involves the 
manipulation of microbiological matter or that produces mi­
crobiological matter; 
(e) Biological matter shall be understood as any matter that 
contains genetic information and can reproduce itself or be 
reproduced in a biological system. 
Article 65. 
(Prior art) 
1. An invention shall be considered novel when it is not 
known in the prior art. 
2. Prior art comprises everything that, inside the Territory or 
outside it, has been made accessible to the public before the 
date of the patent application, by description, use or any 
other means. 
3. Prior art shall also be considered to include the content of 
patent applications filed at a date prior to that on which the 
patent in question is applied for and which produce effects in 
the Territory and is not yet published. 
Article 66. 
(Inventive step) 
An invention is considered to involve an inventive step iJ: 
for a person skilled in the art, the result is not obvious from 
the prior art. 
Article 67. 
(Industrial application) 
An invention is considered industrially applicable if its sub­
ject matter can be manufactured or used in any type of in­
dustrial or commercial activity. 
Article 68. 
(Non-opposable disclosures) IP/N/1/MAC/I/2 
Page 20 
1. The following shall not prejudice the novelty of the in­
vention: 
(a) Disclosures to scientific societies, professional techni­
cal associations, or for the purpose of competitions, exhi­
bitions and trade fairs in Macao or abroad which are offi­
cial or officially recognized, if the application for the 
granting of the respective patent be filed in the Territory 
within 12 months; 
(b) Disclosures resulting from obvious abuse of the in­
ventor or his successor in any capacity, or if improperly 
published by the DES. 
2. The provision of sub-paragraph l(a) above shall apply 
only if the applicant proves, within 3 months from the 
filing date of the patent application, that the invention was 
effectively disclosed in the conditions envisaged in the 
paragraph in question. 
SUB-SECTION II 
PATENT ENTITLEMENT 
Article 69. 
(patent right) 
1. The patent entitlement shall lie with the inventor or 
his/her successor in any capacity, except where otherwise 
provided for inventions discovered while fulfilling a con­
tract of employment. 
2. If the invention was discovered by two or more persons, 
anyone of them shall be entitled to apply for the patent in 
the name of all of them. 
Article 70. 
(Invention discovered in the context of an employment 
contract) 
1. Anyone discovering an invention during the fulfilment 
of an employment contract shall intorm the company of 
the fact within the following deadlines: 
(a) 2 months from the completion ofthe invention; 
(b) 1 month from the filing of the patent application with 
the DES, if this was done within the period referred to in 
the previous sub-paragraph; 
(e) 1 month from the filing of the patent application with 
the DES, in the cases foreseen in the following paragraph 
2. Inventions for which the patent is filed within 1 year of 
the date on which the inventor leaves the company shall 
be presumed to have been discovered during the fulfil­
ment of the employment contract. 
3. The non-performance ofthe obligation referred in para­
graph I above shall incur third-party liability, in general, 
and, if the employment contract has not terminated, a li­
ability under labour law. 
4. The company and the inventor shall refrain from any 
act of disclosure likely to prejUdice the acquisition of the 
patent entitlement. 
Article 71. 
(Attribution of entitlement to the invention) 1. The entitlement to the invention referred to in the previous 
article shall lie with the company if the invention forms part 
of its area of activity and if it was discovered in the process 
of: 
(a) an employment contract containing a clause that explic­
itly provides for the performance of an inventive activity and 
that effectively corresponds to the functions attributed to the 
employee; 
(b) Studies or research that the worker was explicitly re­
quested to conduct. 
2. Entitlement to the invention shall also lie with the com­
pany, even though the invention does not fall within its area 
of activity, if the employee has used knowledge, technical 
means or data supplied by the company. 
3. In situations not provided for in the previous paragraphs, 
entitlement to the invention shall lie with the employee. 
Article 72. 
(Inventor's remuneration) 
1. In the cases provided for in article 71(1) and (2), the in­
ventor shall be entitled to remuneration in keeping with the 
relevance of the invention, if the inventive activity is not es­
pecially remunerated under the terms of the employment 
contract or in a written document. 
2. The company shall loses the right to the patent, in favour 
of the inventor, if the remuneration due the inventor is not 
fully paid to him within the deadline established by the par­
ties. 
3. In the absence of agreement on the amount of remunera­
tion, the subject shall be settled by arbitration. 
4. All relevant circumstances shall be considered in deter­
mining the amount of remuneration, and more especially: 
(a) the financial value of the invention and its contribution to 
the growth or recovery of the company; 
(b) the personal effort made by the inventor and the assis­
tance that he received from other employees in discovering 
the invention; 
(e) the financial capacity and size of the company; 
(d) The wage and other benefits that the company pays the 
inventor. 
Article 73. 
(Inadmissibility of prior renouncement) 
The rights accorded the inventor under the preceding articles 
may not be renounced in advance. 
Article 74. 
(Most favoured regime) 
The regime established in the employment contract shall 
take precedence over the provisions of articles 70 to 72 if the 
contract contains a regime globally more favourable to the 
inventor. 
Article 75. 
(Right of the inventor to be named) 1. If the patent application is not filed in the name of the 
inventor, he shall be entitled to be mentioned as such in 
the application and on the patent certificate. 
2. The name of the inventor need not be mentioned as 
such in the publications arising from the application if he 
so requests in writing. 
Article 76. 
(Application to public entities) 
Unless otherwise stipulated, the provisions of the present 
sub-section shall within the Territory, apply in relation to 
its employees, agents and other servants in any capacity. 
SUB-SECTION III 
THE PATENT PROCEDURE 
Article 77. 
(The form of request) 
1. The patent request shall be written in the official lan­
guage of the Territory indicating the name or style of the 
applicant, his/its nationality and domicile or place of resi­
dence, and shall be accompanied by the following items in 
triplicate: 
(a) The title or short title briefly synthesising the subject 
matter of the invention; 
(b) A description of the subject matter of the invention; 
(e) Claims of what is considered novel and what charac­
terizes the invention; 
(d) Mention of the priority right, if appropriate, pursuant 
to article 17(3). 
2. The description shall indicate, briefly and clearly, with­
out reservations or omissions, everything that constitutes 
the subject matter of the invention, containing a detailed 
explanation of, at least, one way of realizing the invention, 
in such a way that a person skilled in the art could realize 
it. 
3. The claims shall define the subject matter of the re­
quested protection and shall be clear, concise, written cor­
rectly, based on the description and, when appropriate, 
contain: 
(a) A preamble mentioning the subject matter of the in­
vention and such technical features of the invention as are 
necessary for the definition of the claimed subject matter 
but which, in combination, are part of prior art; 
(b) A characterizing portion, preceded by the expression 
«characterized by» and stating the technical features 
which, in combination with the features stated in the pre­
vious sub-paragraph, define the extent of the requested 
protection. 
4. Any fantasy expressions used to designate the invention 
shall form no part of the claim. 
Article 78. 
(Description of biotechnical inventions) 
Should an invention claim to refer to biological matter 
that is not accessible to the public and that cannot be de­
scribed on the patent form in such a manner as to permit 
its realization by a person skilled in the art, or to involve 
the use of matter of that type, the description alone shall IP/N/1/MAC/I12 
Page 21 
be considered enough for the purpose of obtaining the pat­
ent, if: 
(a) The biological matter has, by the date of submission of 
the patent request, been deposited in a recognized depositary 
institution, on the conditions to be defined in a ruling by the 
Governor, and published in the Qlficial Bulletin; 
(b) The patent request includes the relevant information of 
which the applicant disposes concerning the characteristics 
of the deposited biological matter; 
(e) The patent request mentions the depositary institution 
and the deposit number. 
Article 79. 
(Additional elements of the request) 
1. The elements referred in article 77 and, if appropriate, in 
the preceding article, should be supplemented by the fol­
lowing documents: 
(a) A summary of the invention; 
(b) Drawings necessary for the perfect understanding of the 
description; 
(e) The name and country or territory of the inventor's place 
of residence; 
(d) Proof of payment of the request submission tee. 
2. If appropriate, the following shall also be submitted: 
(a) Documents proving the claimed priority right; 
(b) The declaration by which the inventor opposes the dis­
closure of his identity; 
(e) A summary declaration on the facts that justiJY title to the 
patent, when the applicant was not the inventor or the only 
inventor; 
(d) Any translations that may be necessary, specifically in 
the light of the regulations referred to in article 85(3). 
3. The drawings should comprise strictly illustrations in such 
numbers as are necessary to the understanding of the inven­
tion. 
4. The abstract of the invention, to be published in the QIfi­
cial Bulletin, shall merely serve the purpose of providing 
technical information and cannot be taken into account for 
any other purpose, particularly not for the purpose of inter­
preting the scope of the protection sought and it shall consist 
in a brief expose of what is referred to in the description, 
claims and drawings and should preferably not contain more 
than 150 words or 400 characters. 
Article 80. 
(Unity of request and invention) 
1. No more than one patent may be requested in the same 
application and only one patent may be requested for an in­
vention. 
2. A plurality of inventions inter-related amongst themselves 
in such a way as to constitute a single general inventive con­
cept shall be considered a single invention. 
3. Under the terms of the previous paragraph, it is permitted 
to include in the same request, specifically: IP/N/1/MAC/V2 
Page 22 
(a) An independent claim for a product, an independent 
claim for a process especially evolved for the manufacture 
of that product and, moreover, an independent claim for a 
process especially evolved for a use of that product; 
(b) An independent claim for a process and an independ­
ent claim for a device or mechanism evolved especially to 
perform that process; 
(c) An independent claim for a product, an independent 
claim for a process and an independent claim for a device 
or mechanism especially devised to execute that process. 
Article 81. 
(Multiple priorities) 
1. Multiple priorities can be claimed for a patent request, 
provided that the priorities come from different countries 
or territories, the deadlines relating to the priority being 
calculated from the date ofthe oldest priority. 
2. Where appropriate, multiple priorities may be cited for 
a same claim. 
3. When one or more priorities are claimed for the patent 
request, the priority right shall include only those ele­
ments of the patent request contained in the request or re­
quests whose priority is claimed. 
4. If some of the elements of the invention for which pri­
ority is claimed are not included among the claims for­
mulated in the previous request, it shall suffice, in order 
that the priority may be considered, that all the documents 
of the previous request accurately reveal the elements re­
ferred to. 
Article 82. 
(Examination as to form) 
1. Once the request has been received, the DES shall pro­
ceed to its formal examination, within a period of 2 
months, to veri1Y that it contains all of the elements re­
quired in accordance with articles 77 to 79. 
2. If the request does not contain some ofthe elements re­
quired, or if they are in any way irregular, the applicant 
shall have 2 months from his bcing notificd to that effcct 
by the DES in which to make the necessary rectification 
or, should he not be so notified, a maximum of 4 months 
from the filing of the request, either deadline being ex­
tended by a further 2 months, if so requested with good 
reason. 
3. The date that establishes the priority of the presentation, 
tor the purposes of article 15, shall be that on which the 
elements referred to in articles 77 and 78 are submitted 
complete and the DES shall then, if the applicant so re­
quests, issue the relevant submission certificate. 
4. During the formal examination phase foreseen in the 
present article, the fact that the request does not respect 
the requirements set forth in article 80 shall not prevent its 
being received. 
5. Failure to send the notification referred to in paragraph 
2 above, as well as its non-reception, shall not, for the 
purpose of granting the patent, relieve the applicant from 
making good the indicated irregularities within the legal 
deadline. 
6. If, within the deadline applicable under paragraph 2, it 
is found that the inadequacies or irregularities in the re­
quest were not rectified, the request will be refused and a notice to that etlect will be published in the Official Bulletin, 
in which case there shall be no need to publish the notice 
foreseen in the following article. 
Article 83. 
(Notice of disclosure to the public) 
1. Once 18 months have elapsed from the date of submission 
of the request or, if a priority right was claimed, from the 
claimed date, the DES shall have the disclosure notice pub­
lished in the Qfficial Bulletin and the request proceedings 
shall be available to the public from that date. 
2. The proceedings may be published before the end of the 
deadline referred to in the previous sub-paragraph, should 
the applicant so request, and once: 
(a) at least 2 months have elapsed from the submission of 
the patent request; 
(b) the request is not pending regularization, as envisaged in 
article 82.; 
(c) the early request fee has been paid. 
Article 84. 
(Objections) 
1. From the publication ofthe disclosure notice until the date 
when the patent is awarded, any third-party may approach 
the DES in writing with objections to the patentability of the 
invention in respect of which the request was filed. 
2. The objections shall be transmitted to the applicant, which 
may respond within 4 months of the notification of such ob­
jections. 
Article 85. 
(Examination report and designated entities) 
1. The invention examination report, to be prepared by one 
of the designated entities, shaH look into the claims in their 
latest formulation and, when appropriate, the drawings in­
cluded with them for the purpose of speci1Ying the elements 
of prior art that should be taken into consideration in deter­
mining the novelty of the invention, as well as appreciating 
inventive step. 
2. The designated entities are the European Patent Institute 
and any others specified by a ruling of the Governor and 
published in the Qfficial Bulletin. 
3. The ruling referred in the previous paragraph may include 
or determine the publication of procedural standards with a 
view to the proper performance of co-operation agreements 
concluded with the designated entities, and more specifically 
with respect to the languages to be used in the documents 
and/or to the translations that should be submitted by the ap­
plicants. 
Article 86. 
(Examination of the invention) 
1. On pain of having the patent request refused, the applicant 
shall, within 7 years of the date of filing of the main request 
or ofthe several requests provide the DES with: 
(a) A request that an examination report be conducted by 
one ofthe designated entities; 
(b) An examination report conducted by one of the desig­
nated entities, if the object of such report is the invention for 
which the granting of a patent in Macao is being requested; (c) One or more examination reports conducted by one of 
the designated entities, if such report or reports concern 
one or more similar patents or industrial property certifi­
cate requests whose priority is being claimed for the Ma­
cao patent application, or that claim the same priorities as 
does the Macao patent application, or else that claim the 
priority ofthe Macao patent application. 
2. In the case envisaged in the sub-paragraph l(c) above, 
the applicant should include an authenticated copy of the 
patent requests or similar industrial property certificates 
referred to and the DES shall be entitled to demand a 
translation into one of the official languages of the Terri­
tory. 
3. The designated entity shall prepare the examination re­
port on that part of the patent application relating to the 
main obj ect of the claims and to those parts of the patent 
application for which additional examination fees have 
been paid in the set deadlines. 
4. The parts ofthe application for which the additional ex­
amination fees have not been paid within the set deadlines 
shall be considered to have been withdrawn, if they do not 
form part of a divisible application. 
S. The request for the preparation of an examination report 
shall specity the parts of the patent request to which the 
documents mentioned in sub-paragraph l(b) or (c) above 
refer. 
6. The applicant shall be relieved of submitting the ele­
ments referred in the previous paragraphs if the patent re­
quest has been filed by a third party pursuant to the fol­
lowing article. 
Article 87. 
(Examination report request filed by a third party) 
1. Starting from the date of disclosure to the public of the 
patent application proceeding, anyone may request the 
preparation of the examination report referred to in the 
previous article, if the applicant has not done so within 7 
years from the date of submission of the patent applica­
tion. 
2. The applicant shall be notified of a request by a third 
party under the terms of the previous paragraph, and shall 
receive a copy of the examination report whereupon he 
may avail himself ofthe facility provided for in article 89. 
Article 88. 
(Rejection of an examination report request) 
The request for the conduct of an examination report shall 
be rejected when: 
(a) It is not accompanied by proof of payment of the ex­
amination fee; 
(b) It does not meet other requirements stipulated in the 
present Statute; 
(c) The patent application is in the process of rectification, 
as provided in article 82. 
Article 89. 
(Amendments to claims, description or drawings) 
1. The applicant shall be entitled to make amendments to 
the claims, description and drawings: 
(a) Once only up to the filing of the request for the con­
duct of the examination report or up to the reception by IP/N/lIMAC/I/2 
Page 23 
the DES of the documents referred to in article 86(1(b) and 
(c); 
(b) Once only after the filing with the DES ofthe documents 
referred to in article 86(I(b) and (c) or following reception 
of the examination report; 
(c) Once only where a divisible application is filed. 
2. A patent application cannot be amended in such a way 
that its subject matter exceeds the content of the application 
as originally submitted. 
3. The right to amend provided for in the present article shall 
include the right to adapt the title of the invention and the 
abstract, as well as to submit a short comment. 
4. The amendment right accorded under sub-paragraph l(b) 
shall be exercised within 4 months following the occurrence 
of the facts referred to. 
S. The amendment right accorded under sub-paragraph l(c) 
may be exercised within 4 months following the presentation 
of a divisible application provided that it does not exceed the 
deadline referred to in the previous paragraph. 
6. Each amendment shall be subject to the payment of the 
fee set for the purpose. 
Article 90. 
(Rectification subsequent to the examination report) 
1. If the designated entity does not follow up on the exami­
nation report because certain sectors of the art have been 
tcmporarily excluded from their search activities, or should 
it decide not to proceed with the search in the concrete case, 
the DES shall notity the applicant of such decision, that noti­
fication substituting the examination report for the purpose 
of granting the patent. 
2. The DES shall also notity the applicant of the impossibil­
ity of producing the examination report when the designated 
entity considers that: 
(a) the description, the claims or the drawings do not meet 
the established requirements, so that no substantial search 
can be conducted; 
(b) The subject matter of the patent application does not fall 
within the concept of an invention or of a patentable matter, 
or that it is not obliged, for other reasons, to proceed with the 
search. 
3. In the case referred in the previous paragraph, the appli­
cant shall have 4 months from notification to correct the de­
ficiencies of the patent application, pursuant to article 89, 
and to repeat the request for an examination report. 
4. If, following upon the renewal of the examination report 
request, the designated entity considers that it is unable to 
modity its conclusions regarding the patent application as 
corrected, the applicant may justifiably contest that decision. 
S. The contestation referred in the previous paragraph shall 
not be admitted if the non-patentability of the invention has 
been demonstrated or if the contestation was not presented 
within the deadline set for that effect by the DES or, where 
no such deadline was set, by the end of the period referred to 
in article 86(1). 
6. If, from the documents referred to in article 86(I(b) and 
(c» it can be concluded as indicated in sub-paragraph 2 
above, or should those conclusions not meet the require­
ments established in the present Statute or in the respective IP/N/lIMAC/V2 
Page 24 
regulations, the DES shall notifies the applicant of this 
fact, and the applicant shall have 4 months in which to 
rectifY the documents or to request that the examination 
report be established. 
7. Examination report requests submitted under the terms 
of paragraphs 3 and 6 shall be refused if they are submit­
ted after the expiry of the deadline referred to in article 
86(1). 
Article 91. 
(Divisible applications) 
1. The applicant shall have the option of irreversibly di­
viding his application and submitting it as one or more di­
visible applications, to which shall be correspondingly 
limited the protection conferred by the initial application, 
if he himself or the designated entity considers that the 
patent application does not meet the requirement of unity 
of invention referred to in article 80. 
2. The option referred to in the previous paragraph cannot 
be exercised during the period between the examination 
report request and the reception of that report by the ap­
plicant. 
3. The limitation of the protection conferred on the initial 
application is effected by the deletion of one or more 
claims, sentences in the description or drawings or, ex­
ceptionally, in the form of an amendment to the claims, to 
the description or to the drawings, pursuant to article 89. 
4. The divisible applications can be submitted only if they 
fall within the scope of the initial application submitted 
and shall, in that case, benefit from the priority date allo­
cated to the initial application and the corresponding pri­
ority right. 
5. The presentation of a divisible application shall require 
payment of the fees due for the presentation of a patent 
application, as well as of the annuities that fall due after 
the date of presentation of the initial application, accord­
ing to the rates applicable at the time of the presentation 
ofthe divisible application. 
6. Once a divisible application has been published, anyone 
may consult the initial application proceedings even be­
fore they are published and even without the consent of 
the applicant. 
Article 92. 
(Divisible application following upon legal action) 
When a patent has been granted disregarding the require­
ment of unity of invention and this omission has been le­
gally confirmed in response to a suit brought by a third 
party, the patent-holder shall, on pain of finally losing the 
rights not directly relating to the main subject matter of 
the patent, submit one or more divisible applications. 
Article 93. 
(Deadline and content of the divisible application) 
1. The divisible application may be submitted only within 
a deadline of 4 months from: 
(a) The performance of the acts envisaged in article 
89(I(b»; 
(b) A court decision, in the case envisaged in the previous 
article. 2. An examination report request shall be submitted for each 
divisible application within 7 years of the date of the sub­
mission ofthe initial application. 
3. If the divisible application be submitted after the deadline 
set in the previous paragraph, it should thenceforth be ac­
companied by the examination report request, on pain of 
being refused. 
Article 94. 
(Access to deposited biological material and substitution 
thereof) 
1. Access to deposited biological material shall be ensured 
by provision of a sample: 
(a) Until the first publication of the patent application, only 
to people who have access to the proceedings; 
(b) Between the first publication of the application and the 
granting of the patent, to anybody who so requests or, at the 
request of the depositor, only to an independent expert; 
(e) After the granting of the patent, and even if the patent 
lapses because it becomes invalid or is forfeited, to anybody 
who so requests. 
2. The sample shall be delivered only if the person request­
ing it undertakes, for the duration of the patent: 
(a) Not to provide third parties with any sample of the de­
posited biological material or of any material derived there­
from; 
(b) Not to use any sample of the deposited material or any 
matter derived therefrom, except for experimental purposes, 
save in the case of an express waiver by the applicant or the 
patent-holder of that commitment. 
3. Should the patent application be refused or withdrawn, 
access to the deposited material may, at the request of the 
depositor, be limited to an independent expert for 20 years 
from the date of filing the patent application and, in this 
case, the provision ofthe previous paragraph shall apply. 
4. The applications of the depositor referred to in sub­
paragraph l(b) and in the previous paragraph may be pre­
sented only until the date on which the technical prepara­
tions for publication of the patent applications are considered 
completed. 
Article 95. 
(New deposit) 
1. When the biological material deposited pursuant to the 
provisions in the preceding article ceases to be available at 
the recognized depositary institution, a new deposit of the 
material shall be permitted on the conditions envisaged in 
the Budapest Treaty of 28 April 1977 on the International 
Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for Purposes 
of Patent Procedure. 
2. Any new deposit shall be accompanied by a declaration, 
signed by the depositor, certifYing that the biological mate­
rial forming the new deposit is identical to that initially de­
posited. 
Article 96. 
(Withdrawal of application) 
The applicant may withdraw the patent application at any 
time by submitting such a request in writing together with a 
declaration confirming that he has informed the inventor of the fact, in cases where the inventor is not the applicant, 
as well as any person or persons to whom a licence has in 
the meantime been granted, which licence has not yet 
been registered with the DES, or, if appropriate, indicating 
that such confirmation is not applicable. 
Article 97. 
(Partial granting) 
1. If it is just a case of removing drawings, sentences from 
the abstract or from the description or altering the title or 
short title ofthe invention then, in keeping with the notifi­
cation, the DES may proceed with such amendments and 
have a notice published to that effect provided that the ap­
plicant raises no express opposition within 1 month of the 
said notification. 
2. The publication in the Qfficial Bulletin of the notice re­
ferred to in the previous paragraph, with a transcription of 
the abstract, shall mention the alterations made. 
Article 98. 
(Reasons for refusing the patent) 
The patent shall be refused when any of the general 
grounds for refusal to grant industrial property rights is 
found to obtain, but the applicant may be refused a patent 
on the basis of article 9(1) only if the non-patentability is 
obvious from the terms of the examination report or if it 
was not possible to reach any conclusion on the patent­
ability because the elements accompanying the application 
did not permit the patent to be granted because of their in­
adequacy, irregularity, contradiction or confusion. 
Article 99. 
(Notification of grant or refusal of patent) 
The granting or refusal of the patent shall be notified pur­
suant to article 20(2) and (3) and shall be published in the 
Official Bulletin. 
Article 100. 
(Publication of the pamphlet) 
Once the deadline set in article 34(1) has elapsed, the pat­
ent pamphlet can be published. 
SUB-SECTION IV 
EFFECTS OF THE PATENT 
Article 101. 
(Scope of protection) 
1. The scope of protection conferred by the patent shall be 
determined by the content of the claims, the description 
and the drawings serving for interpretation purposes. 
2. If the subject matter of the patent concerns a process, 
the rights conferred by that patent shall include the prod­
ucts directly obtained by the patented process. 
3. The protection conferred by a patent relating to a bio­
logical material endowed by the invention with certain 
properties shall extend to any biological material obtained IP/N/1/MAC/I/2 
Page 25 
from the said biological material by reproduction or multi­
plication, in identical or different form, and endowed with 
those same properties. 
4. The protection conferred by a patent relating to a process 
for producing a biological material endowed by the inven­
tion with certain properties, shall extend to biological mate­
rial directly obtained by that process and any other biologi­
cal material obtained from the directly obtained biological 
material, by reproduction or multiplication, in identical or 
differentiated form, and endowed with those same proper­
ties. 
5. The protection conferred by a patent relating to a product 
that contains genetic information or that consists in genetic 
information, shall extend to any material, subject to the pro­
visions of article 62(3(a», in which the product is incorpo­
rate and in which its function is contained and exercised. 
6. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs 3 to 5, the 
sale or any other form of commercialization by the patent­
holder, or with his consent, to a farmer, of plant reproduction 
material, or breeding animals or other animal reproduction 
material, shall imply that the farmer has permission to use 
the protected animals, the animal reproduction material or 
the product of his harvest in order himself to proceed to re­
produce or multiply animal or plant species exclusively for 
the purpose of his own agricultural exploitation. 
7. Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the permission re­
ferred to in the previous paragraph shall not entitle the 
farmer to exercise any reproductive activity for commercial 
purposes or as part ofa commercial activity. 
Article 102. 
(Inversion of the onus of proof) 
1. If the subject matter of a patent is a process for the manu­
facture of a new product, the same product manufactured by 
a third party shall, unless proven to the contrary, be deemed 
to be manufactured by the patented process. 
2. When taking evidence, the court shall take account of the 
legitimate interest of the party bearing the burden of proof in 
preserving his trade secret. 
Article 103. 
(Duration) 
1. The duration of the patent shall be 20 years from the date 
ofthe respective application. 
2. Notwithstanding the provision for temporary protection, 
the exclusivity deriving from the patent pursuant to article 5 
shall be effective only from the date of the granting of the 
respective certificate. 
Article 104. 
(Rights conferred by the patent) 
1. Upon becoming valid, the patent shall confer on its 
holder: 
(a) The exclusive right to exploit the invention in the Terri­
tory; 
(b) The right to oppose any acts that constitute a breach of 
his patent, and specifically to prevent third parties, without 
his consent, from manufacturing, offering, storing, market­
ing or using a product covered by the patent, or importing or 
owning the same for any of the mentioned purposes. IP/N/lIMAC/I/2 
Page 26 
2. The rights conferred by the patent may not exceed the 
scope defined for the claims. 
3. The patent shall be granted with no guarantee as to the 
accuracy of the descriptions and its validity may not be 
presumed by virtue of the fact that the respective certifi­
cate was granted. 
Article 105. 
(Limitation on the rights conferred by the patent) 
The rights conferred by the patent shall not include: 
(a) Thc prcparation of medicines made up on the spot and 
for individual cases by dispensing chemists on a medical 
prescription, nor acts relative to medicines so prepared; 
(b) Acts performed exclusively for test or experimental 
purposes, including experiments in preparation for the 
administrative processes necessary for the approval of 
products by the relevant official bodies, because the in­
dustrial or commercial exploitation of those products can­
not begin before checking whether the patent protecting 
them has lapsed; 
(c) The use on board ships of other countries or territories 
members of the WTO or the Union of the subject matter 
of the patented invention in the body of the ship, in the 
machinery, in the masting, equipment and other accesso­
ries, when they temporarily or accidentally enter the wa­
ters of the Territory, inasmuch as the said invention is 
used exclusively for the needs of the ship; 
(d) The use ofthe subject matter of the patented invention 
either in the construction or operation of air or land trans­
port vehicles of other countries or territories members of 
the WTO or the Union or of accessories on those vehicles, 
when they temporarily or accidentally enter in the Terri­
tory; 
(e) The acts envisaged in article 27 of the Convention of7 
December 1944 relative to International Civil Aviation, if 
these acts concern aircrafts of another State but to which 
the provisions ofthe said article apply; 
(f) The acts performed in the context of private use, hav­
ing no commercial purpose. 
Article 106. 
(Non-contravention of the patent) 
1. The rights conferred by the patent shall not be deemed 
to have been convened by anyone who, in good faith, in 
the Territory and before the date of application or of pri­
ority, when claimed: 
(a) Came to know ofthe invention by his own means; and 
(b) Used it or made effective and serious preparations 
with a view to such use. 
2. Anyone benefiting from the assumption of non­
contravention shal! bare the onus of proof of the situations 
foreseen in the previous paragraph. 
3. Prior use or the preparations for such use, based on the 
disclosures referred to in article 68(1(a» shall not detract 
from good faith. 
4. In the cases envisaged in paragraph 1, the beneficiary 
shall be entitled to continue or to begin use of the inven­
tion, to the extent of his prior knowledge, for the purposes 
of his own enterprise, but may transmit it only together with the commercial establishment in which the invention is 
used. 
SUB-SECTION V 
USE OF THE PATENT 
Article 107. 
(Indication of the patent) 
During the validity of the patent, the patent-holder may, on 
the products, use the word "patented", "patent N°." or "Pat. 
N°.", in Portuguese or also in Chinese. 
Article 108. 
(Loss and expropriation ofthe patent) 
1. Anyone can be legally deprived of a patent who has to 
meet commitments contracted with another or who has had it 
expropriated for a public purpose. 
2. Any patent can, on payment of compensation, be expro­
priated to be used for the public good if the need to disclose 
the invention or to make it available for use by public enti­
ties so demands. 
3.B, The terms ofthe Statute of Expropriation for the Public 
Good, pursuant to Decree-Law N°.43/97/M, of October 20 
1997 shall apply mutatis mutandis. 
Article 109. 
(Mandatory licences -admissibility) 
By ruling of the Governor, mandatory non-exclusive li­
cences can be granted for a certain patent in any of the fol­
lowing cases: 
(a) No or inadequate exploitation of the patented invention; 
(b) Interdependence of patents; 
(c) For reasons ofpubJic interest. 
Article 110. 
(Mandatory licences -general rules) 
1. Mandatory licences can be granted only when the poten­
tial licensee has made efforts to obtain a contractual licence 
from the patent-holder on acceptable commercial terms and 
such efforts have not been successful within a reasonable pe­
riod. 
2. While a mandatory licence is in force, the patent-holder 
cannot be compelled to grant another licence before the 
mandatory licence has been cancelled. 
3. The holder of the patent for which a mandatory licence is 
issued shall be entitled to: 
(a) An appropriate remuneration in each concrete case, 
bearing in mind the economic value ofthe licence; 
(b) Request the judicial revision of the decision to grant or 
refuse such remuneration. 
4. Mandatory licences may be assigned only with the part of 
the company or of the establishment that exploits them. 
5. The title-holder of a patent in respect of which a manda­
tory licence has been issued shall, when granting the licence, 
provide the licensee with all the elements of a technical na­
ture of which he is aware at that moment and that are neces­
sary for the exploitation of the invention. 
Article 111. (Mandatory licences issued in the case of no or inade-
quate exploitation ofthe patent) 
1. If a patent is not or is inadequately exploited, there shall 
lie grounds to apply for a mandatory licence if the patent­
holder, without good or legal reason, by 4 years from the 
date of the patent application or 3 years from the date of 
the granting, whichever the longer: 
(a) Has not begun exploitation or made effective prepara­
tions to that end, nor granted licences for the patented in­
vention in the Territory or in any other country or territory 
member of WTO; 
(b) Has not exploited the invention in such a way that the 
results satisfY the market requirements in the Territory. 
2. Another ground for requesting a mandatory licence 
shall be the patent-holder's failing, without good legal rea­
son, to exploit the invention, either in Macao or in any 
other country or territory member of WTO, during 3 con­
secutive years. 
3. Good reasons shall be deemed to be objective difficul­
ties of a technical or legal nature, independent of the will 
and situation of the patent-holder, that make it impossible 
to exploit or sufficiently exploit the invention, but not 
economic or financial difficulties. 
Article 112. 
(Interdependent licences) 
1. When the exploitation of an invention protected by a 
patent is not possible without damaging the rights con­
ferred by a prior patent, the mandatory licence may be 
granted only if the subsequent invention represents a no­
table technical progress over the prior invention. 
2. Once the mandatory licence has been granted, either of 
the licence-holders shall be entitled to request a manda­
tory licence on the patent of the other. 
Article 113. 
(public interest) 
1. A mandatory licence for the exploitation of an inven­
tion can be granted in the public interest. 
2. Public interest is deemed to obtain when the beginning, 
the increase or the generalization of the exploitation of the 
invention or the improvement of the conditions in which 
the invention is exploited are of primordial importance for 
public health or safety. 
Article 114. 
(Application for mandatory licences) 
1. Application for the granting of a mandatory licence 
shall be filed with the DES, accompanied by the necessary 
elements proving the respective grounds. 
2. Applications for mandatory licences shall be examined 
in the order in which they are filed with the DES. 
3. Once the DES has received the application for a man­
datory licence, it shall notifY thc patent-holder in order 
that, within 2 months, he/it may state what he/it wishes to 
do, submitting the respective proof. 
4. The DES shall then have 2 months to analyze the argu­
ments advanced by the parties and the guarantees offered 
by the applicant for the mandatory licence that it will ex­
ploit the invention, to prepare the corresponding opinion IP/N/1/MACIV2 
Page 27 
and to submit the proceedings for the Governor's decision, 
which shall be handed down within 1 month. 
5. When the mandatory licence application is based on the 
public interests referred to in the previous article, the process 
shall be submitted to the Governor's appreciation only after 
having obtained the opinion of the Science, Technology and 
Innovation Committee and, if applicable, of the Health 
Services of Macao or of the Directorate of the Macao Secu­
rity Services, and after the title-holder has had a chance to 
take a stand on the tenor of those opinions. 
6. The deadlines for the issue of the opinions and the patent­
holder's answer, under the terms of the previous paragraph, 
shall be set by the DES at 1 to 3 months. 
7. Ifthe application is deferred, the DES shall appoint an ex­
pert and notifY both parties in order that, within 1 month, 
they name their experts, it then being up to the three experts, 
within 2 months, to agree on the conditions of the mandatory 
licence and the remuneration to be paid to the patent-holder. 
Article 115. 
(Cancellation and reappreciation of the mandatory li-
cence) 
1. The mandatory licence can be cancelled if: 
(a) The licensee does not abide by the conditions imposed on 
granting or the purposes for which it was granted; 
(b) The circumstances on which the granting was based no 
longer obtain and are unlikely to be repeated. 
2. The initiative to introduce proceedings to cancel the li­
cence shall lie with the DES, with the patent-holder and, 
where applicable, with the other licensees. 
3. The patent-holder shall be entitled, with good reason, to 
request the reappreciation of the conditions and circum­
stances under which the mandatory licence was granted. 
Article 116. 
(Notification and appeal with respect to the granting, re-
fusal or cancellation of licence) 
1. The DES shall notifY the parties of the granting and re­
spective exploitation conditions, as well as of the refusal or 
cancellation ofthe licence. 
2. Appeal to the competent civil court shall, within 3 months 
of the date of the notification, lie against the decision by the 
Governor to grant, refuse or revoke the mandatory licence, 
or just against the conditions on which it was granted. 
3. The granting shall take effect only after the decision has 
become final and has been registered by the DES and after 
proof of payment of the fees due have been produced, as if it 
were an ordinary licence. 
4. An extract of the registration referred to in the previous 
paragraph shall be published in the Official Bulletin. 
Article 117. 
(Public tender for the exploitation of an invention) 
1. A patent-holder, as indeed a patent applicant that has al­
ready complied with the obligation referred to in article 
86(1) but has still not granted an exclusive licence to exploit 
the invention, may submit to the DES a written declaration 
by which he makes the exploitation of the invention avail­
able to third parties as non-exclusive licensees, gratuitously 
or for appropriate consideration. IP/N/1/MAC/V2 
Page 28 
2. If no agreement can be reached on the initial amount of 
the consideration, or on the terms according to which it 
should be altered ifit has proven manifestly inadequate, it 
shall, if the parties so desire, be set by arbitration or by the 
court. 
3. The party making the declaration may withdraw it at 
any time by submitting an application to the DES, but this 
cannot be used against persons whose agreement to ex­
ploit the invention has already been communicated to the 
applicant or patent-holder. 
4. The declaration shall lapse on the right to the patent 
being recognized by a court decision as belonging to 
someone other than the party making the declaration. 
S. Until such time as the declaration has been withdrawn 
or declared lapsed, the DES shall refuse entry in the reg­
ister of any exclusive licences relating to the invention in 
question. 
6. The DES shall not charge any fee for the publication of 
the public declaration of tender, nor for notices of the 
withdrawal or lapse thereof. 
7. Until such time as the declaration has been withdrawn 
or declared lapsed, any fees that may be due for the pat­
ents or patent applications subject to public tender for ex­
ploitation shall be reduced or subject to exemption pursu­
ant to the terms set in the ruling referred to article 42(2). 
SUB-SECTION VI 
EXPIRY OF mE PATENT 
Article 118. 
(Nullity of patents) 
Besides the general causes of nullity of industrial property 
rights foreseen in article 47, the following shall also con­
stitute grounds for nullity of patents: 
(a) The fact that the title or short title given to the inven­
tion includes different subject matter; 
(b) The fact that the subject matter is not described in such 
a way as to allow the execution of the invention by a per­
son skilled in the art; 
(e) The extension of the subject matter of the patent be­
yond the content of the initial application. 
Article 119. 
(Partial nullity or cancellation) 
1. One or more claims may be declared null or cancelled, 
but a claim cannot be decreed partially nullified or can­
celled. 
2. If a patent is declared nullified or partially nullified, it 
shall remain in force in its remaining parts whenever they 
can constitute subject matter of an independent patent. 
SECTION 11 
UTILITY MODELS 
Article 120. 
(Subject of protection) 
1. Under the present Statute, only inventions that so alter a 
subject matter as to give it a configuration, structure, mechanism or disposition that increases its utility or im­
proves the advantage that can be derived therefrom can be 
protected as utility models,. 
2. Inventions whose protection is applied for as a utility 
model shall meet the patentability requirements foreseen in 
the previous section, with the exception of those which are 
not compatible with their nature as referred to in the previ­
ous paragraph. 
3. The applicant shall have the option, simultaneously or 
successively, of applying for an invention patent or a utility 
model for an invention that can be protected as a utility 
model. 
4. The utility model shall cease to be effective once an in­
vention patent has been granted for the same invention. 
Article 121. 
(Duration and renewal) 
1. The duration of the utility model shall be 6 years from the 
date of submission of the application and shall be renewable 
for two additional periods of2 years each. 
2. The renewal request shall be submitted in the last 6 
months ofthe current validity period. 
3. The duration of the utility model cannot exceed 10 years 
from the date of presentation of the respective request. 
Article 122. 
(Indication of the utility model) 
During the term of the patent, its holder may, on the prod­
ucts use the expressions referred to in article 107 or else the 
expressions, "Utility model No." or "Utility Mod. No.", in 
Portuguese or the equivalent in Chinese. 
Article 123. 
(Fees due for the utility model) 
1. The fees due in respect of a utility model granting and re­
validation procedure shall be those due for the corresponding 
acts in respect of an invention patent reduced by 40%. 
2. The fees due for the renewal of a utility model shall be set 
in the ruling referred to in article 37(1). 
Article 124. 
(Redemption) 
In all matters not contrary to the provisions of the present 
section, the provisions of the previous section shall apply to 
utility models, mutatis mutandis, and the examination report 
request or the documents in the stead thereof shall be sub­
mitted within 4 years of the date ofthe request. 
SECTION III 
THE COMPLEMENTARY CERTIFICATE FOR mE 
PROTECTION OF MEDICINES AND PHYTO­
PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS 
Article 125. 
(Certificate reqnest) 
1. The application for a complementary protection certificate 
for medicines and for phyto-pharmaceutical products, here­
inafter briefly called the complementary certiticate, shall be 
made in writing in the official language ofthe Territory indi­
cating the name or corporate style of the applicant, his/its 
nationality and domicile or location and shall be accompa­
nied by the following items: (a) The patent number and the title of the invention pro­
tected by that patent; 
(b) The number and date of the first authorization to place 
the product on the market in Macao. 
2. The application shall be accompanied by a copy of the 
first authorization to place the product on the market in 
Macao in order to identify the product, and which shall 
include the number and the date of the authorization as 
well as a summary of the characteristics ofthe product. 
Article 126. 
(Examination and pUblication oftbe request) 
1. Once the application has been submitted to the DES, 
the respective formal examination is conducted in order to 
ensure that it was submitted within the deadline and that it 
meets the conditions set forth in the previous article. 
2. If the application for a complementary certificate and 
the product in respect of which the application is being 
filcd meet the conditions foreseen in the applicable law 
and those set in the present Statute, the DES will grant the 
complementary certificate and have the application pub­
lished in the Qlficial Bulletin. 
3. If the application for a complementary certificate does 
not meet the conditions referred to in the previous para­
graph, the DES will notiry the applicant, requiring it 
within 2 months to rectiry the irregularities or inadequa­
cies found. 
4. When, from the answer given by the applicant, the DES 
sees that the application for a complementary certificate 
meets the required conditions, it will have the application 
for the complementary certificate and the respective 
granting published in the Qlficial Bulletin. 
S. If the applicant does not comply with the notification 
mentioned in paragraph 3, the application will be refused 
and the application will be published in the Qlficial Bulle­
tin together with the refusal notice. 
6. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 3, the 
complementary certificate will be rcfused if the applica­
tion or the product to which it refers does not meet the 
conditions foreseen in the present Statute and in any other 
applicable legislation and the application will be pub­
lished in the Qlficial Bulletin together with the refusal no­
tice. 
7. The publication shall comprise, at least, the following 
indications: 
(a) The name and domicile or location of the applicant; 
(b) The patent number; 
(e) The title of the invention; 
(d) The number and date of the authorization to place the 
product on the market in Macao, as well as identification 
of the product in respect of which the authorization was 
issued; 
(e) The period of validity of the complementary certificate 
or the refusal notice, as appropriate. 
Article 127. 
(Duration oftbe complementary certificate) IP/N/1/MAC/I12 
Page 29 
The duration of the complementary certificate may not ex­
ceed by more than 7 years the term of the patent in respect of 
which is granted. 
Article 128. 
(Extinction oftbe complementary certificate) 
The complementary certificate shall be declared null or ex­
pired, partially null or cancelled to the extent that the patent 
in respect of which it was issued be so declared. 
SECTION IV 
EXTENSION OF PATENTS GRANTED ABROAD 
SUB-SECTION I 
EUROPEAN PATENTS 
Article 129. 
(Extension of European applications and patents) 
1. The applicant for a European patent and the holder of a 
European patent, processed according to the rules of the 
European Patent Convention, signed in Munich on 5 October 
1963, may request the extension of the application or of the 
patent to Macao. 
2. The DES shall publish extension applications in the QIfi­
cial Bulletin as soon as received from the European Patent 
Office, but never until 18 months have elapsed from the date 
the patent request was filed or, if a priority right be invoked, 
from the date ofthe first relevant application. 
3. The extension applications may be freely withdrawn. 
Article 130. 
(Effects oftbe European patent application) 
1. A regularly formulated European patent application shall 
in the Territory have the same legal effects as a Macao pat­
ent application, including with respect to priority rights. 
2. The European patent shall be guaranteed the temporary 
protection foreseen in article 7 from the date the DES makes 
accessible to the public a translation of the respective claims 
in one of the official languages of the Territory, accompa­
nied by a copy of the drawings. 
3. The DES shall, after the party concerned has submitted 
the items referred to in the previous paragraph, proceed to 
publish the extension notice in the Qlficial Bulletin. 
4. From the date of publication of the notice referred to in 
the previous paragraph, anyone may take cognizance of the 
text of the translation and obtain reproductions thereof. 
Article 131. 
(Effects oftbe Europeau patent) 
1. A European patent extended to Macao shall have the same 
legal effects as a patent granted in Macao starting from the 
date of granting by the European Patent Office, provided that 
the formalities foreseen in the present article are observed. 
2. Within 3 months following the publication of the notice of 
the granting of the patent in the European Patent Bulletin, 
the patent-holder shall provide the DES with a translation, in 
one of the officiaiianguages of the Territory, of the title or 
short title briefly describing the subject matter of the inven­
tion, the description of the subject matter of the invention IP/N/1/MAC/I/2 
Page 30 
and the claims and shall pay the relative fee for publica­
tion in the Official Bulletin. 
3. If, during the course ofthe opposition phase, any modi­
fication is found in the elements referred to in the previous 
paragraph, the patent-holder shall, within 3 months from 
the date of the corresponding publication in the European 
Patent Bulletin: 
(a) Provide the DES with the translation of such modifi­
cations in one of the official languages of the Territory; 
(b) Pay the relevant fee for publication in the qjficial 
Bulletin. 
4. The DES shall then, as soon as possible, publish the 
extension notice in the qjficial Bulletin together with the 
translations submitted in compliance with paragraphs 2 
and 3. 
5. The patent extension application shall be declared null 
and void if the necessary translations are not provided or 
the fees duc not paid within the set deadline. 
6. If the European patent be declared null, partially null or 
cancelled by the European Patent Office, in accordance 
with the applicable procedures, the respective extension to 
Macao shall also be invalidated. 
Article 132. 
(Original text and translations) 
1. If the applicant or the holder of a European patent has 
neither domicile nor registered office in Macao, the 
translations of the texts shall be done under the responsi­
bility of an authorized or accredited official agent or an 
agent registered with the DES. 
2. When a translation has been submitted in one of the of­
ficial languages of the Territory in accordance with the 
tcrms of the prcceding articles, that translation shall be 
considered authentic ifthe European application or patent, 
in the translated text, provides a lesser degree of protec­
tion than that conferred by the same application or patent 
in the language used in the proceedings. 
3. If the translation published in the Q/ficial Bulletin is re­
published because of some error therein, anyone who, in 
good faith, may have exploited the invention or made se­
rious preparations to that end without violating the claims 
in the patent application or patent being corrected, may 
benefit from the provisions of article 106 .. 
4. The revision of the translation shall become effective 
only from the moment in which it is made accessible to 
the public by the DES and the respective fee has been 
paid. 
Article 133. 
(prohibition of dual protection) 
1. A Macao patent the subject matter of which is an in­
vention for which a European patent has already been 
granted to the same inventor, or with his consent, with the 
same date of filing or priority, shall cease to have effect as 
from: 
(a) The date on which the time limit tor filing oppositions 
against the European patent expires, provide no opposition 
has been filed; 
(b) The termination of opposition proceedings, if the 
European patent is upheld. 2. If the Macao patent is granted after either of the dates in­
dicated in sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) of the previous para­
graph, it shall not take effect and the relevant notice shall be 
published in the Qfficial Bulletin. 
3. The subsequent termination of the European patent shall 
not affect the provisions of the previous paragraphs. 
Article 134. 
(Extension and renewal fees) 
1. The extension of a patent application or of a patent under 
the terms of the present section shall be subject to the pay­
ment of an extension fee to be paid to the European Patent 
Office in the deadlines and on the terms set in the European 
Patent Convention. 
2. For all the European patents extended to Macao, the re­
newal fees applicable to Macao patents shall be due within 
the deadlines set in the present Statute. 
SUB-SECTION 11 
OTHER PATENTS 
Article 135. 
(Redemption) 
The provisions of the previous sub-section shall apply ac­
cordingly to patent applications filed with other designated 
entities in respect of article 85, as well as to the patents 
granted by those entities. 
CHAPTER 11 
SEMICONDUCTOR TOPOGRAPHY PRODUCTS 
SECTION I 
SUBJECT MATTER OF PROTECTION 
Article 136. 
(Subject matter of protection) 
1. Under the present Statute only the topographies of semi­
conductor products resulting from the intellectual effort of 
the creator and not known in the semiconductors industry 
can be protected by the granting of a topography registration 
certificate. 
2. Likewise, topographies that comprise elements known in 
the semiconductor industry and the combination of whose 
elements taken together meet the conditions envisaged in the 
previous sub-paragraph shall also enjoy legal protection. 
3. The protection shall cover only the configuration of elec­
tronic circuits, to the exclusion of any idea, process, system, 
technique or codified information incorporate into the topog­
raphy. 
Article 137. 
(Definition of semiconductor product) 
For the purposes of the protection conferred by the present 
Statute, a semiconductor product shall be understood as be­
ing the final or intermediate form of any product that, cu­
mulatively: 
(a) Consists of a material body that includes a layer of semi­
conductor material; (b) Possesses one or more layers composed of conductive, 
insulating or semi conducting material, the layers being 
disposed in accordance with a predetermined three­
dimensional model; 
(e) Is designed to carry out an electronic function either 
alone or together with other functions. 
Article 138. 
(Definition of semiconductor product topography) 
The topography of a semiconductor product is the group 
of related images, either fixed or codified, represented by 
the three-dimensional layout of the layers of which the 
product is composed, and in which each image has the 
layout or part of the layout of a surface of the same prod­
uct, in any phase of its manufacture. 
SECTION 11 
OmER PROVISIONS 
Article 139. 
(Temporary limitations on the exercise of the right) 
The right to register a semiconductor product topography 
carmot be exercised if: 
(a) 2 years have already elapsed since the first commercial 
exploitation of the topography anywhere; 
(b) 15 years have already elapsed since the topography 
was fixed or codified for the first time, if it was never ex­
ploited. 
Article 140. 
(Additional elements ofthe application) 
In addition to the other elements required, the applicant to 
register a topography shall also indicate in the application: 
(a) The date on which the topography was fixed or codi­
fied for the first time; 
(b) Whether the topography has already been commer­
cially exploited and, if so, the date on which that exploita­
tion began. 
Article 141. 
(Grounds for refusing to register a topography) 
1. A topography registration application shall be refused 
when: 
(a) Any of the general grounds for refusing the granting of 
industrial property rights is found as referred to in article 
9(1); 
(b) The application is not filed in good time, in breach of 
the deadlines set in article 139. 
2. The grounds for refusal referred to in article 9(1) may 
be used against the applicant only if it is apparent from the 
examination report that the topography cannot be regis­
tered, or if it was not possible to reach any conclusion on 
whether it could be registered because the items tiled with 
the application did not permit any conclusion to be 
reached because they were inadequate, irregular, contra­
dictory or confused. 
Article 142. 
(Duration) IP/N/1/MAC/I/2 
Page 31 
The registration shall last 10 years from the date of the re­
spective application or from the date on which the topogra­
phy was exploited tor the first time anywhere, whichever the 
sooner. 
Article 143. 
(Rights conferred by registration) 
1. The registration of the topography shall confer on the 
holder the right to make exclusive use of the topography 
throughout the Territory by producing, manufacturing, sell­
ing or exploiting it or the items in which it is applied, to­
gether with the obligation to do so effectively and in keeping 
with the needs of the market. 
2. The registration of the topography shall furthermore con­
fer on the holder the right to authorize or to prohibit any of 
the following acts: 
(a) The reproduction of the protected topography; 
(b) The import, sale or distribution in any other form for 
commercial purposes of a protected topography, of a semi­
conductor product into which is incorporated a protected to­
pography, or an article into which is incorporated a semi­
conductor product of that type, to the extent and only to the 
extent that it continues to include a topography reproduced 
illegally. 
Article 144. 
(Limitation on the rights conferred by the registration) 
1. The rights conferred by the registration of the topography 
shall not include: 
(a) The private reproduction of a topography for non­
commercial purposes; 
(b) Reproduction for the purpose of analysis, evaluation or 
teaching; 
(e) The creation of a different topography, starting from the 
analysis or evaluation referred to in the previous sub­
paragraph, that could in turn benefit from the protection 
foreseen in the present Statute; 
(d) The performance of any of the acts referred to in article 
143(2), in relation to a semiconductor product in which is 
incorporate an illegally reproduced topography or any article 
in which is incorporate a semiconductor product ofthat type, 
if the person that performed or ordered the performance of 
those acts neither knew nor should have known on acquiring 
the semiconductor product or the article into which that 
semiconductor product was incorporated, that the said article 
incorporated an illegally reproduced topography. 
2. Once the person referred to in sub-paragraph I(d) has re­
ceived enough information to indicate that the topography 
was reproduced illegally, that person can perform any of the 
acts in question in relation to the products in his possession 
or ordered up to that moment, but must pay the holder of the 
registration an amount equivalent to an appropriate royalty 
such as could be dcmanded under the protection of a licence 
freely negotiated in relation to a topography of that type. 
Article 145. 
(Indication of the registration) 
During the validity of the registration, the holder may mark 
semiconductor products manufactured by the use of pro-
D IP/N/1/MACII/2 
Page 32 
tected topographies with a capital letter "T", in one of the 
following forms: 
T, T It, [T], T, T* or T 
Article 146. 
(Mandatory exploitation licence) 
The provisions of articles 109 to 116 shall apply to the to­
pographies of semiconductor products only when the 
mandatory licences have a public, non-commercial pur­
pose. 
Article 147. 
(Nullity ofthe topography registratiou) 
In addition to the general causes of nullity of industrial 
property rights foreseen in article 47, semiconductor 
product topographies registrations may also be declared 
null and void because: 
(a) The title or short title given to the invention includes 
different subject matter; 
(b) The subject matter is not described in such a way as to 
permit the execution of the topography by a person skilled 
in the art; 
(c) The subject matter of the registration extends beyond 
the content of the initial application. 
Article 148. 
(Partial nullity or caucellation) 
1. One or more claims may be declared null or cancelled, 
but a claim cannot be decreed partially nullified or can­
celled. 
2. If a topography registration is declared nullified or par­
tially nullified, it shall remain in force in its remaining 
parts whenever they can constitute subject matter of an 
independent topography registration. 
Article 149. 
(Referral) 
Provided that they are not incompatible with the nature of 
semiconductor product topographies, the provisions of 
section I of the previous chapter shall apply thereto, with 
the special considerations set forth in the present chapter. 
CHAPTER III 
INDUSTRIAL MODELS AND DESIGNS 
SECTION I 
SUBJECTMATI'ER OF PROTECTION 
Article 150. 
(Subject matter of protection) 
Subject matter that may be protected under the present 
Statute, by the registration of an industrial model or de­
sign shall be limited to creations whose appearance repre­
sents a product in whole or in part by virtue of such char­
acteristics as lines, contours, colours, forms, textures 
and/or the materials used in the product itself and/or its ornamentation and which meet the requirements set forth in 
the present section. 
Article 151. 
(Product definition) 
1. For the purposes of the previous article, a product shall be 
considered any industrial or crafted article, including, inter 
alia, the components for assembling a complex product, the 
packing, the presentation elements, the graphic symbols and 
the typographic characters, but excluding computer pro­
grams. 
2. By complex product shall be understood any article com­
posed of multiple components which can be removed there­
from for the purpose of stripping it and inserted into it for 
the purpose of reassembling it. 
Article 152. 
(Requirements for registration) 
1. Industrial models and designs may be registered which: 
(a) Are novel; 
(b) Are unique. 
2. The innovative nature of the industrial model or design 
shall not be diminished if, although not entirely novel, it in­
volves novel combinations of known elements or a different 
layout of already used elements, that endow the respective 
subject matter with a unique character. 
Article 153. 
(Novelty) 
1. The industrial model or design shall be considered novel 
if, prior to the respective registration or priority application, 
no identical industrial model or design was published within 
or outside the Territory. 
2. Industrial models or designs that differ only in insignifi­
cant details shall be considered identical. 
Article 154. 
(Unique character) 
1. An industrial model or design shall be considered to be 
unique in character if the global impression that it gives to 
the informed user differs from the global impression caused 
that user by any industrial model or design published prior to 
the date of the registration application or claimed priority. 
2. In appreciating the uniqueness of the character, account 
shall be taken of the degree of freedom that the creator had 
to create the industrial model or design. 
Article 155. 
(Industrial models or designs incorporated into compo-
nents) 
1. An industrial model or design applied to or incorporated 
into a product that constitutes a component of a complex 
product shall be considered novel and unique in character: 
(a) If it can reasonably be considered that even after being 
incorporated into the complex product, it will continue to be 
visible during the normal use ofthe complex product; and (b) To the extent that the visible characteristics of that 
component itself meets the requirements of novelty and 
uniqueness of character. 
2. For the purposes of the provision in sub-paragraph (a) 
above, normal use shall be understood as any use differ­
ent from conservation, maintenance or repair. 
Article 156. 
(Exceptions to and limitations on registration) 
1. Registration shall not protect: 
(a) The visible characteristics of a product resulting exclu­
sively from its technical function; and 
(b) The visible characteristics of a product that must nec­
essarily be reproduced in its exact form and dimensions so 
that the product into which the industrial model or design 
is to be incorporated, or in which it is applied, be it me­
chanically connected to the other product, or be it inserted 
within, around or against that other product, can both per­
form their function. 
2. Notwithstanding the provision of sub-paragraph (b) 
above and provided that the requirements of innovation 
and uniqueness have been met, the registration of an in­
dustrial model or design is possible if its purpose is to 
permit a multiple assembly of interchangeable products or 
their interconnection to form a modular system. 
Article 157. 
(Disclosure) 
1. For the purposes of articles 153 and 155, an industrial 
model or design shall be considered to have been dis­
closed ifit has been published, presented in an exhibition, 
used in trade or made known in any other way, except if 
these facts could not reasonably have come to the knowl­
edge of persons operating in Macao and skilled in the art 
in question in the course of their normal activity, before 
the date of filing of the registration application or priority 
claim. 
2. The industrial model or design shall, however, not be 
considered disclosed by the simple fact of being made 
know to a third party in explicit or implicit confidence. 
Article 158. 
(Non-opposable disclosures) 
1. For the purposes of articles 153 and 155, no account 
shall be taken of any disclosure if the industrial model or 
design for which registration is sought was disclosed: 
(a) By the creator, by his successor or by a third party, as 
the result of information they provided or measures they 
took; 
(b) At an official or officially recognized international ex­
hibition under the terms of the Convention relating to In­
ternational Exhibitions, signed in Paris on 22 November 
1928, at Portuguese or official international courses, exhi­
bitions and fairs, or those officially recognized in any of 
the countries or territories members of WTO or of the 
Union during the 12 months preceding the date of filing of 
the registration application or, where a priority is being 
claimed, on the priority date; 
(e) As the result of an abuse of the creator or his succes­
sor. IP/N/1/MAC/1/2 
Page 33 
2. Proof of the non-opposability of the disclosure, pursuant 
to sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) above, shall be brought by the 
applicant within 3 months from the date of filing of the reg­
istration application. 
SECTION 11 
RIGHT TO REGISTER INDUSTRIAL MODELS AND 
DESIGNS 
Article 159. 
(Right to register) 
1. The right to register shall lie with the creator or his suc­
cessors in any capacity. 
2. Notwithstanding the provisions governing copyright, the 
provisions of articles 70 to 76 shall apply to the registration 
of industrial models or designs. 
SECTION III 
THE REGISTRATION PROCEDURE FOR INDUS­
TRIAL MODELS AND DESIGNS 
Article 160. 
(Form of application) 
1. The application to register an industrial model or design 
shall be filed in writing in an official language of the Terri­
tory, indicating the name or commercial style of the appli­
cant, his/its nationality and domicile or location and shall be 
accompanied by the following items, in triplicate: 
(a) The title or short title designating the industrial model or 
design that it is wished to register or the purpose for which it 
is intended, as appropriate; 
(b) The name and country or territory in which the creator 
resides; 
(e) A photolithograph or any other medium that may be de­
manded by the DES, bearing a reproduction of the object 
whose industrial model or design it is wished to register; 
(d) The priority right claim, if applicable, pursuant to article 
17(3). 
2. Fantasy expressions used to designate the industrial model 
or design shall not constitute subject matter for protection. 
Article 161. 
(Complementary elements ofthe application) 
1. The application for the registration of industrial models or 
designs should be accompanied by the following items: 
(a) A description of the innovative characteristic attributed 
to the subject matter whose industrial model or design it is 
wished to register; 
(b) Drawings or photographs ofthe said subject matter; 
2. If appropriate, the registration application shall further be 
accompanicd by: 
(a) The request for stay of publication of the application; 
(b) The document proving authorization ofthe holder's copy­
right when the industrial model or design was reproduced 
from a work of art not in the public domain or, in general, of 
the copyright ofthe actual author, ifhe is not the applicant; 
(e) The documents proving the priority right claimed. IP/N/1/MAC/I/2 
Page 34 
3. The description ofthe novel characteristics attributed to 
the subject matter whose industrial model or design it is 
wished to register shall be written on the applicant's own 
printed paper, containing a detailed explanation of the 
geometric or ornamental aspect of the su~ject matter and 
should preferably not contain more than 150 words or 400 
characters. 
4. The DES can request or the applicant may of his own 
initiative submit the actual subject matter or other per­
spective photographs that help to form a more exact idea 
of the industrial model or design. 
5. In applications for the registration of a design, when a 
combination of colours is claimed, the drawings or pic­
tures shall show the colours claimed. 
6. The stay of the publication referred to in sub-paragraph 
2(a) shall not exceed 30 months from the filing date of the 
application or claimed priority. 
Article 162. 
(Unity of application and of registration of industrial 
model or design) 
1. The same application cannot request more than one 
registration and each industrial model or design shall form 
the subject matter of a separate registration. 
2. Industrial models or designs that constitute the various 
indispensable parts to form a whole shall be included in a 
single registration. 
Article 163. 
(Multiple applications) 
1. Notwithstanding the provisions of the previous article, 
industrial models or designs that possess the same pre­
ponderant distinctive characteristics may be included in a 
single registration, up to a maximum of 10, in such a way 
as to constitute a group of interrelated objects for the pur­
pose of their use or application. 
2. In the case referred to in the previous paragraph, the 
group shall constitute an indissociable whole, resulting in 
a single registration that cannot be separately or partially 
assigned. 
3. The drawings or photographs of the industrial models 
or designs referred to in paragraph 1 above shall be num­
bered sequentially, in accordance with the total number of 
objects that it is wished to include in the same application. 
Article 164. 
(Examination as to form) 
1. Once the application has been received, the DES will 
proceed to its formal examination within 1 month, to ver­
ifY that it complies with the requirements of articles 160 to 
163. 
2. If the application lacks any of the required items, or 
should any of them not be in order, the applicant shall 
rectifY that situation within 2 months from the notification 
that the DES will send it to that cffcct or, where no such 
notification is given, within a maximum of 3 months from 
the filing of the application, both of which deadlines may 
be extended by 1 additional month, on a founded request. 
3. Article 82(3) to (6) shall apply accordingly. 
4. Ifthe applicant fails to rectity the irregularities referred 
to within the set deadline, the application shall be refused and the respective notice published in the Official Bulletin. 
Article 165 . 
(Notice of public disclosure) 
1. Once 12 months have elapsed from the date of filing the 
application or, if a priority right wa~ claimed, from the 
claimed date, the DES will have the disclosure notice pub­
lished in the Qfficial Bulletin and the application proceed­
ings shall be available to the public from that date. 
2. The proceedings may be published before the end of the 
period referred to in the previous paragraph, if the applicant 
so requests, and provided that: 
(a) At least 2 months have elapsed since the filing of the 
registration application; 
(b) The application is not pending rectification, as indicated 
in the previous article; 
(e) The early publication fee has been paid. 
Article 166. 
(Opposition) 
1. Starting from the publication of the disclosure notice, and 
up to the date the registration is granted, any third party may 
approach the DES, in writing, opposing the registration of 
the industrial model or design in respect of which the appli­
cation was filed. 
2. The oppositions shall be transmitted to the applicant, who 
may respond within 2 months from the notification of such 
opposition. 
Article 167. 
(Examination report and designated entities) 
1. The examination report on the industrial model or design, 
to be compiled by one of the designated entities, shall be 
based on a reproduction of the subject matter whose indus­
trial model or design it is wished to register, or pictures or 
drawings thcrcof or the subject matter itself, if appropriate, 
and its purpose shall be to appreciate whether it meets the 
requirements for registration. 
2. Article 85(2) and (3) shall apply accordingly. 
Article 168. 
(Examination ofthe industrial model or design) 
The provisions of article 86 shall apply accordingly to in­
dustrial models and designs, except for the deadline by 
which some of the elements should be submitted as referred 
to in paragraph 1 thereof, which shall be 30 months. 
Article 169. 
(Request for examination report by third parties) 
1. Starting from the date of public disclosure of the registra­
tion application proceedings, anyone may request the con­
duct of the examination report referred to in the previous ar­
ticle, if the applicant has not yet donc so, up to 30 months 
from the date of filing ofthe registration application. 
2. Article 87(2) shall apply accordingly. 
Article 170. 
(Rejection of the examination request and amendments -
renunciation) The provisions of articles 88 and 89 shall, mutatis mutan­
dis, apply to industrial models and designs. 
Article 171. 
(Rectification following the examination report) 
1. If the designated entity does not follow up on the ex­
amination report, the DES shall transmit this decision to 
the applicant and this notification shall substitute the ex­
amination report for purpose of granting the registration. 
2. The DES shall also inform the applicant of the impossi­
bility of producing the examination report when the des­
ignated entity considers that: 
(a) The description, drawings, photographs and other 
similar elements do not meet the established requirements, 
so that it cannot conduct a substantial search; 
(b) The subject matter of the registration application is 
such as not to fall within the category of an industrial 
model or design capable of being registered, or that it is 
not obliged, for other reasons, to proceed with the search. 
3. In the case referred to in the previous paragraph, the 
applicant shall have a 2 month deadline in which to rectiJY 
the deficiencies in the registration application, and to re­
apply for the examination report. 
4. If, after reapplying for the examination report, the des­
ignated entity reiterates that it is not able to change its 
conclusion with respect to the registration application that 
has been rectified, the applicant may submit a founded 
objection. 
5. The objection referred to in the previous paragraph 
shall not be admitted if it has been shown that the indus­
trial model or design could not be registered or if it is not 
submitted in the deadline set for the purpose by the DES 
or, where no such deadline was set, by the end of the pe­
riod referred to article 169(1). 
Article 172. 
(Divisible applications, multiple priorities and with­
drawal of application -renunciation) 
The provisions of articles 91 to 93 and 96 shall apply, 
mutatis mutandis to industrial models and designs. 
Article 173. 
(Grounds for refusing to register a design or model) 
The registration of a design or model shall be refused 
when: 
(a) Any of the general grounds tor refusal to grant indus­
trial property rights obtains pursuant to article 9(1); 
(b) A distinctive sign is used where there exist legal provi­
sions conferring the right to prohibit the use thereof in the 
industrial model or design; 
(e) The industrial model or design constitutes an unau­
thorized use of a work protected by copyright; 
(d) The industrial model or design constitutes an improper 
use of any of the elements enumerated in article 6ter of the 
Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, 
or of any other badges, emblems and hallmarks not in­
cluded in that Convention but that are of particular public 
interest to the Territory. 
Article 174. 
(Partial granting) IP/N/1/MAC/I/2 
Page 35 
1. If it is just a question of deleting sentences from the de­
scription, altering the title or short title, or removing some of 
the subject matter from the application itself to comply with 
the notification, the DES may effect such amendments and 
have the application granting notice published in the Official 
Bulletin if the applicant does not expressly raise anyopposi­
tion within I month of the said notitication. 
2. The publication of the notice mentioned in the previous 
paragraph, with the transcription of the abstract shall indi­
cate the amendments made. 
Article 175. 
(Notification of granting or refusal of registration) 
The granting or refusal of the registration shall be notified 
pursuant to article 20(2) and (3) and published in the Official 
Bulletin. 
SECTION IV 
THE EFFECTS OF REGISTRATION OF INDUS­
TRIAL MODELS AND DESIGNS 
Article 176. 
(Duration) 
1. The duration of the registration shall be 5 years from the 
date of the application, renewable for like periods up to the 
25 year limit. 
2. Renewals as referred to in the previous paragraph shall be 
requested during the last 6 months of validity of the registra­
tion. 
Article 177. 
(Rights conferred by registration) 
1. Once valid, the registration of an industrial model or de­
sign shall confer on its holder the exclusive right to use the 
model or design and to prohibit its use by third parties with­
out his consent. 
2. The use referred to in the previous paragraph shall in­
clude, especially, the offering, placing on the market, import, 
export or use of a product into which that industrial model or 
design is incorporated, or to which it is applied, as well as 
the storage of that product for the same ends. 
3. The validity of the registration shall not be presumed from 
the act the granting the respective certificate. 
Article 178. 
(Limitation on the rights conferred by the registration) 
The rights conferred by the registration shall not include: 
(a) Acts for experimental purposes; 
(b) Acts of reproduction for reference or for educational 
purposes, provided that they are compatible with fair trading 
practices, do not unduly prejudice the normal exploitation of 
the industrial model or design and mention the source; 
(e) Equipment on board ships and aircraft registered in an­
other country or territory, when they transit temporarily 
through the Territory; IJ>~/1/~~/II2 
J>age 36 
(d) The import of spare parts and accessories for repairing 
the ships and aircraft referred to in the previous sub­
paragraph, as well as the performance of such repairs; 
(e) Acts performed in the private sphere, with no commer­
cial purpose. 
Article 179. 
(Relationship with copyrights) 
The effects of the registration of the industrial model or 
design shall not prejudice the protection conferred by 
copyright law from the date on which the industrial model 
or design was created or defined in any form. 
SECTION V 
THE USE OF DRAWINGS AND MODELS 
Article 180. 
(Indication of the industrial model or design) 
During the validity of the registration its holder may, on 
the products, use the expression "design or model No.", or 
the abbreviations " D M No.", in Portuguese or else the 
equivalent Chinese expression ( ... ). 
Article 181. 
(Inalterability of the designs or models) 
1. For as long as the registration remains in effect, the de­
signs or models shall be considered inalterable. 
2. The enlargement or reduction of the scale shall not af­
fect the inalterability ofthe designs or models. 
Article 182. 
(Alterations of details of drawings or models) 
1. One or more new registrations may be made of 
amendments made by the holder of the registration to the 
drawings or models that merely alter details of little im­
portance. 
2. The registration or registrations referred to in the previ­
ous paragraph shall be annotated on the initial certificate 
and on all the registration certificates acquired under the 
same provision. 
3. Drawings and models modified under the terms of the 
present article shall fall into the public domain on termi­
nation of the validity of the respective registration. 
SECTION VI 
EXPIRY OF REGISTRATION OF INDUSTRIAL 
MODELS AND DESIGNS 
Article 183. 
(Nullity ofthe registration of industrial models or de-
signs) 
Besides the general causes of nullity of industrial property 
rights foreseen in article 47, a further cause of nullity of 
the registration of an industrial model or design shall be 
the fact that it is identical to a previous design or model, 
disclosed after the date of the registration or priority ap­
plication, and which is protected from a prior date. 
Article 184. (Nullity of the registration of designs or models) 
Registrations of designs or models may be cancelled in the 
cases foreseen in article 48 and, moreover, when: 
(a) A distinctive sign is used in a subsequent design or 
model and the provisions regulating that sign confer the right 
to prohibit such use; 
(b) The industrial model or design constitutes an unauthor­
ized use of a work protected by copyrights; 
(c) The industrial model or design constitutes an improper 
use of any of the elements enumerated in article 6ter of the 
Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, or 
of other badges, emblems and hallmarks not included in arti­
cle 6ter of the said Convention that are of particular public 
interest in Macao. 
Article 185. 
(Design or model registration refused, declared null or 
cancelled) 
1. If the registration of an industrial model or design has 
been refused under article 9(I(a» or article 173(b), or de­
clared null or cancelled, it can nevertheless still be regis­
tered, or the respective right maintained in an altered form, 
provided that: 
(a) Its identity be maintained; and 
(b) The necessary alterations be made in such a way as to 
meet the requirements of the present chapter. 
2. The registration or maintenance in an altered form re­
ferred to in the previous paragraph may include the registra­
tion application accompanied by a declaration whereby the 
holder partially renounces the right to the industrial model or 
design, or the annotation in the respective proceedings of a 
court decision whereby the partial nullity of the right to the 
industrial model or design is declared. 
SECTION VII 
PRIOR PROTECTION OF INDUSTRIAL MODELS 
AND DESIGNS 
Article 186. 
(Subject matter ofthe application for prior protection) 
An application for prior protection may be filed in respect of 
industrial models or designs of textile or clothing, as well as 
those of any other industries specified by an administrative 
ruling. 
Article 187. 
(Deposit of samples or reproductions) 
1. The application for prior protection referred to in the pre­
vious article shall be preceded by the lodging of the respec­
tive samples or reproductions. 
2. The DES may conclude protocols with suitable entities for 
the purposes envisaged in the previous paragraph. 
3. The prior protection application shall be filed with the 
DES within 15 days of such lodging, it being possible to ex­
tended this deadline, for an equal period, for a justified rea­
son worthy of consideration. 
Article 188. 
(Secrecy and archiving) 1. The samples or reproductions referred to in the previous 
article shall be kept secret during the period of validity of 
prior protection and archived beyond that period of valid­
ity. 
2. In case of conflict as regards priorities in requests of 
previous protection, account shall be taken of the date on 
which the sample was deposited. 
Article 189. 
(Form of application for prior protection) 
1. The application for prior protection for an industrial 
model or design shall be filed in writing in an official lan­
guage of the Territory, indicating the name or commercial 
style of the applicant, his/its nationality and domicile or 
location, and shall be accompanied by the following ele­
ments: 
(a) The number of samples or reproductions to be reg­
istared, up to a maximum of 50; 
(h) The title or short title that synthesizes the subject mat­
ter or matters for which protection is being claimed or the 
purpose of such subject matter; 
(e) The name and country or territory of residence of the 
creator's. 
2. Fantasy expressions used to designate the industrial 
model or design shall not be subject matter subject to 
protection. 
Article 190. 
(proof of deposit of samples) 
The application for prior protection shall be accompanied 
by a certificate issued by the entities referred to in article 
187(2), which identifies the applicant, indicates the date of 
reception of the samples or reproductions and the number 
allocated to the deposit. 
Article 191. 
(Duration of prior protection) 
Prior protection shall obtain for 3 months from the date 
the respective application reaches the DES. 
Article 192. 
(Rights conferred) 
Prior protection shall confer a priority right for the pur­
poses of any registration application pursuant to the terms 
of articles 160 et seq. 
Article 193. 
(Lapse of prior protection) 
Prior protection shall lapse in the period foreseen in article 
191 or when application is filed to register any of the 
models or designs covered by that prior protection, under 
the terms of articles 160 et seq. 
Article 194. 
(Conversion ofthe prior protection application) 
During the prior protection period, the applicant may at 
any time begin the registration process provided for in ar­
ticle[s] 160 [et seq] for the same designs or models for 
which the prior protection application was made. 
Article 195. 
(Registration application for administrative acts or 
court action) IP/N/lIMAC/I12 
Page 37 
If the applicant for prior protection intends to intervene in 
the administrative proceedings against the granting of regis­
tration or if he intends to take legal action on the industrial 
model or design, he shall file with the DES for a registration 
and examination application pursuant to articles 167 and 
168. 
Article 196. 
(Fees) 
1. A fee, set for the purpose, shall be due in respect of each 
application for prior protection and according to the number 
of samples or reproductions that it contains. 
2. Failure to pay the fees referred to in the previous sub­
paragraph shall render the prior protection application irre­
ceivable. 
CHAPTER IV 
TRADEMARKS 
SECTION I 
SUBJECT MATTER OF PROTECTION 
Article 197. 
(Subject matter ofthe trademark) 
The present Statute can afford protection as a trademark 
only to a sign or group of signs which are capable of being 
represented graphically, namely words, including personal 
names, designs, letters, numerals, sounds, the shape of the 
product or its packaging, and which are capable of distin­
guishing the products or services of one company from those 
of other companies. 
Article 198. 
(Linguistic requirements) 
1. Wording contained in trademarks shall be written in Por­
tuguese, Chinese or English, and may combine elements of 
these different languages. 
2. The trademarks of products destined solely for export can 
be written in any language, but their use in Macao shall de­
termine when they lapse. 
3. The compulsory nature of the use of Portuguese, Chinese 
or English shall not apply to applications for the registration 
of international marks, under the terms of the respective 
regulation, and to marks whose applicant is not domiciled, 
headquartered or established in the Territory. 
Article 199. 
(Exceptions and limitations to protection) 
1. Protection may not be afforded: 
(a) Signs that consist exclusively in the shape resulting from 
the nature of the product itself, the shape of the product nec­
essary for obtaining a technical result or the shape that gives 
the product its own substantial value; 
(b) Signs or indications that may be used commercially to 
designate the kind, quality, quantity, purpose, value, geo­
graphical origin or time of production of the product or of 
the rendering of the service, or other characteristics thereof; 
(e) Signs or indications that have become customary in cur­
rent language or in bona fide and established commercial 
practices; IP/N/1/MAC/I/2 
Page 38 
(d) Colours, except where they are combined together or 
used with graphics, wording or other elements in a par­
ticular and distinctive manner. 
2. The generic elements mentioned in sub-paragraphs (b) 
and (c) of the preceding paragraph that constitute part of a 
trademark shall not be for the exclusive use of the appli­
cant, unless the signs have acquired distinctive character 
in commercial practice. 
3. On the request of the applicant or claimant, the DES 
shall, in handing down its ruling, indicate which of the 
constituent elements of the trademark are not for the ex­
clusive use of the applicant. 
Article 200. 
(Collective trademark) 
1. Notwithstanding the provisions of the previous article, 
trademarks may be protected as a collective trademark, 
according to the conditions pertaining to association 
marks or certification marks. 
2. The registration of a collective trademark shall give its 
holder the right to control the marketing of the respective 
products or services, on the terms stipulated by law or in 
the statutes. 
3. For the purpose of the present Statute, the following 
shall apply: 
(a) Association Mark: a specific sign belonging to an as­
sociation of individuals and/or bodies corporate, whose 
members use or have the intention of using the sign for 
products or services; 
(b) Certification Mark: a specific sign belonging to a cor­
porate entity that controls the products or services or es­
tablishes thc rcgulations with which they must comply and 
that is to be used on the products or services subjected to 
that control or for which the regulations were established. 
4. The provisions of the present Statute relating to product 
and service marks shall apply mutatis mutandis to collec­
tive marks. 
SECTION 11 
THE RIGHT TO REGISTER A TRADEMARK 
Article 201. 
(Right to registration) 
The right to register a trademark shall lie with anyone who 
has a legitimate interest in so doing, and specifically: 
(a) Businesses, to identifY the products which they pro­
duce; 
(b) Merchants, to identifY the products in which they 
trade; 
(c) Farmers and producers, to identifY their products of 
their activities; 
(d) Artists, to identifY the products of their art, occupation 
or profession; 
(e) Service providers, to identifY their respective activi­
ties. Article 202. 
(Free or unregistered trademark) 
1. Anyone using a free or unregistered trademark for a pe­
riod not exceeding 6 months shall, for that period, enjoy a 
priority right to have it registered and may lodge a complaint 
against an application filed by somebody else during the said 
period. 
2. The veracity of the documents submitted to prove that 
priority right shall be freely appreciated, except if they are 
legally authenticated documents. 
Article 203. 
(Right to register collective marks) 
1. The right to register collective marks shall lie with: 
(a) Bodies corporate which have been legally allocated or 
recognized as possessing a certification mark and which can 
apply it to products or services having certain specific quali­
ties; 
(b) Bodies corporate which protect, control or certifY eco­
nomic activities, for identifYing the products of those activi­
ties or which originate from certain regions, in accordance 
with their purposes and the terms of their respective articles 
of association or the statutes. 
2. The bodies corporate referred to in sub-paragraph l(b) 
above shall have provisions inserted in their respective arti­
cles of association or in their statutes, designating them as 
being entitled to use the mark, indicating the conditions in 
which it should be used and the rights and obligations of the 
interested parties in the case of usurpation or infringement. 
3. The management of the entity that owns the collective 
mark shall, within 1 month of any amendment to the articles 
of association or statutes that govern the status of the trade­
mark, inform the DES of the change. 
SECTIONllI 
THE TRADEMARK REGISTRATION PROCEDURE 
Article 204. 
(Unity of application and registration of the trademark) 
No more than one registration may be tiled in the same ap­
plication and each trademark to be used on the same prod­
ucts or services can be registered only once. 
Article 205. 
(Registration for products and services) 
Trademarks may be registered for products or services, it 
being up to the DES to indicate the respective classes in 
agreement with the classification provided by law. 
Article 206. 
(Forms of application) 
The trademark registration application shall be tiled in writ­
ing in the official language of the Territory, indicating the 
name or commercial style of the applicant, his/its nationality 
and domicile or location, and identifYing the trademark 
whose registration is required, accompanied by the following 
items, in triplicate: 
(a) The products or services covered by the trademark, 
grouped in accordance with the classes of the classification 
of products and services and designated in precise terms, preferably the terms appearing in the aforementioned al­
phabetical classification; 
(b) An indication as to whether the application concerns a 
product, service, association or certification mark; 
(e) An indication as to whether the application concerns a 
three-dimensional or sound trademark and, in the latter 
case, a graphic representation in musical notation of the 
sounds that enter into the composition of the trademark; 
(d) An example of the trademark, appended in the area re­
served for that purpose on the applicant's own printed pa­
per; 
(e) Two photolithographs for the typographic reproduction 
of the trademark, of maximum dimensions 6 cm x 6 cm 
and minimum dimensions of 1.5 cm x 1.5 cm; 
(f) Three copies of the trademark with the written indica­
tion of the colours, in case these are demanded as con­
stituent element; 
(g) Mention of the priority right, if applicable, according 
to article 17(3). 
Article 207. 
(Additional elements oftbe application) 
1. Where appropriate, the registration application shall be 
accompanied by the following elements: 
(a) Documents proving the priority right claim; 
(b) Documents proving the use of a free or unregistered 
trademark, where the applicant wants to claim priority 
based on the use of a free or unregistered trademark; 
(e) Authorization of the proprietor of a foreign registered 
trademark for whom the applicant is acting as agent or 
representative in the Territory; 
(d) Authorization of any person whose name, corporate 
style, name or emblem of establishment, picture, painting 
or any other expressions or representations appear in the 
trademark, or, if such a person is already deceased, of 
their heirs or relatives to the fourth degree; 
(e) Authorization to include in the trademark any flags, 
coats-of-arms, escutcheons, symbols, arms or other em­
blems of the Territory, municipal districts or other public 
or private entities, within the Territory or outside, as well 
as badges, stamps and official hallmarks, indicating any 
inspection and warranty, private emblems or denomina­
tion of the Red Cross or of any other bodies of a similar 
nature; 
(f) Authori7..ation to include in the trademark monuments 
in the Territory, or the respective designation, representa­
tion or imitation thereof; 
(g) Authorization to include in the trademark signs of high 
symbolic value, namely religious symbols; 
(h) Decorations or other distinctions referred to or repro­
duced in the trademark; 
(i) Certificate from the competent registrar proving the 
right to include in the trademark the name or any refer­
ence to a specific rural or urban property and the proprie­
tor's authorization, to that effect, if the applicant is not the 
proprietor; 
0) Authorization from the owner of previously registered 
marks or other industrial property rights with which the IP/N/lIMAC/V2 
Page 39 
subject matter of the trademark being applied for could be 
confused, as well as from the holders of exclusive licences, 
if such exist, and their contracts do not waive their respec­
tive consent; 
(k) [Translator's note: The Portuguese alphabet has no letter 
K.} 
(/) Legal, statutory or regulatory provisions governing the 
use of a collective mark 
2. When the trademark contains writing in little-known char­
acters, the applicant shall submit a transliteration and trans­
lation of that writing. 
Article 208. 
(Priority rigbt) 
1. Should the list of products or services for which registra­
tion is being applied in Macao contain products or services 
different from those comprising the registration application 
underlying the priority, the applicant shall be notified in or­
der that, within the inalterable deadline of 1 month, he may 
replace the list of products or services. 
2. Failure to replace the list referred to in the previous para­
graph shall result in loss of priority and, for the purpose of 
local registration, the date of the submission of the applica­
tion in Macao and list contained therein shall be considered 
for the purpose of the application. 
Article 209. 
(Examination as to form) 
1. Once the DES has received the application, it shall, within 
1 month, proceed to its formal examination to ensure that it 
contains all the elements required pursuant to articles 206 
and 207 and shall classiry the products and services. 
2. If the application lacks any of the required elements, or 
should they not be in order, this shall be rectified by the ap­
plicant within 2 months of its being so notified by the DES 
or, if not so notified, within a maximum of 3 months from 
the filing of the application, either of which deadline may be 
extended by 1 more month, in response to a founded request. 
3. If products or services classified in different classes are 
included in the same class, the notification referred to in 
paragraph 2 shall inform the applicant that he must limit the 
application to the class or classes indicated or, failing that, 
pay an additional fee. 
4. The date that establishes the priority of filing, for the pur­
pose of article 15, is that on which all the elements referred 
to in article 206 have been submitted and, should the appli­
cant so request, the DES shall issue the appropriate submis­
sion certificate. 
5. Failure to send the notification referred to in paragraph 2, 
as well its non-reception, shall not, for the effects of granting 
of the trademark, release the applicant from rectirying the 
defects in the application within the legal deadline. 
6. If, by the end of the deadline set pursuant to paragraph 2, 
it is found that the dcfects or irregularities in the application 
have not been rectified, the applications shall be refused and 
a notice to that effect will be published in the Official Bulle­
tin. 
Article 210. 
(publication oftbe registration applicafion) IP/N/1/MAC/I/2 
Page 40 
Once the application has been show to be complete, or 
after it has been duly rectified pursuant to the previous ar­
ticle, the DES shall have the appropriate notice published 
in the Qfficial Bulletin, indicating the elements necessary 
for the complete identification of the applicant and of the 
subject matter including, as appropriate: 
(a) The typographic reproduction of the trademark and in­
dication of the classes and products or services that it is to 
cover, with express reference to the colours if these are 
part of the claim; 
(b) The graphic representation in musical notation of any 
sounds entering into the composition ofthe trademark. 
Article 211. 
(Complaint and response) 
1. Complaints shall be filed within 2 months of the date of 
the publication of the application in the Qfficial Bulletin. 
2. The applicant may answer complaints and other proce­
dural submissions in the response that is to be filed within 
1 month of the respective notification. 
3. At the request of the interested party, submitted within 
the deadlines set in the preceding paragraphs, the submis­
sion of additional arguments may be authorized whenever 
this is shown to be necessary for the better clarification of 
the proceedings and when the complexity of the subject 
matter so justifies. 
4. The additional arguments referred to in the previous 
paragraph shall, when authorized, be submitted within the 
deadline set by the DES or, where no such deadline is set, 
within a maximum of 1 month from the end of the periods 
referred to paragraphs I and 2. 
5. At the request of the interested party and with the 
agreement of the opposing part, the consideration of the 
case may be suspended for a period of no more than 6 
months. 
6. Unofficially the DES, on its own initiative or at the re­
quest of the interested party, may suspend consideration 
of the case for as long as it takes to investigate any pre­
judicial proceedings that could affect the decision on the 
matter. 
7. There shall lie no independent recourse against the rul­
ing of non-receipt of complaint or response but the claim­
ant may appeal the ruling that grants the right to the 
trademark, pursuant to the terms of Section IV of the pre­
sent Statute. 
Article 212. 
(Examination and study of the proceedings) 
1. Once the period for the presentation of complaints has 
expired and, if applicable, the discussion is over, the DES 
shall proceed to the examination and study the proceed-
ings. ' 
2. The examination shall consists in the appreciation of 
the allegations of the parties and, primarily and obligato­
rily, in the examination of the requested trademark and its 
comparison with the trademark or marks registered for the 
same product or service, or for identical or similar prod­
ucts or services, after which the report is prepared and 
submitted for a ruling, which can be to grant or refuse. 
3. The examination of the trademark should always, with 
respect to the elements of which it is composed, be ex-amined for any possible confusion of the Portuguese, Chi­
nese, English or other characters and sounds, separately or in 
combination. 
Article 213. 
(Decision) 
1. The registration shall be granted if no grounds are discov­
ered to refuse and if the complaints, if any, are considered 
unfounded. 
2. The ruling granting or refusing the registration shall be 
handed down in a maximum of 6 months from the date of 
the publication in the Official Bulletin of the application no­
tice. 
Article 214. 
(Grounds for refusal of registration) 
1. Registration ofthe trademark shall be refused if: 
(a) Any of the general grounds for refusing to grant indus­
trial property rights is found pursuant to article 9(1); 
(b) An essential part of the trademark constitutes a repro­
duction, imitation or translation of another that is well­
known in Macao, if applied to identical or similar products 
or services and with which it can be confused, or if those 
products could establish a connection with the proprietor of 
the well-known trademark; 
(e) The trademark, although meant for products or services 
with no connection, constitutes a reproduction, imitation or 
translation of a previous trademark that enjoys prestige in 
Macao, and whenever the use of the subsequent trademark 
tries to derive improper advantage or prestige from the dis­
tinctive character the trademark or could harm such charac­
ter or prestige. 
2. The registration application shall also be refused when­
ever the trademark or any of its elements contains: 
(a) Signs that are likely to mislead the public, namely with 
respect to the nature, qualities, usefulness or geographical 
origin of the product or service for which the trademark is to 
be used; 
(b) Reproduction or imitation, in all or part, of a trademark 
previously registered by someone else, for identical or simi­
lar products or services, that could mislead or confuse the 
consumer, or that incurs a risk of association with the regis­
tered trademark; 
(e) Fancy medals or designs liable to be confused with offi­
cial decorations or with the medals and awards confcrrcd at 
official meetings and exhibitions; 
(d) Arms or heraldic insignia, medals, decorations, epithets, 
titles and honorary distinctions to which the applicant is not 
entitled, if disrespect or discredit is brought upon a similar 
sign; 
(e) The style, name or emblem of an establishment, or any 
characteristic part thereof that does not belong to the appli­
cant or that the applicant is not authorized to use, if it is li­
able to mislead or confuse the consumer; 
(f) Signs that constitute a breach of copyrights or industrial 
property rights. 
3. The fact that the trademark comprises exclusively signs or 
indications referred to article 199(l(b) and (e» shall not con­
stitute grounds for refusal if it has acquired a distinctive 
character. 4. A party interested in the refusal of the registration of 
the trademark referred to in sub-paragraph l(b) may inter­
vene in the respective proceedings only ifit can prove that 
it has already applied for the respective registration in 
Macao or if it does so simultaneously with the refusal re­
quest. 
5. A party interested in the refusal of the registration of 
the trademark referred to sub-paragraph I(e) may inter­
vene in the respective process only if it already proves that 
it has already applied for the respective registration in 
Macao of the products or services that conferred prestige 
upon it, or it does so simultaneously with the complaint. 
Article 215. 
(Reproduction or imitation of the trademark) 
1. The registered trademark shall be deemed to have been 
reproduced or imitated in whole or part by some other 
party when, cumulatively: 
(a) The registered trademark has priority; 
(b) They are both meant to designate identical or similar 
products or services; 
(e) They are so graphically, nominatively, figuratively or 
phonetically similar to another trademark as to easily 
mislead or confuse the consumer or as to involve a risk of 
being associated with a previously registered trademark, 
so that the consumer cannot distinguish between them 
save by dint of attentive examination or comparison. 
2. The use of a certain fancy denomination forming part of 
some other previously registered trademark, or only of the 
external appearance of the package or wrappings of the 
products of that brand, and having the respective layout of 
colours and wording, medals and awards so that illiterate 
people are not able to distinguish between these products 
and others which bear them and do legitimately possess 
the marks used, shall be considered to be the reproduction 
or partial imitation of a trademark. 
Article 216. 
(Partial refusal) 
When the grounds for refusing the registration of a trade­
mark concern just some of the products or services for 
which the application was filed, the refusal of the regis­
tration shall just be limited to those products or services. 
SECTION IV 
EFFECTS OF REGISTRATION OF TRADEMARK 
Article 217. 
(Legal presumption of registration) 
The registration of a trademark implies a mere legal pre­
sumption of innovation or of distinction from another pre­
viously registered. 
Article 218. 
(Duration and renewal of registration) 
1. The duration of registration shall be 7 years counted 
from the date of the respective granting, indefinitely re­
newable for like periods. 
2. The renewal application shall be submitted within the 
last 6 months of the current validity period, accompanied 
by the original of the registration certificate. 
Article 219. 
(Rights conferred by the registration) IJ>~/1/~~/I/2 
J>age 41 
1. The registration of the trademark confers upon the holder 
the right to prevent a third party, in his economic activity 
and without the consent of the holder, from using, any sign 
identical to or likely to be confused with that trademark for 
products or services identical or similar to those for which 
that trademark was registered, or which, consequent upon 
the identity or similarity of the signs or the similarity of the 
products or services, creates, in the mind of the consumer, a 
risk of confusion that includes the risk of an association be­
tween the sign and the trademark. 
2. The registration of the trademark shall cover the use 
thereof in documents, printed matter, computer pages, ad­
vertising and documents relative to the entrepreneurial ac­
tivity of the title-holder. 
Article 220. 
(Limits on the rights conferred by registration) 
The right conferred by the registration ofthe trademark shall 
not, provided that use is made according to the standards and 
honest practice applicable in industrial and commercial 
matters, permit the holder to prevent third parties, in their 
economic activity, from using: 
(a) their own name and address; 
(b) Indications relative to the nature, quality, amount, pur­
pose, value, geographical origin or time of production of the 
product or service or to other characteristics of the products 
or services; 
(e) The registered trademark, whenever that be necessary to 
indicate the origin of a product or service, namely in respect 
of accessories or spare parts. 
Article 221. 
(Preclusion ofaction by virtue oftolerance) 
1. A holder of a registered trademark who, being aware of 
the fact, has tolerated the use of a subsequently registered 
trademark for a period of 3 consecutive years following its 
registration shall lose the right based on his previously reg­
istered trademark, to request the annulment of the registra­
tion of the subsequent trademark or to oppose its use in rela­
tion to the products or services for which the subsequent 
trademark has been used, except if the registration of the 
subsequent trademark was made in bad faith. 
2. The 3-year period foreseen in the previous paragraph shall 
be counted and lapse from the moment in which the holder 
becomes aware of the fact. 
3. The holder of the subsequently registered trademark shall 
have no right to oppose the previous right, even if that right 
can no longer be invoked against the subsequent trademark. 
Article 222. 
(Relationship with social styles and company names) 
1. The registration of a trademark shall provide grounds for 
the annulment of company names liable to be confused 
therewith, provided that the requests for the authorization or 
alteration thereof be subsequent to the respective registration 
requests. 
2. Acts of annulment of the acts resulting from the previous 
paragraph, shall be acceptable only within a period of 5 
years from the date of publication in the Official Bulletin of 
the constitution or alteration of the style of the body corpo­
rate, except where proposed by the Department of Justice. IP/N/1/MACIII2 
Page 42 
SECTION V 
USE OF THE TRADEMARK 
Article 223. 
(Optional use ofthe trademark) 
Notwithstanding the provision governing forfeiture of the 
right to the trademark, the use thereof shall be optional, 
except where the products or services on which the regis­
tered trademark is used are declared obligatory by some 
legal provision. 
Article 224. 
(Inalterability of the trademark) 
1. The trademark shall remain unalterable, any change in 
its component parts being subject to a new registration. 
2. By way of exception to the provision of the previous 
paragraph, simple modifications that in no way detract 
from the identity of the trademark and affect only its pro­
portions, the material from which it was minted, recorded 
or reproduced and also the colour shall be permitted un­
less such features were expressly demanded as one of the 
characteristics ofthe trademark. 
3. Similarly, the inclusion or removal of the express indi­
cation of the product or service that the trademark is 
meant to adorn, or any alteration to the holder of the 
trademark, whether its name or social style or its regis­
tered office or place of establishment, shall not detract 
from the identity of the trademark. 
Article 22S. 
(Indication of registration) 
During the term of the registration the holder of the 
trademark registration shall be entitled to add the acronym 
«M.R.», «R» or simply (r), to designate « Marea Regis­
tada », being "Registered Mark" in Portuguese, or the 
equivalent expression in Chinese ( ... ), or else the English 
expressions «Registered Trademark» or «TM». 
Article 226. 
(Use of certification trademark) 
When affixed to the product in any way, the certification 
mark shall be complemented, if necessary, by the indica­
tion that it does not apply to all phases of the manufac­
turing process. 
Article 227. 
(Assignment ofthe trademark) 
1. The assignment of the establishment shall presuppose 
the assignment of the registration application or owner­
ship of the trademark, unless otherwise stipulated. 
2. The registration application or ownership of the regis­
tered trademark are assignable, independently of the es­
tablishment, provided that this cannot mislead the public 
as to the origin of the product or the service or the char­
acteristics essentiqI for its appreciation. 
3. When the assignment of the products or services is but 
partial, a copy shall be requested of the documents serving 
as the basis for the independent registration, including the 
right to ownership. 
4. In the case of partial assignment, the new applications 
shall conserve the priorities to which they are entitled. 
S. If the trademark includes the individual name or corpo­
rate style of the holder of, or applicant for, the respective 
registration, or of someone whom the holder or applicant represents, an express clause shall be necessary for its as­
signment. 
Article 228. 
(Limitations on assignment) 
Marks registered in favour of bodies protecting or control­
ling economic activities shall not be assignable, except 
where specially provided for by Law, Statutes or internal 
regulations. 
SECTION VI 
TERMINATION OF TRADEMARK REGISTRATION 
Article 229. 
(Nullity ofthe trademark registration) 
The registration shall be subject to the provisions of article 
47, but the respective nullity shall not be declared, although 
the trademark be constituted by signs as stipulated in article 
199(I(b) and (c», if the trademark has acquired a distinctive 
character. 
Article 230. 
(Annulment ofthe trademark registration) 
1. Mark registrations may be nullified in the cases provided 
for in article 48 and, moreover, when the title was granted: 
(a) Without the presentation of substantiating documents and 
the required authorizations; 
(b) In breach of the provisions of article 214(l(b) and (c» 
and (2). 
2. Any party interested in the annulment of a trademark in 
order to protect well-known trademarks may intervene in the 
proceedings only on proving that the respective registration 
has already been requested in Macao or by simultaneously 
filing the annulment request. 
3. Any party interested in the annulment of a trademark in 
order to protect prestige marks may intervene in the process 
only by proving that the respective registration has already 
been requested in Macao for the products or services that 
conferred such prestige or by simultaneously filing the an­
nulment request. 
4. The trademark registration cannot be annulled if the pre­
vious trademark with which it is held to be in opposition 
does not satisfY the condition of serious use. 
S. Annulment of a trademark based on a breach of the provi­
sions of article 214(1(b) and (c» may be applied for only up 
to 5 years from the date of registration. 
Article 231. 
(Forfeiture oftrademark registration) 
1. The trademark registration shall be forfeit: 
(a) In the cases provided for in article 51(1); 
(b) For lack of serious use for 3 consecutive years, unless for 
justifiable reason; 
(c) If it suffers alteration that detracts from its identity. 
2. The registration of the trademark shall expire also if, after 
the date on which it was effected: 
(a) The trademark has changed in the usual designation in 
the trade of the product or service for which it was regis-tered, as a consequence of the activity or inactivity of the 
holder; 
(b) The trademark, with time, could mislead the public, 
namely with respect to the nature, quality and geographi­
cal origin of those products or services, if it continues to 
be used by the holder of the trademark or a third party 
with the holder's consent, for the products or services for 
which it was registered; 
(e) The trademark was used in Macao in cases in which it 
was registered for export only. 
3. The registration of a collective mark shall be declared 
forfeit: 
(a) If the body corporate in favour of which the trademark 
was registered ceases to exist except in cases of merger or 
split; 
(b) Ifthe body corporate in favour of which the trademark 
was registered consents to its being used in way contrary 
to its general purpose or to the provisions of its articles of 
association. 
4. When reasons exist for the forfeiture of registration of a 
trademark merely with respect to some of the products or 
services for which it was taken out, the forfeiture shall af­
fect only such products or services. 
5. Notwithstanding the provisions of article 51 (2) and (4), 
the grounds for forfeiture specified in the present article 
may be cited by any interested party, in court or out. 
Article 232. 
(Serious use of trademarks) 
1. Serious use of trademarks is considered: 
(a) The use, under the terms of the present Statute, by the 
holder of the registration or his properly registered licen­
see of the trademark such as it was registered or not dif­
fering there from other than in details that do not alter its 
distinctive character. 
(b) The use of the trademark, as defmed in the previous 
sub-paragraph, for products or services for export only; 
(e) The use of the trademark by a third party, provided 
that this is under the supervision of the title-holder and for 
the purpose of maintaining the registration. 
2. The serious use of an association mark shall be gauged 
according those that make use thereof with the title­
holder's consent. 
3. The serious use of a certification mark shall be gauged 
according to the persons qualified to use it. 
4. The beginning or resumption of serious use within the 3 
months immediately prior to the submission of a forfeiture 
request, starting from the end of an uninterrupted period 
of 3 years of non-use, shall not be considered if the meas­
ures for the beginning or resumption of the use are taken 
only after the holder learns that a forfeiture request is to 
be filed. 
5. It shall be incumbent on the holder of the registration or 
his licensee, if such exist, to prove the use of the trade­
mark, failing which the trademark shall be deemed not 
used. IP/N/1/MACIII2 
Page 43 
CHAPTER V 
NAMES AND EMBLEMS OF ESTABLISHMENTS 
SECTION I 
SUBJECT MATTER OF PROTECTION 
Article 233. 
(Subject matter of protection) 
Protection under the present Statute, by means of a title to a 
name and emblem of establishment, can be conferred only 
on the distinctive signs of an establishment wherein business 
is conducted in accordance with the provisions of the present 
section. 
Article 234. 
(Establishment emblem) 
1. For the purpose of the present it Statute, an establishment 
emblem shall be deemed to be any external sign composed 
of illustrations or drawings, alone or combined with the 
name of the establishment, or with other words or mottos. 
2. The decoration of the facades and of that part of shops, 
stores or factories exposed the public, as well as the colours 
of a flag, may constitute an emblem that perfectly individu­
alizes the respective establishment. 
Article 235. 
(Exceptions to protection -renunciation) 
The provisions of article 199 shall apply, mutatis mutandis, 
to the name and emblem of an establishment. 
Article 236. 
(Non-prohibited constituent elements) 
The respective registration shall not be hindered by the fact 
that the requested name or emblem contain: 
(a) Any fancy or specific designations; 
(b) Historical names, with the exception of those the use of 
which would be detrimental or offensive to the esteem in 
which such names are generally held; 
(e) The name of the property or premises of the establish­
ment, when this is admissible or accompanied by a distinc­
tive element; 
(d) The name or distinctive elements of the company name 
and the pseudonym or nicknames of the proprietor; 
(e) The branch of activity of the establishment, provided that 
is accompanied by distinctive elements. 
Article 237. 
(Forbidden or conditional constituent elements) 
1. The following may not form part of the name or emblem 
of an establishment: 
(a) Names, designations, illustrations or drawings that are 
reproductions or imitations of names or emblems of estab­
lishments already registered by somebody else; 
(b) Constituent elements of a trademark or industrial model 
or design, protected by another, for products manufactured 
or sold or services rendered in the establishment for which 
the name or emblem is intended; 
(e) Words or phrases in a foreign language other than simple 
geographical designations, unlcss the establishment belongs 
to nationals of the respective country; IP/N/1/MAC/J/2 
Page 44 
(d) Designations indicating a nationality or having any 
other like sense, except if the establishment belongs to an 
individual or body corporate of that nationality or having 
an actual establishment in the country or territory in ques­
tion. 
2. Authorization for the use of name or insignia and other 
such elements shall be considered assignable by legal suc­
cession, unless expressly restricted. 
3. The provision of sub-paragraph lea) shall not prevent 
two or more persons with identical surnames from in­
cluding them in the name or emblem of their respective 
establishments, as long as they are perfectly distinguish­
able. 
SECTlONll 
RIGHT TO mE NAME AND EMBLEM 
Article 238. 
(Right to the name and emblem) 
Anyone with a legitimate interest and more specifically 
farmers, livestock-breeders, industrialists, merchants and 
other entrepreneurs, domiciled or established in the Ter­
ritory, shall be entitled to adopt a name and an emblem to 
designate their establishment and make its known pursu­
ant to the terms of the following provisions. 
SECTlONIII 
REGISTRATION OF THE NAME AND EMBLEM 
OF AN ESTABLISHMENT 
Article 239. 
(Form of application) 
1. The application to register the name or emblem of an 
establishment shall be submitted in writing in the official 
language of the Territory indicating the name or corporate 
style of the applicant, his/its nationality and domicile or 
place of establishment, and identifying the name and/or 
emblem whose registration is requested. 
2. The date of the delivery of the application is that rele­
vant for the purpose of priority. 
Article 240. 
(Complementary elements ofthe application) 
1. The registration application shall further include the 
following elements: 
(a) A document proving that the applicant owns the es­
tablishment actually and not fictitiously and, more specifi­
cally, the industrial or administrative licence, or some 
identical type of document, or the property registration 
certificate or some other documentary proof, in the case of 
article 236(e), save if there be just reason preventing the 
presentation of that document; 
(b) A declaration by the applicant that for the same estab­
lishment there does not exist any previous registration of 
name and emblem of establishment. 
2. When applicable, the application should also be accom­
panied by the following elements: 
(a) Proof of consent for or the legitimacy of use of a per­
sonal name that does not belong to the applicant; (b) Proof of consent or of legitimacy of use of a corporate 
style, or just a characteristic part thereof, if it does not be­
long to the applicant and is likely to mislead or confuse the 
consumer; 
(e) Proof of consent for the use of the expression "formerly 
warehouse", "formerly company", " formerly factory" and 
other similar expressions when, in the application reference 
is made to establishments whose name or emblem are regis­
tered in the name of somebody else; 
(d) Proof of consent for the use of the expression "former 
employee", "former master", "former manager" and other 
similar expressions, referring to another individual or body 
corporate; 
(e) Proof of the legitimacy of use of indications of relation­
ship and of the expressions "heir", "successor", "representa­
tive" or "agent" and the like; 
(f) Such authorizations and elements of proof as are referred 
to in article 207, when the situations there foreseen for the 
trademarks obtain in relation to the name or emblem re­
quested; 
(g) Proof of the exceptional admissibility of the constituent 
elements referred to in article 236(1(e) and (d). 
3. If the application concerns the emblem, it shall also be ac­
companied by: 
(a) Two graphic representations of the emblem, whenever 
possible as a photocopy or drawing, printed or pasted in the 
space provided for that purpose on the form; 
(b) A photolithograph, or some other medium to be defined 
by the DES, showing a reproduction of the sign of the em­
blem that it is wished to register. 
Article 241. 
(Unity of application and registration of the name and 
emblem) 
1. An application may refer to only one name and emblem 
and any given establishment can have only one name and 
emblem registered. 
2. If the registration of more than one name or emblem be 
applied for in relation to the same establishment, the DES 
will instruct the applicant to choose just one of them and to 
drop the others. 
3. If more than one name or emblem are registered in rela­
tion to the same establishment, the DES will instruct the 
holder to choose just one of them and to drop the others. 
4. In the absence of any response to the notifications referred 
to in sub-paragraphs 2 and 3, only the first request or regis­
tration will be considered, the remaining requests being re­
fused or declared forfeit, as applicable. 
Article 242. 
(Examination as to form) 
1. Once the DES has received the application, it shall pro­
ceeds to its formal examination within 1 month, to ensure 
that it is properly accompanied by all of the items required 
under article 240. 
2. If the application is lacking some of the required items, or 
should they not be in order, they shall be rectified by the ap­
plicant within 2 months of the notification that the DES will 
send him to that effect or, failing such notification, in a maximum of 3 months from the filing of the application, 
both extended by 1 additional month, if so requested for 
good reason. 
3. Failure to send of the notification referred to paragraph 
2, as well as its non-reception, shall not dispense the ap­
plicant, for the purpose of granting the name and emblem, 
from rectifYing the shortcomings ofthe application within 
the legal period. 
4. If, by the end of the applicable period pursuant to para­
graph 2, it is found that the inadequacies or irregularities 
of the application have not been rectified, the application 
shall be refused and a notice to that effect published in the 
Qfficial Bulletin. 
Article 243. 
(publication of the application) 
The DES shall have the application published in the Qffi­
cial Bulletin, in order that an objection may be raised by 
anyone who feels prejudiced by the possible granting of 
the registration. 
Article 244. 
(Subsequent formalities) 
The provisions of article 211 to 213 shall, mutatis mutan­
dis, apply to the application to register a name and em­
blem of establishment. 
SECTION IV 
EFFECTS OF REGISTRATION OF NAME AND 
EMBLEM 
Article 245. 
(Duration of registration) 
The duration of registration shall be 10 years from the 
date of the respective granting, infinitely renewable for 
like periods. 
Article 246. 
(Rights conferred by the registration) 
1. Notwithstanding the protection derived from other legal 
provisions, the registration of the name or emblem under 
this Statute shall confer on the holder the right to prevent 
third parties, without his consent, from using any identical 
sign or one likely to be confused with it in their estab­
lishments. 
2. The registration shall moreover confer the right to pre­
vent the use of any sign that contains the name or the em­
blem registered. 
3. The registration of the name and emblem of the estab­
lishment shall mere imply a legal presumption of the re­
quirements for its granting. 
Article 247. 
(Relationship with corporate styles and company 
names) IP/N/1/MAC/V2 
Page 45 
The provisions of article 222 shall apply, mutatis mutandis, 
to the registration of the name and emblem of an establish­
ment 
SECTION V 
USE OF THE NAME AND EMBLEM 
Article 248. 
(Indication of the name or emblem) 
During the term of the registration, the proprietor of the 
name or emblem shall be entitled to add thereto the designa­
tion "Nome registado" (Registered Name) or "Insignia reg­
istada" (Registered Emblem) or simply "NR" or "LR", in 
Portuguese, or else the equivalent expression in Chinese 
( .... ). 
Article 249. 
(Inalterability of the name or the emblem) 
1. The name and emblem shall remain unaltered, any change 
in their component elements being subject to a new registra­
tion. 
2. The inalterability of emblems shall be understood, mutatis 
mutandis, in accordance with the rules established in article 
224(2) and (3). 
Article 250. 
(Assignment) 
1. The rights deriving from the registration application or the 
registration of names and emblems of establishments may be 
assigned, be it for a consideration or not, with the establish­
ment, or part of the establishment to which they belong and 
in accordance with the legal formalities required for the as­
signment of the establishment itself 
2. Notwithstanding the provision of the following paragraph, 
the assignment of the establishment shall include that of the 
respective name and emblem that may continue as regis­
tered, except where the assignor reserves them for another 
establishment, present or future. 
3. If the name or emblem of establishment includes the name 
of the individual or body corporate that owns or has applied 
for the respective registration, or of someone the holder or 
applicant represents, an express clause shall be necessary for 
its assignment. 
SECTION VI 
ANNULMENT OF REGISTRATION OF NAME AND 
EMBLEM 
Article 251. 
(Annulment of name or emblem registration) 
The provision of article 47 shall apply to the registration of a 
name or emblem but the respective nullity shall not be de­
clared, even though the name or emblem be constituted by 
signs as stipulated in article 199(1(b) and (c», if they have 
acquired a distinctive character. 
Article 252. 
(Annulability of the name and emblem registration) 
1. The name and emblem registrations may be annulled in 
the cases foreseen in article 48 and, moreover, when the title IJ>~/1/~~/I12 
J>age 46 
was granted without presentation of the elements of proof 
and authorizations required under article 240. 
2. The registration of the emblem shall also be annul able 
if it was granted in breach of the provisions of article 
214(I(b) and (c» and (2) .. 
3. Article 230(2) to (5) shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to 
the case referred to in the previous paragraph. 
Article 253. 
(Forfeiture ofthe name and emblem registration) 
1. The name and emblem registration shall be forfeit: 
(a) In the cases foreseen in article 51(1); 
(b) If the respective establishment is closed or goes into 
liquidation; 
(c) Ifthe registered emblem or name is not used for 5 con­
secutive years, except for good reason; 
(d) If it is modified in such a way as to prejudice its iden­
tity. 
2. If it be found that there exist two or more registrations 
in relation to the same establishment, the DES will notifY 
the holder of the registrations requiring it to choose one 
name and emblem and shall declare the others forfeit. 
CHAPTER VI 
DESIGNATION OF ORIGIN AND GEOGRAPID­
CAL INDICATIONS 
Article 254. 
(Object of protection) 
1. Under the present Statute, only the following can be 
protected by an designation of origin: 
(a) The name of a region, a specific locality or a country 
or territory that is used to designate or identifY a product 
originating from that region, specific locality or country or 
territory, whose quality or characteristics are essentially or 
exclusively due to the geographical environment, includ­
ing natural and human factors, and whose production, 
transformation and creation are conducted in the demar­
cated geographical area; 
(b) Certain traditional designations, be they geographical 
or not, which designate a product originating from a re­
gion or specific locality and that satisfY the conditions 
foreseen in the previous sub-paragraph 
2. Under the present Statute, only a geographical indica­
tion, the name of a region, specific locality or, in excep­
tional cases, country or territory can be protected that is 
used to designate or to identifY a product originating from 
that region, specific locality or country or territory or, 
whose reputation, specific quality or other characteristic 
can be attributed 'to that geographical origin and whose 
production and/or transformation and/or creation is con­
ducted in the demarcated geographical area 
3. Designations of origin and geographical indications, 
when registered, shall constitute the common property of 
the residents or persons who are actually and seriously 
established in the region in question and may be used in­
discriminately by persons who, in that region, exploit any 
characteristic area of production when duly authorized by 
the holder of the registration to do so. 4. The exercise of this right shall not depend on the extent of 
the exploitation nor on the nature of the products, and the 
designation of origin or geographical indication shall conse­
quently apply to any products characteristic of and originat­
ing from the locality, region or territory, provided that the 
demarcations and other traditional and usual or properly 
regulated conditions are observed. 
Article 255. 
(Registration application) 
1. The application for registration of a designation of origin 
or a geographical indication shall be filed, in writing, in the 
official language of the Territory, indicating the name of the 
individuals or bodies corporate, public or private, that are 
entitled to acquire the registration and shall be accompanied 
by the following information: 
(a) The name of the product or products on which it is in­
tended to use the designation of origin or geographical indi­
cation; 
(b) The traditional or regulated conditions for the use of the 
designation of origin or the geographical indication and the 
limits ofthe respective locality or region. 
2. The registration certificate shall, in the pertinent part, bear 
the text of the registration process of the name and emblem 
of the establishment. 
Article 256. 
(Grounds for refusing the registration of designations of 
origin) 
Requests for the registration of designations of origin or 
geographical indications shall be refused if: 
(a) Any of the general grounds for refusing to grant of in­
dustrial property rights obtains pursuant to article 9(1); 
(b) It constitutcs a reproduction or imitation of a prcviously 
registered designation of origin or geographical indication; 
(c) It is liable to mislead the public, namely as to the nature, 
quality and geographical origin of the respective product; 
(d) It constitutes an breach of industrial property rights or of 
a copyright. 
Article 257. 
(Duration of registration) 
Designations of origin and geographical indications shall be 
unlimited in duration and their ownership shall be protected 
by the application of the provisions foreseen in the present 
Statute or in special legislation, as well as by those govern­
ing false indications of origin, independently of registration 
and of the fact that they do or do not form part of a regis­
tered trademark. 
Article 258. 
(Indication of registration) 
During the term of the registration, products on which the 
respective use is authorized may bear the mentions "De­
nomina~{jo de origem registada" (Registered designation of 
origin) or "DOR", "Indic~{jo geografica registada" (Regis­
tered geographical indication) or "IGR", in Portuguese, or 
else the equivalent expressions in Chinese ( .... ). 
Article 259. 
(Rights conferred by the registration) 1. The registration of the designation of origin or of the 
geographical indication shall confer the right to prevent: 
(a) Use, by a third party, in the designation or presentation 
of a product, of any means that indicate or suggest that the 
product in question originates from a geographical area 
different from the true place of origin; 
(b) Any use that constitutes an act of unfair competition, 
within the terms of article lObis of the Paris Convention, 
in its Stockholm revision of 14 July 1967; 
(e) Use by anyone who is not authorized by the holder of 
the registration. 
2. The constituent words of a legally defined, protected 
and monitored designation of origin or geographical indi­
cation may not appear, in any form, in designations, tags, 
labels, advertisements or any other documents concerning 
products that do not originate from the respective demar­
cated regions. 
3. The prohibition referred to in the previous paragraph 
shall be applicable even if the true origin of the products 
is mentioned or if the words constituting the designations 
or indications are accompanied by qualifiers such as 
"kind", "type", "quality" or the like and it shall be ex­
tended to the use of any expression, display or graphic 
combination liable to confuse the public. 
4. Similarly prohibited shall be the use of designations of 
origin or geographical indications of prestige in Macao, 
for products bearing no identity or likeness, whenever 
their use seeks, for no valid reason, to derive improper ad­
vantage from the distinctive character or the prestige of 
the previously registered designation of origin or the geo­
graphical indication or stands to harm them. 
5. The provisions of the previous paragraphs shall not 
prevent a seller from affixing its name, address or trade­
mark to products from a region, country or territory dif­
ferent from that in which the same products are sold, pro­
vided that the trademark of the producer or manufacturer 
be maintained on such products. 
6. The registration of a designation of origin or geographi­
cal indication shall imply a mere legal presumption of the 
requirements of its granting. 
Article 260. 
(Relationship with corporate styles and company 
names) 
The provisions of article 222 shall apply, mutatis mutan­
dis, to the registration of appellations of origin or geo­
graphical indicatio,ns. 
Article 261. 
(AnnnlabiJity of registration of designations of origin 
or geographical indications) 
Registrations of designations of origin or geographical in­
dication may be cancelled in the cases envisaged in article 
48(1) and, moreover, if: 
(a) They constitute a reproduction or imitation of a previ­
ously registered designation of origin or geographical in­
dication; IP/N/IIMAC/I/2 
Page 47 
(b) They are likely to mislead the public, namely with re­
spect to the nature, quality and geographical origin of the re­
spective product; 
(e) They are in breach of industrial property rights. 
Article 262. 
(Forfeiture of registration of designations of origin or 
geographical indications) 
1. The registration of a designation of origin or a geographi­
cal indication shall lapse: 
(a) In the cases envisaged in article 51(1); 
(b) At the request of any interested part when, by virtue of 
bona fide, traditional and established commercial practices, 
the designation of origin or the geographical indication, be­
comes a simple generic designation for a manufacturing 
system or a certain type of product. 
2. Wine products, medicinal mineral waters and other prod­
ucts whose geographical denomination of origin is subject to 
special protection and monitoring legislation in the respec­
tive country or territory shall form an exception to the provi­
sion in the previous paragraph. 
CHAPTER VII 
AWARDS 
Article 263. 
(Subject matter of protection) 
The present Statute can confer protection on the registration 
of an award only for: 
(a) Decorations of merit conferred by the Territory or by 
other countries or territories; 
(b) Medals, diplomas and prizes in money or of any other 
nature obtained at official exhibitions, fairs and competi­
tions, or officially recognized by the Territory or by other 
countries or territories; 
(e) Diplomas and certificates of analysis or commendation 
issued by laboratories and other public services of the Ter­
ritory or by organisms qualified for such purposes; 
(d) Titles of supplier to official bodies and other entities or 
official establishment, of the Territory or of other countries 
or territories; 
(e) Any other prizes or demonstrations of preference of an 
official character. 
Article 264. 
(Right to the registration) 
The right to register an award shall lie with to the proprietor 
of the company to which the official prizes or demonstra­
tions of preference referred to in the previous article have 
been attributed. 
Article 265. 
(Registration application) 
The application for the registration of awards shall be sub­
mitted, in writing, in one ofthe official languages of the Ter­
ritory, indicating the name or corporate style of the appli­
cant, his/its nationality and domicile or place of establish­
ment, and shall be accompanied by the following items, in 
triplicate: IP/N/1/MAC/V2 
Page 48 
(a) The awards to be registered, the bodies that conferred 
them and the respective dates; 
(b) The products or services in respect of which the 
awards were conferred; 
(e) The name of the establishment to which the award is 
linked, in all or in part, when applicable. 
Article 266. 
(Items to accompany the application) 
1. The registration application shall be accompanied by: 
(a) The originals or certified photocopies of the diplomas 
or titles; 
(b) A duly legalized copy of the official publication in 
which the award was conferred or published, or simply the 
part thereof necessary and sufficient to identiry it. 
2. The DES may demand a translation into one ofthe offi­
cial languages of the Territory of diplomas or other docu­
ments couched in other languages. 
3. The registration of awards including references to 
names or emblems of establishment shall be conditional 
on the prior registration of such names or emblems. 
Article 267. 
(Grounds for refusing the registration of awards) 
The application for the registration of awards shall be re­
fused if: 
(a) Any of the general grounds for refusing the granting of 
industrial property rights obtains according to article 9( 1); 
(b) It is proven that they have been applied to products or 
services other than those on which they were conferred; 
(e) The proprietorship thereof has been assigned without 
the establishment or the respective part thereof, if applica­
ble; 
(d) It has been shown that the award has been revoked or 
cancelled. 
Article 268. 
(Effects of registration) 
The registration of awards shall guarantee the veracity and 
authenticity of the right to having been granted them and 
it ensures the holders their exclusive use for an indefinite 
period. 
Article 269. 
(Restitution of doeuments) 
1. On expiry of the deadline for appealing against the 
granting or refusal of registration, the diplomas or other 
documents contained in the file shall be returned to the 
applicant upon request and shall be substituted in the file 
by certified photocopies. 
2. Documents shall be returned to applicants in return for 
a receipt which shall be placed in the file. 
Article 270. 
(Indication of awards) 
The use of awards legitimately obtained shall be permitted 
without registration, but only after registration can a refer­
ence to or a copy of them be accompanied by the designa­
tion "Reeompensa Registadd' (Registered Award" or of the abbreviations "RR","RR" or «RR», in Portuguese, or 
else by the equivalent expression in Chinese ( .... ). 
Article 271. 
(Assignment) 
The assignment of ownership of awards shall be conducted 
in accordance with the legal formalities required for the as­
signment of the company to which they relate and the provi­
sions of article 250(2) shall apply mutatis mutandis. 
Article 272. 
(Conditions under which mention may be made of the 
awards) 
The awards may not be applied to products or services dif­
ferent from those on which they were conferred. 
Article 273. 
(Annulability of award registrations) 
Award registrations may be annulled in the cases provided 
for in article 48(1) and, moreover, when the right to the 
award is cancelled. 
Article 274. 
(Forfeiture of the registration of awards) 
1. The award registrations shall be forfeit: 
(£!} In the cases envisaged in article 51(1); 
(b) If the granting of the reward be revoked or cancelled by 
the entitled party. 
2. Forfeiture of the registration shall terminate the right to 
make exclusive use ofthe award. 
PART IV 
LEGAL RECOURSE 
Article 275. 
(Legal recourse) 
Recourse shall lie to the Common Court of Justice against 
decisions: 
(a) Whereby industrial property rights are granted or re­
fused; 
(b) Relating to assignments, licences, declarations of forfei­
ture or any other decisions that affect, modiry or terminate 
industrial property rights. 
Article 276. 
(Right to appeal) 
The applicant or owner of the industrial property right at is­
sue, the claimants, as well as the successors of both and, in 
general, anyone directly and effectively prejudiced by the 
said decisions shall be legally entitled to file an appeal 
against decisions ofthe DES. 
Article 277. 
(Deadline for appeal) 
The appeal should be lodged within 1 month of the date of 
publication of the decision in the Official Bulletin or of the 
date of the certified copy of the decision, whichever the 
sooner and if requested by the appellant. 
Article 278. 
(Response-referral of proceedings) 1. Once the action has been filed, a copy of the appeal pe­
tition and of the respective documents shall be sent to the 
DES, in order that the entity that handed down the con­
tested decision may respond or in case it be advisable to 
submit or have submitted to the court the file on which the 
original decision was based. 
2. If it is found that the file contains sufficient information 
to enlighten the court, the DES shall submit it together 
with a referral notice within 15 days. 
3. Should this not be the case, the referral notice shall 
contain a reply to the allegation in the petition and shall be 
sent, with the file, within I month. 
4. When, for any justified reason, the deadline in the pre­
vious paragraph cannot be observed, the DES shall, in 
good time, apply to the court for such extension as seems 
necessary. 
Article 279. 
(Citation by the opposing party) 
1. If there exists an opposing party, that party shall be no­
tified by the court to reply within I month should it so 
wish. 
2. Notification of the opposing party shall always indica­
tion that that party is obliged to participate in the hearings 
through an appointed lawyer. 
3. A decision wholly or partially revoking or amending a 
previous decision shall substitute that decision in the pre­
cise terms in which it was stated. 
4. The DES shall never be considered to be an opposing 
party. 
Article 280. 
(Request for technical expertise) 
If the appeal contains a technical problem requiring fur­
ther information or if the court deems it appropriate, it 
may at any time request the attendance, on a day and at a 
time it shall designate, of the DES technician or techni­
cians on whose opinion the appealed decision was based, 
in order that they may orally provide any explanations 
needed. 
Article 281. 
(Representation ofthe DES) 
The Director of the DES may produce allegations and ex­
ercise any other procedural powers corresponding to those 
of the other appellees, including that of refuting the deci­
sions handed down in the contentious appeal, either 
through an appointed lawyer or a legally qualified person 
acting as legal counsel for that purpose. 
Article 282. 
(Appeal against the court decision) 
The decision handed down may be appealed by the proc­
ess civil ofJaw. 
Article 283. 
(Publication ofthe final decision) 
Once the decision has been handed down, the court regis­
trar shall send the DES a typewritten copy or a version on 
a medium considered appropriate for the purpose of reg­
istration and, if appropriate, for the purposes envisaged in 
article lO(I(j)). IP/N/1/MAC/V2 
Page 49 
PART V 
MONITORING AND PENALTIES 
CHAPTER I 
GENERAL PROVISIONS 
Article 284. 
(Timing of supervision) 
Goods and services shall be monitored to ensure the defence 
of industrial property rights at all phases and in all sectors of 
the production process, including in the public sector. 
Article 285. 
(Competent bodies) 
1. The monitoring referred to in the previous article shall be 
conducted by the DES through the Inspectorate of Economic 
Activities without prejudice to the powers vested by law in 
the criminal police and other entities, specifically the Marine 
and Fiscal Police. 
2. The DES may, in the performance of its monitoring func­
tions, call on the assistance and intervention of other entities. 
Article 286. 
(Seizure at points of entry) 
1. The Marine and Fiscal Police may, as a precautionary 
measure, seize any products or goods at the point of import 
or export which, in any obvious way contain any form of 
false indications or denominations of origin, trademarks or 
names illicitly used or applied or that indicate the commis­
sion of any infringement provided for in the present Statute. 
2. The owner or consignee of the seized products shall be 
notified in the most expedient manner and required to pro­
vide the necessary explanations and he shall, notwithstand­
ing any liabilities he has already incurred, be permitted to 
recti:fY the situation of the item that has been placed under 
precautionary seizure. 
3. Seizure may also be exercised on request, submitted on 
the spot or in advance, by anyone who demonstrates a le­
gitimate interest in so doing. 
4. The seizure shall lapse if, within 10 working days of the 
holder of the industrial property rights having been notified 
thereof, the Public Prosecution Service or the injured party 
has not filed a court suit for confirmation ofthe findings. 
5. The period referred to in the previous paragraph may be 
extended by equal periods in duly justified cases. 
Article 287. 
(Unspecified precautionary measures) 
In addition to the provisions of article 286(3), provisional 
measures may be ordered pursuant to the terms of the Statute 
of Civil Procedure of Macao for common provisional proce­
dures, in cases in which any of the violations foreseen in the 
present Statute are found to obtain. 
Article 288. 
(Commitment to inform) 
1. Whenever an authority or an agent of an authority notes 
any breach of the provisions in the present Statute it/he shall 
draw up or have drawn up a report which shall be forwarded 
to the DES. IP/N/1/MACIII2 
Page 50 
2. In the case of suspicion of criminal practices, the report 
shall simply be forwarded to the Public Prosecution Serv­
ice within 5 days. 
CHAPTER 11 
UNLAWFUL ACTS 
SECTION I 
TYPES OF UNLAWFUL ACTS 
Article 289. 
(Violation of the exclusivity of a patent or of the topog-
raphy of semiconductor products) 
Obtaining illicit benefit for oneself or for a third party 
within the context of an entrepreneurial activity without 
the consent of the holder of the industrial property right 
shall be punishable by a prison sentence of up to 2 years 
or by a fine accumulating for from 60 to 120 days in the 
following cases: 
(a) Manufacturing artefacts or products protected by a 
patent or semiconductor product topography; 
(b) Use or application of methods or processes protected 
by a patent or by a semiconductor product topography; 
(c) Importing or distributing products obtained by any of 
the means referred to in the foregoing paragraphs. 
Article 290. 
(Violation of exclusive rights relating to designs or 
models) 
Obtaining illicit benefit for oneself or for a third party 
within the context of an entrepreneurial activity without 
the consent of the holder of the industrial property right 
shall be punishable by a prison sentence of up to 2 years 
or by a fine accumulating for from 60 to 120 days in the 
following cases: 
(a) Reproducing or imitating totally or in part the charac­
teristics of a registered design or model; 
(b) Exploiting a registered design or model; 
(c) Importing or distributing designs or models obtained 
by any of the means referred to in the foregoing para­
graphs. 
Article 291. 
(Counterfeiting, imitation and illegal use of trade-
mark) 
Obtaining illicit benefit for oneself or for a third party 
within the context of an entrepreneurial activity without 
the consent of the holder of the industrial property right 
shall be punishable by a prison sentence of up to 3 years 
or by a fine accumulating for from 90 to 180 days in the 
following cases: 
(a) Counterfeiting, totally or partially, or in any way re­
producing a registered trademark by any means; 
(b) Imitating a registered trademark in whole or in any of 
its characteristic parts; 
(c) Using false or mock marks; (d) Using, counterfeiting or imitating well-known trade­
marks whose registration has already been applied for in 
Macao; 
(e) Using trademarks, even though in products or services 
bearing no identity or likeness, which are a translation, the 
same as or similar to previous trademarks whose registration 
has been applied for and which enjoy prestige in Macao, 
whenever the use of the subsequent trademark seeks, without 
fair reason, to derive improper advantage from the distinc­
tive character or the prestige of the previous trademark or 
can in any way damage it. 
(f) Using, in their products, services, establishment or com­
pany, a registered trademark belonging to somebody else. 
Article 292. 
(Sale, circulation or concealment of products or goods) 
Anyone selling, circulating or concealing products counter­
feited by any of the means and in the conditions referred to 
in articles 289 to 291 and being aware of that situation shall 
be subject to a prison sentence of up to 6 months or a fine 
accumulating for from 30 to 90 days. 
Article 293. 
(Violation and illegal use of designations of origin or geo-
graphical indications) 
Seeking to obtain illicit benefit for oneself or for a third 
party within the context of an entrepreneurial activity shall 
be punishable by a prison sentence of up to 2 years or by a 
fine accumulating for from 60 to 120 days in the following 
cases: 
(a) Reproducing or imitating, totally or partially, a designa­
tion of origin or a protected geographical indication; 
(b) Using on products signs that constitute a reproduction or 
imitation of designations of origin or geographical indica­
tions without being duly entitled to use such designations or 
indications, even though they may indicate the true origin of 
the products or the designation or be used either in transla­
tion or accompanied by expressions such as "like", "type", 
"style", "imitation", "rival of', "superior to" or similar. 
Article 294. 
(Industrial property rights obtained in bad faith) 
1. Anyone who, in bad faith, obtains for himself or for a 
third party an industrial property title in respect of a right he 
does not own shall, under the applicable provisions of the 
present Statute be liable to a prison sentence of up to 6 
months or a fine accumulating for from 60 to 90 days. 
2. In deciding on the sentence for the violation, the court 
shall unofficially cancel the title at issue or, when applicable, 
order that it be assigned to the person to whom it legiti­
mately belongs, should that person so request. 
3. The request for the assignment of the title referred to in 
the previous paragraph may be filed with the court inde­
pendently of the criminal proceedings resulting from the 
violation. 
SECTIONll 
OTHER PROVISIONS 
Article 295. 
(Monitoring and apprehension) 1. The Criminal Police shall unofficially conduct such 
monitoring and preventive inspections as be appropriate, 
independently of the opening ofthe inquiry. 
2. The legal authorities shall order that an expertise be 
conducted on items held under precautionary seizure 
whenever this appears necessary in order to determine 
whether such items are or are not manufactured or mar­
keted by the holder of the right or by some duly author­
ized party. 
Article 296. 
(Fate of seize items) 
1. The Territory shall confiscate: 
(a) Items involved in a criminal breach of the present 
Statute; 
(b) The materials or instruments predominantly used for 
the commission ofthat crime. 
2. Items declared confiscated under sub-paragraph I(a) 
above shall be total or partially destroyed whenever it is 
not possible to eliminate that part thereof that bears the 
distinctive sign or is in violation of the offended right and, 
although such elimination may be possible, provided that 
the title-holder does not give express consent to such 
items being returned to the market or otherwise disposed 
of 
Article 297. 
(Assistants) 
Besides the people on whom the Law of Penal Procedure 
confers the right to act in respect of offences committed 
under the present Statute, other persons may be co-opted 
as assistants in investigating crimes herein foreseen, 
namely: 
(a) Legally constituted employers' associations; 
(b) Legally constituted consumers' councils and consum­
ers' associations. 
Article 298. 
(Referral and subsidiary right) 
The offences foreseen in the present chapter shall be sub­
ject to the provisions of articles 2 to 6, 9 to 16 and 18 of 
Law N°.6/96/M, of 15 July 1996, and, subsidiarily, the 
Macao Penal Statute and Macao Statute of Penal Proce­
dure. 
CHAPTER III 
ADMINISTRATIVE OFFENCES 
SECTION I 
TYPES OF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFENCES 
Article 299. 
(U1egal reference to or use of awards) 
A fine ono 000.00 to 250 000.00 patacas or of 50 000.00 
to 500 000.00 patacas, depending on whether the perpe­
trator be an individual or a body corporate, shall be in­
curred by anyone who, in the performance of an entrepre­
neurial activity: 
(a) Mentions or refers to an award registered on behalf of 
somebody else, when that reference or mention is for the 
purpose of obtaining an illicit benefit for him/itself or for 
a third party; IP/N/1/MAC/I12 
Page 51 
(b) Uses or falsely entitles himself the holder of an award 
that never existed; 
(c) Uses drawings or any imitative indications of awards 
registered in the name of some other person in correspon­
dence or advertising, on signs, facades or shop windows of 
the establishment or in any other way without the title­
holder's consent. 
Article 300. 
(Violation of name and emblem rights) 
A fine of from 20 000.00 to 250 000.00 patacas or of 50 
000.00 to 500 000.00 patacas, depending on whether the 
perpetrator be an individual or a body corporate, shall be in­
curred by anyone who, in the performance of an entrepre­
neurial activity and without the title-holder's consent, uses in 
his/its establishment, in announcements, correspondence, 
products or services or in any other form, a name or emblem 
that is a reproduction or that constitutes an imitation of the 
name or of emblem already registered by somebody else. 
Article 301. 
(Use of illicit marks) 
1. A fine of from 20 000.00 to 250 000.00 patacas or of 50 
000.00 to 500 000.00 patacas, depending on whether the 
perpetrator be an individual or a body corporate, shall be in­
curred by anyone who, in the performance of an entrepre­
neurial activity : 
(a) Improperly uses in his/its trademark, any of the signs in­
dicated in the article 207(1(d) to (i) and in article 214(2(b) 
and (c»; 
(b) Uses trademarks with false indications on the origin or 
the nature of the products; 
(c) Sells or makes available for sale products or goods with 
the marks forbidden by the previous paragraphs. 
2. Products or items bearing marks prohibited by the previ­
ous paragraph may be apprehended at the request of the 
Public Prosecution Service and declared confiscated in fa­
vour of the Territory. 
Article 302. 
(Improper use of uame or emblem of establishment) 
A fine of from 20 000.00 to 250 000.00 patacas or of 50 
000.00 to 500 000.00 patacas, depending on whether the 
perpetrator be an individual or a body corporate, shall be in­
curred by anyone who, in the performance of an entrepre­
neurial activity improperly uses in the name or emblem of 
his/its establishment, whether registered or not, any of the 
signs referred to in article 236(l(b» and article 240(2(a) to 
(f). 
Article 303. 
(Mention or improper use of private rights) 
A fine of from 20 000.00 to 250 000.00 patacas or of 50 
000.00 to 500 000.00 patacas, depending on whether the 
perpetrator be an individual or a body corporate, shall be in­
curred by anyone who: 
(a) Claims to be the owner of some industrial property right 
foreseen in the present Statute, without that right belonging 
to him/it, or when it has been declared null or void, if he/it 
was already aware of that declaration; 
(b) Uses or applies the indications of the patent or of regis­
tration without being entitled so to do; IP/N/1/MACIII2 
Page 52 
(c) Being the owner of an industrial property right, uses it 
for products or services different from those protected by 
the corresponding title. 
Article 304. 
(Lack of mandatory trademark) 
A fine of from 5 000.00 to 50 000.00 patacas or of 10 
000.00 to 100000.00 patacas, depending on whether the 
perpetrator be an individual or a body corporate, shall be 
incurred by anyone who manufactures, markets or imports 
products or renders services without a trademark when 
such a trademark is mandatory for those products or serv­
ices. 
SECTION 11 
SUNDRY PROVISIONS 
Article 305. 
(perpetrators and responsible parties) 
1. Anyone who, personally or through another, directly 
participates in the performance or, in collusion or together 
with another or others, commits the act and also anyone 
who feloniously induces another to commit the act, shall, 
once the act has been committed or the commission of the 
act has commenced be subject to penalty as a perpetrator 
ofthe act. 
2. Anyone whether an individual or a body corporate, al­
though improperly constituted, and associations having no 
legal status may be held responsible, jointly or not, for 
committing the administrative offences envisaged in the 
present chapter. 
3. Bodies corporate, although improperly constituted, and 
associations with no legal status shall be held responsible 
for administrative offences committed by the members of 
their respective organs and by the holders of administra­
tive positions, directors or managers in the exercise of 
their functions, as well as for offences committed by rep­
resentatives ofthe body corporate in acts performed in the 
name and interest of that body. 
4. The responsibility foreseen in the previous paragraph 
shall not apply when the agent acted against the orders or 
express instructions of the persons entitled to issue the or­
ders. 
5. The legal invalidity and the inapplicability of the acts 
on which are based the relationship between the individual 
agent and the body corporate shall not detract from the 
terms of paragraph 3. 
6. The responsibility of the body corporate shall not ex­
clude the individual responsibility of the members of the 
respective organs, and of those who in those organs exer­
cises the functions of director, manager or administrator 
or who represent the body legally or voluntarily. 
Article 306. 
(Determination of administrative penalties) 
In determining the administrative penalty to apply, ac­
count shall be taken especially of: 
(a) The gravity ofthe offence, the fault, powers and finan­
cial situation ofthe agent in question; (b) Whether the administrative offence would have resulted 
in very high profits, gauged according to the criteria of the 
Macao Penal Code. 
Article 307. 
(Reduction or waiver of penalties) 
1. The administrative penalties foreseen in the present chap­
ter may be reduced or waived when circumstances exist 
prior or subsequent to the offence, or contemporary there­
with, that attenuate the gravity of the offence, the agent's 
fault or the need for the penalty. 
2. For the purpose of the provision of the previous para­
graph, account shall be taken, inter alia, of the occasional 
nature of the offence and the extent to which the agent as­
sisted in the discovery ofthe truth. 
Article 308. 
(Repeated offences) 
1. Article 70 of the Macao Penal Code shall apply to re­
peated offenders. 
2. For the purpose of the previous paragraph, a repeated of­
fender shall be anyone who commits an identical adminis­
trative offence within 1 year of the decision that ultimately 
determined the penalty. 
Article 309. 
(Notices) 
1. Notice of the administrative decision concerning the pen­
alty shall be served on the offender personally or by regis­
tered letter, telegram or telefax, depending on the possibili­
ties and the method most appropriate, at his registered office, 
office or domicile. 
2. Notice served by registered letter shall be deemed served 
on the third working day following the registration, when 
served in the Territory. 
3. Should any of the forms of notification referred to in 
paragraph 1 above prove impossible, the director of the DES 
shall determine how to substitute that form by that which 
appears most appropriate to the concrete case: 
(a) By a court order published for 30 days in the Official 
Bulletin, and by 2 proclamations, one to be posted at the 
DES and other in the last place of residence or professional 
domicile of the perpetrator, if known. 
(b) By the publication of announcements in two of the most 
widely read newspapers of the Territory, one in Portuguese 
and the other in Chinese. 
4. The notices served on parties residing or located outside 
the Territory shall, in determining the periods, enjoy the ex­
tensions provided for in article 72 of the Macao Code of 
Administrative Procedure. 
Article 310. 
(Power to investigate and penalize) 
1. Procedural investigations into the administrative offences 
foreseen in the present chapter shall fall within the purview 
of the DES. 
2. The application of the administrative penalties shall fall 
within the jurisdiction of the director of the DES. 
Article 311. 
(Payment of fines) 1. Administrative fines shall be paid within 15 days from 
the date of notification of the penalty decision. 
2. The payment of the administrative fines shall not re­
lease the perpetrator from payment of any consumption 
tax or charges due. 
3. If the administrative fine is not voluntarily paid within 
the period set in paragraph 1 above, it shall be forcibly 
collected by the competent entity, pursuant to the debt­
collection procedure using the executive payment order as 
enforcement warrant, except where the fines can be 
wholly paid from the product of the sale, by any legally 
permitted form, of the goods and objects seized under the 
terms of the present Statute. 
4. Appeal against the application of administrative penal­
ties shall lie to the Macao Administrative Tribunal. 
Article 312. 
(Liability for payment of tines) 
1. Liability for the payment of fines shall lie with the per­
petrator ofthe administrative oITence. 
2. The Administration may, in cases involving multiple 
perpetrators, demand payment of the totality of the ad­
ministrative fines by anyone of them, that party then 
having the right to claim their shares from the others. 
3. Bodies corporate, although improperly constituted, and 
associations with no legal personality shall be held jointly 
and severally liable for payment of the fine to which their 
administrators, directors, managers, employees or repre­
sentatives have been sentenced for committing the ad­
ministrative offences envisaged by the present Statute. 
4. The administrators, directors or managers of bodies, 
although improperly constituted, and of associations with 
no legal personality which, although in a position so to do, 
fail to impede the commission of the administrative of­
fence, shall answer jointly and severally for the payment 
of the fines to which they are sentenced even though, on 
the date of the sentence such bodies or associations may 
have been dissolved or liquidated. 
5. If the fine be applied to an association with no legal 
personality, the common assets of that association shall 
cover the fine and, should that not suffice, the assets of 
each of the partners and associates jointly and severally. 
Article 313. 
(Prescription) 
1. The procedure for administrative offences envisaged in 
the present Statute shall lapse 2 years following the com­
mission of the offt(nce. 
2. Administrative fines shall lapse 4 years after the date on 
which the decision on the penalty becomes final. 
3. The periods of prescription applicable to the procedure 
and the fines and the terms according to which they shall 
be interrupted or suspended shall be governed by the pro­
visions of article III to 113, 117 and 118 of the Macao 
Penal Code. 
Article 314. 
(Destination of tines) IP/N/lIMAC/I/2 
Page 53 
The product of the administrative fines applied under the 
present chapter shall accrue to the Territory.