PORTUGAL Law and Practice Contributed by: Miguel Santos Almeida, Maria Novo Baptista and João Saúde, Sérvulo & Associados
The advantage of registration is that it grants the own - er exclusive rights to use the mark for the registered goods and services, the ability to prevent unauthor - ised third-party use, and access to civil and criminal enforcement measures. In Portugal, prior use of a trade mark is not required for obtaining registration, as rights arise from registration rather than use. However, a registered mark must be genuinely used within five consecutive years or may be revoked for non-use. Portugal’s major sports clubs customarily maintain extensive and continuously managed trade mark port - folios covering (inter alia) club names, logos, merchan - dising trade marks, and the denominations of sporting events (such as the Eusébio Cup). Portuguese foot - ball clubs such as Benfica and Sporting were ranked among the most valuable football brands worldwide in 2025. 5.2 Copyright/Database Rights Portugal recognises copyright law through statute, primarily under the Copyright and Related Rights Code (Decree-Law No 63/85). Copyright protection applies automatically to works that are original intellectual creations reflecting the personal imprint of a human author, and that are expressed in a concrete form capable of being per - ceived or reproduced, as copyright does not protect mere ideas or concepts. The protected subject matter must fall within the literary, scientific or artistic fields, which are interpreted broadly and include works such as books, music, films, software, speeches, and cer - tain industrial designs with artistic value. Registration is not required for copyright protection to arise, as rights exist from the moment the work is created, regardless of publication or disclosure. However, voluntary registration can provide practical benefits, particularly as evidence of ownership, a legal presumption of authorship and increased legal cer - tainty in licensing, assignment or dispute situations. Moreover, Portuguese law recognises several defenc - es to copyright infringement, including statutory
exceptions that allow limited use for purposes such as: • private non-commercial use; • criticism or review; • education or scientific activities; and • temporary technical reproductions, provided the use is proportionate and properly attributed. Portuguese law also recognises protection for data - bases, granting automatic copyright protection to those that are original and creative, without any requirement for registration. As an example, the Por - tuguese zerozero database is worth mentioning, as it is the biggest football database that provides detailed statistics, schedules, live results, player profiles, and news covering national and international competi - tions. Built around contributions from a user commu - nity, it focuses primarily on football, with particular emphasis on Portuguese football, while also covering several other sports. 5.3 Recognising Personality/Image Rights Portugal does legally recognise personality rights. This recognition exists primarily by statute. Portuguese law treats image and name as protected personality rights grounded in the Constitution and developed in the Civil Code, which together establish that a person has control over the use of their image and name, particularly against unauthorised commer - cial exploitation. Portugal is a civil law jurisdiction, so there is no free- standing common law right of publicity; instead, courts apply and interpret these statutory personality rights through case law. 5.4 Protecting Personality/Image Rights Although Portugal, as a civil law jurisdiction, does not recognise common law as such, it incorporates con - cepts similar to passing off and unfair competition into its statutory legal framework to protect unregistered signs and personal attributes, including an individual’s name or image. Even without trade mark registration, Portuguese law allows actions based on unfair competition or mis -
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