Electronic filings at the SPTO
The Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (SPTO), as part of its firm commitment towards electronic Administration, has recently implemented a series of services through its webpage (www.oepm.es) which helps to provide individuals, as well as SME's, protection on their patents, trademarks and industrial designs:
- Electronic filing for Patents and Utility Models: March 2009
- Improvements in the area of electronic filing for Trademarks and Trade Names: April 2009
- Electronic renewal of Trademarks and Trade Names: April 2009
- Official Bulletin of Industrial Property (BOPI) on a daily basis: May 2009
- Improvements in the area of electronic payment: November 2008
On March 18, 2009 the SPTO implemented the electronic filing system for Patents and Utility Models.
The system has been widely accepted among applicants since, despite so little time having passed since its implementation, 20% of all Patents applications filed at the SPTO used this procedure.
In the case of Utility Models, the percentage was even higher: 28% of all applications were processed electronically.
Improvements made to the electronic filing of Trademarks and Trade Names will undoubtedly increase the success of this service, which is backed by data on the systems' use in 2008: 64% of trademark applications and 67% of trade name applications that were sent to the SPTO used this route. This trend has slightly increased so far this year, reaching 68% and 72%, respectively.
Moreover, other advantages that should be mentioned include electronic filings, both for Trademarks and Trade Names, as well as for that of Patents and Utility Models, make up a 15% reduction of the application fee.
In reference to electronic Payment through the SPTO webpage, thanks to improvements introduced at the end of last year, 81% of all payments made to the SPTO for the period January to April of this year have been made using this procedure.
