Only process patents were protected in Portugal before the Industrial Property Code of 1995 entered into force and before Portugal ratified the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) in 1996. Following these events both process patents and the products themselves now have patent protection. This article provides a summary analysis of the key issues involved in this change in patent protection in Portugal, including the validity of patents, the reversal of the burden of proof and the doctrine of equivalents.

This article is part of the global guide to IP law. For a full list of jurisdictional Q&As visit www.practicallaw.com/ip-guide.