The 1986 Spanish Patent Act has died of natural causes in Madrid, aged 31. Its successor, Law 24/2015, saw the light of day on Saturday 1 April, after a 21-month gestation period, thanks to the publication of its Implementing Regulation in the Official State Journal right on the deadline that had been established to that end. The SPTO’s enormous effort to take the Regulation forward paid off in extremis, guaranteeing safe delivery.
We are now up against a new grant procedure, a new judicial system, new challenges and strategies, as well as new unknowns. This is something that we lawyers have been well accustomed to since 1986 –precisely when the Act to which we are now bidding a nostalgic farewell came into force-, when the profound transformation of Spanish industrial and intellectual property legislation got underway.
We are now up against a new grant procedure, a new judicial system, new challenges and strategies, as well as new unknowns. This is something that we lawyers have been well accustomed to since 1986 –precisely when the Act to which we are now bidding a nostalgic farewell came into force-, when the profound transformation of Spanish industrial and intellectual property legislation got underway.
In times of change, let us recall what the current Nobel Prize in Literature winner, Bob Dylan, had sung in his classic “Forever Young”: “may you have a strong foundation when the winds of changes shift”. Long live the new Patent Act and good luck to everyone.
N.B. For a more detailed explanation of Law 24/2015, please check here our posts published in 2015 and 2016.
Author: Antonio Castán
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