how to patent in Spain

Every patent in Spain is filed and examined in the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (SPTO). To start the process it is necessary to file a patent application in which is included a descriptive memory of the invention.

Accessing a specification example.

While preparing this specification, it should be taken particular care at the claims, since in it must be reflected the conditions and terms for which we request the Patent Office to grant the monopoly.

Once the application is accepted, it is given a filing date, which will be the equivalent to its date of birth, and the starting point and reference for any further action, as well as for the validity of the patent.

Given the complexity involved in creating an application that provides adequate protection for an invention, it is highly recommended to have an IP Law Firm advising the process and, with its expertise and in coordination with the inventor, developing the patent’s specification.

In addition, a professional should advise on what can and cannot be patented and make an assessment of the viability of the patent. Clarifying that is not possible to patent an idea as such, what is protected is the practical realization of it, if it meets three basic requirements: inventions that are novel in the absolute sense, which involve an inventive step and are capable of industrial application.

The patent registration in Spain involves the following steps:

As shown in the diagram above, the system to register a patent in Spain has the peculiar existence of a two-steps process.

As a consequence of this two-way process to patent a product or invention in Spain, halfway along the way is necessary to choose whether the patent application should be submitted to Substantial Examination (novelty and inventive step), for which it will be necessary the payment of a fee and its explicit request, or to continue the process by the general grant procedure (without Examination, which is not recommended since the granted patent will be weak).

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