• Summer Course UIMP-SPTO 2016
• New positions for examiners, computer specialists and legal experts at the SPTO
• Improvements adopted by the SPTO
• New report on ‘Technologies to mitigate Climate Change 2004-2015’
• Visit by the KIPA Korean association to the SPTO

Summer Course UIMP-SPTO 2016

11-15 July were the dates for the seminar on'Protecting innovations in Spain: the new Patent Law’ held at the Palacio de la Magdalena in Santander and organised jointly by the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (SPTO) and the Universidad Internacional Menéndez Pelayo (UIMP). This year the course covered the changes introduced by the new Law 24/2015 of 24 July on Patents due to enter into force on 1 April 2017, and the opinions of the public and private sector on them. The new regulations implementing the law were also presented.

Five sessions
The first, entitled 'Protecting innovations in a global economy' was opened by the Under-Secretary for Industry, Energy and Tourism (and President of the SPTO), who was followed by the Spokesperson and Member of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and the President of the European Patent Office (EPO). They spoke of the importance of the new Patent Law in that it will bring Spain into line with its neighbouring countries, with the new Trademark Directive and with the protection of innovation on a European level.

During the second and third sessions, various representatives of the SPTO and the President of the Official Association of Industrial Property Agents (COAPI) spoke about the new Patent Law, its timing and implementation and the points of view of IP professionals.

The fourth and fifth sessions enabled representatives of the public and private sectors to express their opinions and concerns regarding the new law. On behalf of the public sector, the speakers were researchers from public research bodies such as the Spanish Higher Centre for Scientific Research (CSIC), from universities (OTRI Industrial Liaison Office at the University of Granada) and from the Ministry for the Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO), who explained the link between technology transfer and the new law. The private sector was represented by large corporations such as Repsol and the Cantabrian SME Wedge Global, and focused on the aspects of the Law that have the greatest impact on the corporate sector.

All the sessions closed with an open round table discussion among all those present. The closing speeches were given by the Rector of the UIMP and the Director General of the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office.