25 years
no
2-3 years
- yes. A maximum of 100 designs may be included in one Portuguese design application, provided they belong to the same class in the International Design Classification.
A novelty grace period of 6 months is available if:
- Disclosures caused at officially organized or officially sanctioned international exhibitions
- Disclosure resulting from being made public for reasons related to the misuse of the inventor or its predecessor owner
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.
3 months
12-14 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.
yes. Before the applicant receives the final decision, it may be proposed to change the type of invention from invention to utility model.
The initial protection is 6 years, which can be extended twice, up to a maximum of 10 years.