The Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (OEPM) is the competent authority in Spain, whilst at European level this role is fulfilled by the European Patent Office (EPO). Furthermore, the European Patent Convention allows protection to be obtained through a single patent application in any of the Convention’s member states. At the University of Seville, the Secretariat for Knowledge Transfer and Entrepreneurship is responsible for managing the industrial property generated with the participation of this institution.

TYPES OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY:

• PATENT: Documents published by an Industrial Property Office that recognise an individual or company as the author of an invention and grant them the exclusive right to use and exploit it for a period of time: in Spain, 20 years must elapse before it enters the public domain.
• UTILITY MODELS: regulated by Law 11/1986, this grants exclusive rights over an invention of a lower level than a patent, at a lower cost and protected for 10 years. This type of protection exists only in Spain.
• INDUSTRIAL DESIGNS: any distinctive feature of an object relating to its external appearance may be registered as a design. The duration of protection varies from country to country, but ranges from 5 to 25 years.
• TRADEMARKS AND TRADE NAMES: signs capable of being represented graphically (words, images, figures, drawings, etc.) which serve to distinguish a company’s products or services in the market. The term of protection varies but can be renewed indefinitely.
• SEMICONDUCTOR TOPOGRAPHIES: These are a series of interconnected images representing the three-dimensional structure of the layers that make up the semiconductor product. They protect the layout of the various layers and elements that make up an integrated circuit.