Portuguese Invention Filings Jump 43 Percent in Eight Months, While Design Applications Fall by More Than a Third

Portuguese inventors and companies filed 973 national applications to protect inventions in the first eight months of 2026, up from 679 in the same period of 2025: a rise of about 43 percent. The provisional figures come from the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI), and were reported by ECO on Tuesday.

The invention category covers patents, which protect a new technical solution such as a machine, an industrial process or a technology, and utility models, a lighter form of protection for less complex inventions. It also includes supplementary protection certificates and international applications entering their national phase in Portugal.

More filings, fewer grants

The rise in applications has not yet turned into more granted rights. The INPI granted 108 invention rights from January to August, down 39.3 percent from 178 a year earlier. That does not mean more applications are being refused: examining a patent takes time, and many of this year's filings will only be decided later.

International filings made through the INPI as receiving office, under the Patent Cooperation Treaty or for a European patent, rose from 50 to 59. Validations of European patents in Portugal slipped 3.2 percent, from 1,323 to 1,281.

Trademarks up almost 10 percent

Trademarks, the largest category by far, also grew. There were 16,826 applications for national trademarks and other distinctive signs, such as the names and insignia of shops and restaurants, against 15,351 a year earlier: 1,475 more, or 9.6 percent. Registrations granted rose 4.9 percent to 13,343.

Portuguese businesses are also looking beyond the domestic market. Applications for European Union trademarks from Portugal rose about 14 percent, from 1,572 to 1,792, while international trademark applications of Portuguese origin fell from 109 to 94. Together, EU and international applications from Portugal grew 12.2 percent. In the other direction, foreign trademarks designating Portugal for protection fell from 653 to 588.

Design falls sharply

The exception is design. The number of objects in national design applications, which protect how a product looks rather than how it works (the shape of a chair, a package or a lamp), dropped 38 percent, from 677 to 420. Design rights granted fell 15.4 percent, to 495.

Yet Portuguese applicants filed more designs at European level: figures from the EU Intellectual Property Office show Portuguese-origin EU design applications up 6.9 percent, from 466 to 498 objects. That suggests part of the fall at home reflects a shift towards EU-wide protection, which covers all member states in a single filing.

What it means for small businesses

For anyone starting a business in Portugal, including the many immigrants who open shops, restaurants and service firms, the trademark numbers are a reminder that a name is not protected just because a company has been registered under it. Registering a company name and registering a trademark are separate procedures. A trademark can be filed online with the INPI, and an EU trademark with the EUIPO, which gives protection across the Union but costs more.

The figures are provisional and cover only January to August. The INPI publishes its full-year statistics in the first months of the following year.