The protection of inventions will increase profits and will cause a better return on investments, thus being the best way to make the investment in R&D profitable.

We offer comprehensive advice to ensure the protection of inventions by filing a patent or utility model application.

Our services include among others:

• Patent Search
• Preparation and drafting of specifications, claims, summary and drawings of patents or utility models.
• Filing national patent and utility model applications, European patent applications and PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) applications.
• Counseling in opposition proceedings before the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (OEPM) and the European Patent Office (EPO).
• Filing observations, oppositions and appeals against patent and utility model applications submitted by third parties
• Defense of patents and utility models against possible rights of third parties.
• Maintenance and payment of annuities of registered patents and utility models
• Patent validation in Spain

Once a national patent is filed, we have one year to extend such patent protection to other countries by filing a European patent or an international patent (PCT) application.

INTERNATIONAL PATENT (PCT)

The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) offers assistance to applicants seeking international patent protection for their inventions. By filing an international patent application under the PCT, applicants have the possibility to protect their invention worldwide in a large number of countries.

The PCT currently has 152 contracting states, so there are very few countries that don’t belong to the treaty.

With a PCT application, the protection of an invention can be filed by means of one single procedure which lasts 30 months from the date of application without the need to file several national or regional patent applications separately. Once the PCT procedure is finished, after 30 months, during what it is called the “National Phase”, the granting of the patent in each of the countries concerned must be requested to each national or regional patent office.

EUROPEAN PATENT

Currently, 38 is the number of member states of the European Patent Convention (EPC). Besides the 27 states that form the European Union, Albania, Croatia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Monaco, Norway, San Marino, Serbia, Switzerland and Turkey are also members of the EPC.

The protection conferred by the European patent can be extended to Bosnia Herzegovina and Montenegro, which, although they do not have the status of Members of the Convention, have reached extension agreements with the European Patent Organization.

Filing a European Patent application allows its applicant to obtain patents in the European States through a single procedure of granting. So seeking protection through a European patent is easier and cheaper than by filing individual applications in the same states.