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Intellectual Property Protection for Businesses in Spain: A Legal Guide

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Intellectual Property Protection for Businesses in Spain: A Legal Guide

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Intellectual property (IP) is a key business asset. Whether you’re launching a brand, developing technology, or licensing content, protecting your IP in Spain is essential for long-term success.

This guide explains how foreign and Spanish companies can register, manage, and enforce trademarks, patents, copyrights, and trade secrets.

🧾 What IP Rights Can You Protect in Spain?

  1. Trademarks: Logos, brand names, slogans

  2. Patents: Inventions and technical innovations

  3. Designs: Industrial or product designs

  4. Copyrights: Original works (software, art, text, music)

  5. Trade secrets: Confidential business info, formulas, know-how

Spain also adheres to EU and international treaties, meaning broader protections are available via EUIPO or WIPO.

🏛️ IP Registration Authorities

  • Trademarks & Patents (Spain): Register via OEPM (Oficina Española de Patentes y Marcas)

  • EU Trademarks & Designs: Register via EUIPO

  • International filings: Managed via WIPO (Madrid & Hague Systems)

📝 Trademark Registration in Spain

  1. Conduct a search to check for conflicts

  2. Submit your application online with OEPM or EUIPO

  3. Wait for examination and publication period

  4. Receive approval if no opposition is filed

🔹 Valid for 10 years and renewable indefinitely.

⚙️ Patent Protection in Spain

  • Apply for national patents via OEPM

  • Or use the European Patent Convention

  • Must be novel, inventive, and industrially applicable

  • Protection lasts up to 20 years

📚 Copyright & Software Protection

  • No formal registration required

  • Protection arises automatically upon creation

  • Recommended to use registration services for proof of ownership (e.g., Safe Creative or notarial deposit)

  • Software is protected as a literary work

🧩 Trade Secrets & Confidentiality

  • Must be kept secret and have commercial value

  • Use NDAs (non-disclosure agreements)

  • Protect access to internal systems, client data, algorithms, etc.

⚖️ IP Enforcement in Spain

If your IP is infringed:

  • Send a cease and desist letter

  • Initiate civil litigation in Spanish commercial courts

  • Use border measures to stop counterfeit imports

  • Consider criminal prosecution in severe cases

🤝 How Borderless Lawyers Can Help

We help businesses:

  • Register trademarks, patents, and designs

  • Draft NDAs, IP clauses, and licensing agreements

  • Enforce rights through negotiation or litigation

  • Manage international protection via WIPO and EUIPO

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