On February 6th, the Director of the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (SPTO) approved the new guidelines for the uniform prosecution of the different types of intellectual property titles that are handled by the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (SPTO).

In particular, the guidelines include sections on:

– Examination of patent applications
– Granting, opposition, and limitation procedures, and search reports related to patent applications and utility models
– Granting procedure related to semiconductor topographies
– Granting and opposition procedures related to industrial designs

The new guidelines are not binding, and therefore do not constitute legal provisions to be enforced against third parties. The guidelines intend to provide an effective guidance on the practices carried out by the SPTO, reflect the relevant court decisions, and interpret the applicable regulations.

The new guidelines can be downloaded at the following link