PORTUGAL Law and Practice Contributed by: Ana Rita Paínho, Mariana Costa Pinto and Leonor Ruano Silveira, SÉRVULO
3. Copyright Ownership, Protection and Rights 3.1 Types of Copyrightable Works Portuguese copyright law protects a broad range of intellectual creations, including literary works (books, articles, speeches), musical com - positions (with or without lyrics), dramatic and choreographic works, audiovisual productions (films, TV shows and radio programmes), artis - tic works (paintings, sculptures, photographs, architecture), and scientific works. Additionally, software and databases that exhibit creativity and originality are protected. Industrial designs may also receive copyright protection if they are original and possess artis - tic value, independent of protections available under industrial property law. 3.2 Essential Elements of Copyright Protection For a work to qualify for copyright protection, it must be an original intellectual creation. This means it must reflect the personal imprint of its creator and not be a mere copy of existing material. Copyright protection arises automati - cally upon the creation of the work, and it is not dependent on formal registration, publication or public disclosure. Although the CDADC does not explicitly man - date fixation, copyright protection generally requires that the work be expressed in a form that can be perceived or reproduced, whether tangible or otherwise perceivable, even if only temporarily. Purely abstract ideas or concepts without concrete expression do not qualify for protection.
commence within five years of registration and continue without prolonged interruptions, unless justified by valid reasons. 2.5 Notices and Symbols Use of symbols is optional. Possible markings are the ® symbol, Marca Registada or MR. Using the ® symbol without a registered trade mark may constitute unfair competition or false advertising under the law. 2.6 Related Rights A logo, as a trade mark, may also be protected by copyright or related rights, provided that it meets the requirements of copyright protection with respect to the originality of an intellectu - al creation in the literary, scientific and artistic fields, regardless of their genre, form of expres - sion, merits, method of communication and pur - pose. When a trade mark is a surname, moral rights, as protected under Copyright Law, must be carefully considered. Surnames can be regis - tered as trade marks if they are distinctive and not misleading. However, their registration must respect the moral rights of individuals who bear the name. Additionally, the authorisation of the person whose name or image is included in the trade mark, unless that person is the applicant itself, is required for registration. The existence of previous copyright protection over a similar work might be grounds for a trade mark application refusal as well as grounds for a revocation action.
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