Who awards the patents? |
In Spain, they are regulated by the Patents Law 11/1986, of 20 March 1986. According to this law, a patent is valid for 20 years as of when the application is made. Patent holders must pay annual taxes. |
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The Spanish Patents and Trademarks Office is responsible for assessing whether the patent is accepted and ensuring that it is used correctly. |
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At European level, we have the European Patent Office which offers a single procedure that allows patents to be awarded simultaneously in 40 European countries, in accordance with the international Patent Cooperation Treaty. |
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Assessment of whether a patent can be awarded or not is based on the European Patent Convention. |
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At the international level, there is the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) which regulates patents. By adhering to the Patent Cooperation Treaty it awards patents using a single procedure: however, there is no one single patent that can be applied worldwide. Therefore, it is the owner of the invention who has to decide in which countries they wish to protect it and, therefore, which office they should approach to make an application for a patent or patents. |
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In 2001, the World Trade Organization (WTO) drew up the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights which sets out the guidelines at international level for assessing whether an invention is patentable or not and under what terms. |
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Among its many activities, the Science Commons movement works to achieve the application of less restrictive licences to patents. We should stress that if an invention has been made public in any shape or form (website, article, etc.), it can no longer be patented. |
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