Which is the competent authority for patent applications for inventions in Portugal?

12-14 months

no

• Licensing Fee: None.
• Annuity: From the 5th year onwards from the date of application, it will be paid year by year. The application fee includes annual fees for the first and second years. There is no annual fee for the third and fourth years, but the applicant needs to notify INPI for renewal in the third and fourth years. All subsequent annual fees must be paid within six months before the date corresponding to the year of application. Overdue annual fees can be paid within a 6-month grace period, and 50% of the annual fee of the current year is required to be paid as a penalty.

Reinstatement of priority is accepted on grounds of "due care."

INPI only conducts formality examination of utility model patent applications. Substantive examination may only be requested if the applicant deems it necessary. An invention protected by a patent can be protected simultaneously or successively with a utility model. To this end, applicants have a maximum of 1 year to make changes.

• via Paris Convention : 6 months from earliest priority date.
• Hague Agreement route: 6 months from earliest priority date.
• EU appearance route: 6 months from the earliest priority date.

20 years

The initial protection is 6 years, which can be extended twice, up to a maximum of 10 years.

3 months

• Licensing Fee: None.
• Annuity: pay once every 5 years, and must be paid within 6 months before the due date of the application. If the annual fee is overdue, it can be paid within a grace period of 6 months, and a 50% penalty is required.