NEW SPANISH TRADEMARK LAW PROJECT AVAILABLE

15-May-2017


After the approval of the European Parliament and Council Directive 2015/2436, Spain is getting ready to prepare the necessary amendments to its current law in order to harmonize the system with every country on the EU.

One of the most noticeable novelties is that trademarks will no longer need to be represented in graphic form, opening the door to unconventional trademarks such as smells and sounds. 

Also, the request for proof of use of the base mark by opponents is introduced. 
Lastly, the Spanish distinction between well-known and notorious trademark disappears, only the former remaining.

The amendments will enter into force in 14 January 2019. 

Full text of the bill, in Spanish, here.

THE SPANISH SUPREME COURT REVERSES THE COPYRIGHT LEVY SYSTEM

22-December-2016
The Spanish Supreme Court repelle don November 10 the Royal Decree that allocated the compensation for private copy to the State anual Budget (Real Decreto 1657/2012 of 7 December) as it did not guarantee the cost of compesation was burdened on actual users of such copies.
The Court of Justice of the European Union had previously in its ruling Padawan decided that the Spanish system of private copy compensation, that levied storing equipment regardless of its actual use, was against European law. The Spanish Government then decided to charge these levies to the State Annual Budget.


The Supreme Court has based their decision to overturn the Royal Decree in the same European Court doctrine. We will now have to wait for the development of a new system in harmony with European law. 

COLLECTIVE MARK FOR OFFICIAL SPANISH PATENT AND TRADEMARK AGENTS CREATED

10 – February – 2016
The Official Association of Patent and Trademark Agents of Spain (COAPI) has created the collective trademark “PI AGENTE DE LA PROPIEDAD INDUSTRIAL COLEGIADO” in class 45, as reproduced below: 


This mark can only be used by official agents after passing the required examination and having registered with the COAPI.  

This initiative is part of the COAPI mission to guarantee and defend a high standard in the services provided in maters of patents and trademarks by their registered agents. 

EMPS, who counts among its partners with official agent Victoria Sofía Martín, welcomes this initiative and always recommend to have intellectual property matters entrusted to official agents in order to obtain a rigorous and professional service.

More information (in Spanish): www.coapi.org

NEW SPANISH PATENT ACT PUBLISHED

30-July-2015
The new Spanish Patent Act has ended its parliamentary procedure and been approved on 24 July. This new law, that will repeal the current 1986 Patent Act, will enter into force in 1 April 2017.
The main and most awaited feature of the new act is the introduction of a system where patents will only be granted with prior examination of novelty and inventive step. This change means to align Spain with international regulations and favour the creation of a strong patent ecosystem. The current law lets the applicant choose between undertaking the substantive exam (and obtain a “strong” patent) or only a formal exam (“weak patent”).
Another novelty oriented at fostering a more innovative economy is the reduction of fees and the first three annuities in 50% for medium and small enterprises as well as for entrepreneurs.
Lastly, we highlight the novelties concerning utility models, by far the most common titles among Spanish inventors. With the new law, the geographical scope of tge state of the art affecting utility models will be global, the same as for patents (not only Spain as it is today). Utility models will also see its material scope extended to the field of chemicals.
 Any questions? Send us and email : Emps@emps.es


EMPS IN SAN DIEGO FOR INTA MEETING

15 - April - 2015

The Annual Meeting of the International Trademark Association (INTA), will be held from May 2 to 6 in San Diego, California. The meeting will be the largest to date, with more than 9.500 participants from over 150 countries.

The meeting is the perfect occasion to meet with clients, business partners and friends, while learning about the most important developments in trademark law. 

Esquivel Martín Pinto & Sessano will be there, like every year, represented by partner Adrián Esquivel. 

More info: www.inta.org

MOROCCO TO ACCEPT EUROPEAN PATENTS

30 – March - 2015

Starting on March 1, 2015, European Patents will be accepted to full legal effect in the Morocco national territory. This is the first non-member state of the European Patent Organisation to introduce such a measure. Applicants of European patents will be able at application stage to request validation for Morocco. These patents will have the same status as national patents and will be subject to Moroccan law. The EPO has entered into validation agreements with two further non-member states, Moldova and Tunisia, but this is the first ever to come into force. The number of countries where patent protection can be obtained with a single application with EPO is now of 41.
More info at http://www.epo.org/news-issues/news/2015/20150119.html

GOOGLE NEWS TO SHUT OPERATIONS IN SPAIN

11-December-2014


The news service hosted by Google (“Google News”) will shut operations on December 16th in Spain as a result of the recent reform in Intellectual Property regulation.

Google News is a section within the popular search engine that offers news headlines and snippets, as well as links to news websites. Under the new intellectual property law, that will be in force from January 1st, 2015, the reproduction of news by search engines and news aggregators will generate an unwaivable right for economic compensation for news publishers.  Google News has declared this to be “non-sustainable” and has decided to suspend the service in Spain.


Google News is a controversial issue across Europe, and each country is testing different methods to compensate the publishing sector for their alleged loss to the search engine. Germany has opted for a similar regulation, with the difference that news publishers may waive their rights to the compensation fee if they want. France decided last year on a completely different approach, and Google and the Government signed an agreement to share their advertising revenue with the publishing industry. 
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