Patent and Utility Model Protection

At Padima, we know what innovation costs: hours of development, prototypes, testing, investment, and difficult decisions. To make that innovation profitable, the smartest move is to protect it through a patent or a utility model, depending on the type of invention and your business strategy.

If you wish to file a patent application in Spain, register a utility model, or expand your protection to Europe or internationally, here you will find all the information you need on how the process works -which PADIMA can manage on a fully comprehensive, end‑to‑end basis.

What is a patent and a utility model?

Both patents and utility models are Industrial Property rights that allow their holder to temporarily prevent third parties from manufacturing, selling, or commercially using the invention without authorization. The practical difference is the following:

• Patent: designed for inventions with a higher level of inventive activity (non-obvious technical solutions) and subject to a more demanding grant procedure.
• Utility model: protects inventions for which a lower level of inventive activity is required; it is usually faster and less costly, and typically focuses on functional improvements, although it Is also possible to protect a composition. Is especially well suited to SMEs.

What can be protected?

• Under a patent: a manufacturing process or method, a machine or apparatus, or a product (including, in certain cases, biological material and related processes).
• Under a utility model: objects or products (such as utensils, tools, apparatus, devices, or parts), and even certain chemical products or food products; not processes, biological material, or pharmaceutical substances/compositions.

Requirements for obtaining a patent or utility model

For an invention to be protectable as a patent or utility model, it must essentially meet the following requirements:

• Novelty + inventive step + industrial applicability (and it must not fall within any legal exclusions).
• Non-disclosure prior to filing: public disclosure before the filing date may compromise patentability.
• Sufficient disclosure: in exchange for the patent monopoly, the patent holder must disclose the invention in a manner sufficiently clar and complete for it to be carried out by a person skilled in the art.

How can you obtain a patent in Spain?

There are three routes to obtain a patent with effect in Spain:

• National route (OEPM).
• European route (application before the EPO to obtain a bundle of national patents).
• International route (PCT): A single application providing for the unified international prosecution across contracting states.

Key aspects to keep in mind

Duration of protection

• Patents: 20 years from the filing date.
• Utility models: 10 years.

Patent or Utility model maintenance

Upon grant, renewal fees (annuities) must be paid to maintain the rights starting from the 3rd year (the first two years are covered by the filing fee). Failure to pay will result in the lapse of the right, allowing third parties to exploit the invention.

Furthermore, there is a requirement for exploitation: it must be carried out within 4 years from the filing date or 3 years from the publication of the grant (whichever expires later). Lack of exploitation may lead to compulsory licensing or the lapse of the patent.

At Padima, we manage the entire IP protection lifecycle

If you are seeking an Intellectual Property firm that does more than just file paperwork and instead thinks about risk, business, and enforcement, Padima covers the full spectrum:

• Prior art / state-of-the-art searches to assess novelty and actual patentability prospects.
• Drafting and strategy (specification + claims) to ensure protection is enforceable against copies and competitors.
• Filing and Prosecution at both national and international levels, tailored to the specific regulations of each jurisdiction.
• Freedom to Operate (FTO) for product launches, minimizing the risk of infringing third-party patents and providing legal certainty in the market.
• Technological Watch / Patent Monitoring to track third-party patent and Utility Model (UM) publications, detecting competitor movements and their innovative capacity.