no
2-3 years
INPI conducts formality examination and substantive examination of invention patent applications. Substantive examination begins automatically, without the need to file a separate request.
The initial protection is 6 years, which can be extended twice, up to a maximum of 10 years.
- 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.
- 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.
yes. Before the applicant receives the final decision, it may be proposed to change the type of invention from invention to utility model.
- 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
3 months
yes. Before the applicant has received a final decision, an application to change the type of invention from a utility model to an invention may be proposed.