Within the field of legal protection of inventions, Industrial Property is a fundamental asset. Patents and trademarks play a key role in the protection of intangible assets in general and, in particular, in the pharmaceutical sector.
Within the field of legal protection of inventions, Industrial Property is a fundamental asset. Patents and trademarks play a key role in the protection of intangible assets in general and, in particular, in the pharmaceutical sector.
Another way of disseminating the key aspects of Industrial Property studied at CEFI is through our courses and seminars. These focus on the most current and relevant topics and encourage debate in order to gather different perspectives. They serve as an important meeting point for leading experts in industrial property.
CEFI has been working in the field of Industrial Property for 38 years and has collaborated in, and actively contributed to, legislative reforms such as patent laws, patent law exceptions like the Bolar exemption, and the manufacturing waiver for export purposes of the Supplementary Protection Certificate (SPC).
CEFI was a pioneer in promoting judicial training in commercial matters, raising awareness of the importance of equipping the judiciary with judges specialized in this field, given its necessary technical complexity. Once the commercial courts were established, CEFI participated for more than a decade in the training of commercial court judges, specifically in industrial property matters, under an agreement with the General Council of the Judiciary. This training is currently provided by the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office.
Judicial protection of patents is also one of our key concerns. The effectiveness of interim measures to ensure the cessation of infringement, the importance of compensation for damages, the challenge of conveying the complexity of patent litigation, and the need to understand the R&D process—during which a significant portion of patent protection time is lost—are among the crucial issues to which CEFI has devoted, and continues to devote, its efforts.
Our approach to Industrial Property is national and, above all, European, derived from the European patent system, harmonized European legislation, and the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union.
CEFI takes part in public consultation procedures for draft legislation by submitting observations and comments that contribute to the drafting of legal texts. In the section Foundation > Activities > Public Consultation Procedures on this website, you can review the specific processes in which we have participated. In the field of industrial property, we particularly highlight: observations on the transposition of the Trademark Directive; submissions on the Draft Bill for the partial amendment of the Trademark Law; comments on the Draft Royal Decree approving the Regulations of Law 24/2015 of 24 July on Patents; and submissions on the Draft Ministerial Order amending the maximum time limits for certain stages of patent grant and registration procedures.