As of January 1992, Portugal will adhere to both the 1973 Munich Convention on European Patents and the 1975 Luxembourg Convention on European Community Patents. If the registration application is filed by a local patent agent or a special kind of private company organized to handle these types of matters, no power of attorney will be required. Folded drawings are not acceptable. Procedures - Application to the INPI which handles the examination procedures as to novelty and form. Appeal against refusal within 90 days.
Appeals go through the civil court system.
A novelty is an invention which when the corresponding patent is requested has not yet been made public in or outside Portugal in such a way that it may be known and exploited by experts. Appeals go through the civil court system. A trademark search is appropriate before the submission of an application for registration in order to prevent the filing of an opposition based on previous registration of an identical or similar trademark in the name of another entity for identical or alike products or services. The duration is 10 years from registration. After each 10-year period of use, the trademark owner must apply for a full renewal.