Full patent registration (OEPM / EPO / unitary patent / PCT)

Full patent registration (OEPM / EPO / unitary patent / PCT) is filed with Oficina Española de Patentes y Marcas (OEPM). With Managora you do it 100% online: you answer a few questions, sign a digital mandato (power of representation) and we draft, sign and file your application for you. Estimated total cost: from €658. Official tasa (government fee): The OEPM charges a tasa (official fee) for this application. With electronic filing (which is always how we file, and already with the 15 % reduction): application 87,03 €, search report on the state of the art 593,65 € and substantive examination 337,96 €, that is 1.018,64 € to get started. If you qualify for the 50 % reduction as an individual entrepreneur, an SME or a public university (art. 186.1 of Ley 24/2015), those three fees come down to 43,52 €, 296,83 € and 168,98 €, that is 509,33 €. From the third year onwards, increasing annual fees are payable to keep the patent alive. The European (EPO), unitary (PUE) and international (PCT) routes also carry the fees of those offices. We tell you the exact amount that applies to you before you pay anything.

We prepare and file your full patent application with the OEPM (the Spanish Patent and Trade Mark Office), the EPO (European patent), the patent with unitary effect (PUE) or the international route (PCT), and we run the file through to the end. It protects technical inventions in any field (products, processes, chemistry, biotechnology), and lasts 20 years from the filing date. In Spain the substantive examination is not automatic: it has to be requested and its tasa (official fee) paid within the deadline (art. 39 of Ley 24/2015), and we take care of that. We check that the subject matter is not excluded under art. 4 of Ley 24/2015 (discoveries, abstract methods, computer programs 'as such', therapeutic methods) and that the three requirements for protection are met; if your invention is merely an object with a particular shape or structure and you would rather keep costs down, we suggest the modelo de utilidad (utility model), which we also handle. The grant is for the OEPM to decide: what we answer for is our work and the technical defence of the file.

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Estimated total cost: from €658
Managora's fee: €180.29 (21% VAT incl.)
Tasa (official government fee): The OEPM charges a tasa (official fee) for this application. With electronic filing (which is always how we file, and already with the 15 % reduction): application 87,03 €, search report on the state of the art 593,65 € and substantive examination 337,96 €, that is 1.018,64 € to get started. If you qualify for the 50 % reduction as an individual entrepreneur, an SME or a public university (art. 186.1 of Ley 24/2015), those three fees come down to 43,52 €, 296,83 € and 168,98 €, that is 509,33 €. From the third year onwards, increasing annual fees are payable to keep the patent alive. The European (EPO), unitary (PUE) and international (PCT) routes also carry the fees of those offices. We tell you the exact amount that applies to you before you pay anything. (suplido: paid to the authority on your behalf, no VAT)
Processing time: We file the application as soon as the description and the claims are finalised. After that the timing is set by the OEPM: around 24-36 months across the search report on the state of the art, the substantive examination and the six months of opposition following the grant (art. 43 of Ley 24/2015). If granted, the patent lasts 20 years from the filing date (art. 58), with no further renewal, and is kept alive by paying annual fees.
Where it is filed: Oficina Española de Patentes y Marcas (OEPM) ↗
What you receive: Application

Cost breakdown: Our fee 149 € plus the OEPM tasas (official fees). With the 50 % reduction and electronic payment, the start-up fees (application, search report on the state of the art and substantive examination) come to 509,33 €, a total from 658 €. Without the reduction, those three fees come to 1.018,64 €, a total of around 1.168 €. On top of that come the annual fees from the third year and, if you choose the EPO, the unitary patent or the PCT, the fees of those offices..

Full patent registration (OEPM / EPO / unitary patent / PCT): how is it filed?

1Answer the questions in the chat (around 15 minutes, given the greater technical complexity).
2Exhaustive search of the state of the art (Espacenet, Patentscope, Google Patents).
3We check the exclusions under art. 4 of Ley 24/2015, the three requirements for protection and, if there has been an earlier disclosure, whether it falls within the non-prejudicial disclosures of art. 7.
4Payment of our fee (149 €) and of the OEPM tasas (application, search report on the state of the art and substantive examination), whose exact amount we tell you beforehand.
5Signature of the mandato (mandate) from your mobile.
6We draft the description, the claims and the drawings, and we handle all the technical exchanges with the OEPM.
7Online filing of the application and payment of the application fee + the search report fee (IET).
8Receipt of the search report on the state of the art (IET) and the preliminary opinion.
9Request for the substantive examination within 3 months of the search report (with payment of the fee).
10Substantive examination and reply to any objections from the OEPM.
11Grant, and monitoring of the 6-month deadline for post-grant oppositions.
12Payment of increasing annual fees from year 3 onwards.

Which documents do you need?

•A detailed description of the invention.
•Claims (at least 1 independent claim + dependent claims).
•Technical drawings.
•An abstract for publication.
•If you claim priority: a certified copy of the first application filed in another country.
•If biological material is involved: a deposit with a recognised authority (Budapest Treaty).
•If the applicant is a legal entity: a power of attorney.

Legal basis and things to bear in mind

OEPM fees currently in force (tariffs in force, electronic filing and payment, already with the 15 % reduction): application 87,03 €, search report on the state of the art 593,65 €, substantive examination 337,96 €. Start-up total 1.018,64 €. On paper: 102,39 €, 698,42 € and 397,61 €. With the 50 % reduction for an individual entrepreneur, an SME or a public university (art. 186.1 of Ley 24/2015) and electronic payment: 43,52 €, 296,83 € and 168,98 €, a start-up total of 509,33 €. If you claim priority, 17,04 € for each priority claimed. After that, increasing annual fees from the third year to keep the patent alive. We confirm the exact amount that applies to you before you pay anything.
Term: 20 years from the filing date, NOT renewable beyond that. Annual fees are compulsory to keep it in force.
In Spain there is NO general grace period for your own disclosure: anything you have made public (website, trade fair, article, sale) forms part of the state of the art and destroys novelty (art. 6.2 of Ley 24/2015). Only non-prejudicial disclosures made in the preceding six months are disregarded, and only on two exhaustive grounds: an evident abuse against the applicant, or display at an official or officially recognised exhibition, which must be declared on filing and evidenced with a certificate (art. 7). If there has been a disclosure, we assess whether it fits and tell you the way forward.
Convenio de París (Paris Convention): 12-month priority from the first application filed in another country.
The substantive examination is not carried out automatically: it must be requested and its fee paid from the date of filing and, at the latest, within the three months following the publication of the search report on the state of the art; otherwise, the application is deemed withdrawn (art. 39.2 of Ley 24/2015 and art. 33 of RD 316/2017). We monitor that deadline, we request the examination and we reply to the written opinion.
Third-party opposition: POST-GRANT, within a 6-month deadline (art. 43 LP, the Patents Act). Different from trade marks and designs.
Excluded from the concept of an invention (art. 4 LP): pure discoveries, mathematical methods, computer programs 'as such', presentations of information, therapeutic/surgical methods. Software with a tangible technical effect IS patentable as a computer-implemented invention (CIIO).
Difference from the modelo de utilidad (utility model): a patent protects processes, chemistry and biotech (a utility model does NOT); it involves a substantive examination (a utility model does NOT); it lasts 20 years (a utility model, 10).
Recommendation: for cross-border sectors (chemicals, pharma, biotech), a European EPO patent or a unitary patent (PUE) is usually more efficient (protection in 17-38 countries with a single application).

Full patent registration (OEPM / EPO / unitary patent / PCT): frequently asked questions

Full patent registration (OEPM / EPO / unitary patent / PCT): how much does it cost?

The estimated total cost (our fee + official tasas and taxes) is from €658: Our fee 149 € plus the OEPM tasas (official fees). With the 50 % reduction and electronic payment, the start-up fees (application, search report on the state of the art and substantive examination) come to 509,33 €, a total from 658 €. Without the reduction, those three fees come to 1.018,64 €, a total of around 1.168 €. On top of that come the annual fees from the third year and, if you choose the EPO, the unitary patent or the PCT, the fees of those offices.. Managora's fee is €180.29, 21% VAT included (€149.00 net + €31.29 VAT). The official tasa charged by the authority (a suplido paid on your behalf, no VAT) is: The OEPM charges a tasa (official fee) for this application. With electronic filing (which is always how we file, and already with the 15 % reduction): application 87,03 €, search report on the state of the art 593,65 € and substantive examination 337,96 €, that is 1.018,64 € to get started. If you qualify for the 50 % reduction as an individual entrepreneur, an SME or a public university (art. 186.1 of Ley 24/2015), those three fees come down to 43,52 €, 296,83 € and 168,98 €, that is 509,33 €. From the third year onwards, increasing annual fees are payable to keep the patent alive. The European (EPO), unitary (PUE) and international (PCT) routes also carry the fees of those offices. We tell you the exact amount that applies to you before you pay anything..

Full patent registration (OEPM / EPO / unitary patent / PCT): how long does it take?

We file the application as soon as the description and the claims are finalised. After that the timing is set by the OEPM: around 24-36 months across the search report on the state of the art, the substantive examination and the six months of opposition following the grant (art. 43 of Ley 24/2015). If granted, the patent lasts 20 years from the filing date (art. 58), with no further renewal, and is kept alive by paying annual fees.

Full patent registration (OEPM / EPO / unitary patent / PCT): which documents do I need?

You need to have to hand: A detailed description of the invention., Claims (at least 1 independent claim + dependent claims)., Technical drawings., An abstract for publication., If you claim priority: a certified copy of the first application filed in another country., If biological material is involved: a deposit with a recognised authority (Budapest Treaty)., If the applicant is a legal entity: a power of attorney.. You do not upload them here: we collect the details through the guided chat.

Who files the procedure?

Managora files it in your name with Oficina Española de Patentes y Marcas (OEPM). You only provide the details through the chat and sign a mandato (power of representation); we prepare, sign and register it.

Can it be done online?

Yes. The whole process is online: you answer a few questions in the guided chat, sign a simple mandato on screen and receive the receipt and the official documents by email, with full legal validity.

Related procedures

Based on the legislation in force and on the official site of the competent authority: Oficina Española de Patentes y Marcas (OEPM) ↗.

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