With the advancement of technology and the area of software and mobile application development, emerge new mechanisms for copyright protection. Today patenting an app in Spain is almost an obligation if we don't want our good ideas to be taken advantage of by third parties, but legally there are obstacles. If you do not know the procedure and you want to solve your doubts about it, in this post you will find the most relevant information.
We analyze the steps to patent an app in Spain and protect your content and software development. We tell you how much it costs and which experts you should consult with to advance when it comes to protecting your source code and everything related to your app, from the moment of its conception to its development and effective application.
What is the use of patenting an app?
Patenting an app in Spain or in any other country, serves to protect our work and avoid future plagiarism. As with the creation of audiovisual content, video games or texts, patenting is guaranteeing that the authorship is ours and preventing someone from taking advantage of what we create and trying to use it to earn money without our consent.
Can we patent an app?
Patenting an app should be easy, since it is about protecting our creation, but legally it is not possible. Like computer programs or software, an application is not susceptible to being patented. Law 24/2015 on Patents in its article 4.4 indicates that “they shall not be considered inventions in the sense of the previous sections, in particular: C) the plans, rules and methods for the exercise of intellectual activities, for games or for economic activities -commercial, as well as computer programs”.
This legal text explains, in a few words, that a computer program cannot be patented. The apps are included inside, therefore, patenting an app in Spain is impossible. But, made the law made the trap, they say. And there are some exceptions that would allow us to advance in the action of patenting a mobile application. If we manage to meet certain criteria, the software could be patentable. These include having a technical nature or providing innovative solutions for different actions.
The requirements to patent an app
According to the requirements of the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office, inventions can only be recognized as such and patented if they meet these requirements:
- It is new and has no prior disclosure.
- It is differentiated by an inventive step not obvious to an expert in the specific technology.
- It is capable of industrial application, which implies that it must be possible to physically manufacture said invention.
Al apply these ideas to software, we find ourselves with the limitation of industrial manufacturing. However, we can find as a justification to patent our app that it provides a novel solution to a problem or need.
Does my app offer a novel solution?
The concept of novel solution responds to a unique and new software or app worldwide. An expert in the field has to confirm it, and there can be no similar technology anywhere else in the world. Another requirement is autonomous interaction with the environment, which makes the process of app patenting somewhat complex.
At a time level, the procedure can take several months. The procedure costs from 2.000 euros onwards, and it is an investment that you should only consider if we are sure that we are working with a totally and completely new application.
Other actions to protect your app
If patent the app in Spain not possible, because the requirements are very demanding, there are other protection alternatives. We may register a trademark, establish app copyright, or use Internet Safe Creative or Creative Commons registrations that ensure that you are the creator of the app and its features.
How to check if an app or invention is already patented?
The Internet has a wide variety of web tools that help you find out if your idea is patented or not. There are web portals dedicated entirely to the search for patents, in order to help you separate those components and elements that already have a worldwide patent, and in this way know if you will be able to advance in patenting your app in Spain or not.
- The Patentscope website, for example, gives you access to international patent applications. All nations that have signed the Patent Cooperation Treaty are included.
- You can also check locally the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office, which has its own search engine called Invenes that works with Latin American patents, utility models and designs.
- Espacenet is another of the web pages dedicated to the search and exhibition of patents worldwide. Provides results from the European Patent Office database.
