Establishing a Business
1.1. Introduction
A company’s intangible assets are protected by the ability to register various types of intellectual property rights.
Within the scope of industrial property, a company may obtain exclusive usage rights for the following for its business in Portugal:
· The signs used to identify products or services, by registering them as trademarks, as well as those used to identify the entity itself, by registering them as logotypes;
· The inventions incorporated into their products or employed in their production, by registering them as patents or utility models;
· The designs of their products, by registering them as designs.
Literary, artistic and scientific creations, including computer programs (software), can also be registered as works protected by copyright.
Portugal’s legal intellectual property framework is largely dictated by European Union legislation and the many treaties and conventions to which Portugal is a party, primarily administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), based in Geneva.
The following entities are responsible for registering intellectual property rights in Portugal:
· The Portuguese Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) in what concerns the registration of trademarks, patents and designs;
· The Inspectorate-General of Cultural Activities (IGAC) in what concerns the registration of works protected by copyright.
Since Portugal is a member of the European Union, community trademarks and designs registered at the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) are also valid in this jurisdiction. Portugal can also be designated under the international trademark system administrated by the WIPO.
The two most relevant legal instruments related to intellectual property in Portugal are the Industrial Property Code (CPI) and the Copyright and Related Rights Code (CDADC).
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