Industrial Property Law: Inventions and Designs

Industrial Property Law and Creations

Industrial creations are the result of human activity aimed at resolving a technical problem to meet the needs of the community. It is important not to confuse scientific invention and discovery. While the former must always solve a technical problem in such a way that meets human needs, the latter may be purely speculative, with no direct industrial application. The models and industrial designs, meanwhile, bring a new aesthetic to the object's configuration.

Types of Exclusive Rights

The exclusive rights over industrial creations are of two kinds:

1. Substantive background creations: These are inventions on the merits.
2. Form-based creations: These are of an ornamental nature, specifically models and industrial or artistic designs (models and drawings).

In both cases, protection is an exception to the principle of fair competition by granting a temporary exclusive right in favor of its owner.

Basis of Exclusive Rights

The basis of the exclusive right varies with the kind of industrial creations:

• Creations or inventions on the merits: Their purpose is to promote economic growth and encourage technological research. The inventor, in exchange for exclusivity, will reveal the new technical regulations.
• Temporal limitations: This right is limited temporarily because the general interest requires eventual free use.
• Exploitation requirements: In addition, for this interest, there is an imposed charge of exploiting the research.

Modern Legislation and the European Union

The rights in inventions have been the subject of legislation enacted in recent years because of the need for industry to have modern legal instruments and our entry into the European Union.

The patent law is designed to influence the organization of the economy and promote research and technological development, superseding the criteria and principles enshrined in the Statute of Industrial Property of 1929, which was repealed in the part concerning patents and utility models. Moreover, this law wants to bring our legal system in line with the rules in force in most industrialized countries, especially members of the European Union.

Applicable Regulations

The rules of Law No. 11/1986 on patents apply only to substantive industrial creations (patents and utility models). Industrial creations of form (models and industrial designs) are still governed by the Industrial Property Statute.