Guía para vivir y trabajar en Bizkaia

A patent is an exclusive right over an invention, or in other words over a product or process which, in general, provides a new way of doing things or a new technical solution to a problem. New inventions that involve an inventive activity and can be applied industrially can be patented. The three fundamental requirements that must be met for an invention to be patentable are as follows:

1. It is new or "novel" across the world
2. It involves an inventive step
3. It can be applied industrially

The following are not considered patentable: discoveries, scientific theories, mathematical methods, literary, scientific, artistic works or any other aesthetic creation, rules and methods for performing intellectual, sporting or economic-commercial activities.

The divulging of an invention, prior to a request for a patent, means that it is no longer "novel" for patent purposes. As a result, if you wish to apply for a patent, any discussion of the invention, whether through a conference talk, in a specialist publication, on the Internet, etc. must take place after the request for a patent has been filed.

Patents are granted by a National Patent Office (In Spain, the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office: www.oepm.es) or by a Regional Office that works with several countries, such as the European Patent Office (EPO) http://www.epo.org. This European system allows protection to be obtained through a request for a European patent deposited in a single patent office (EPO). The request for a European patent processed by the European Patent Office, once granted, has the effect of a national patent in each of the States for which it is granted.

When the work has been created as a result of a commission, the owner of the right will be the commissioner and not the creator.