PORTUGAL Law and Practice Contributed by: Ana Rita Paínho, Mariana Costa Pinto and Leonor Ruano Silveira, SÉRVULO
8. Litigating Trade Mark and Copyright Claims 8.1 Special Procedural Provisions for Trade Mark or Copyright Proceedings Portugal has a specialised Intellectual Property Court, which has exclusive jurisdiction over trade mark and copyright disputes, including infringe - ment claims, validity challenges and enforce - ment matters. It is divided into three sections, each with a single judge ruling on cases, without jury involvement. If technical or scientific issues arise, the judge may appoint a technical advisor, though this is rare in trade mark and copyright cases. While proceedings follow general civil litigation principles, specific provisions allow for urgent interim measures, such as injunctions, to prevent ongoing infringement. Judges are assigned randomly to cases, and parties have no influence over their selection. 8.2 Effect of Registration A registered trade mark is legally presumed val - id, placing the burden of proof on the defendant in revocation or invalidity claims. Despite registration, if a trade mark owner has allowed the alleged infringing mark to coexist for a period of five years (see 5.1 Timeframes for Filing an Opposition or Cancellation ) or if the mark is particularly susceptible to challeng - es based on lack of genuine use, any defence relying on that trade mark will be significantly weakened. 8.3 Costs of Litigating Infringement Actions The costs of a trade mark or copyright infringe - ment action in Portugal depend on court fees, attorney fees, expert opinions and potential damages assessments. Court fees vary based on the claim value, and legal representation is
with certain copyright cases, may be referred to an Arbitration Court. 7.8 Effect of Trade Mark and Copyright Office Decisions Decisions made by the INPI are administra - tive and can be challenged in court. Since infringement decisions are issued by the Intel - lectual Property Court, while INPI’s administra - tive decisions pertain to matters outlined in 5.5 Legal Remedies Against the Decision of the Trade Mark Office , there is no direct correlation between them in terms of infringement. 7.9 Counterfeiting and Bootlegging Counterfeiting includes the unauthorised repro - duction, imitation or use of registered trade marks and copyrighted works. Trade mark coun - terfeiting involves manufacturing, distributing or selling goods with counterfeit marks, while copyright counterfeiting includes unauthorised reproduction or distribution of protected works. Criminal penalties include imprisonment and fines, and civil remedies allow for injunctions, damages and seizure or destruction of counter - feit goods. Bootlegging, referring to the unauthorised recording, reproduction or distribution of perfor - mances without the consent of the rights holder, is also prohibited. This applies to live concerts, theatrical performances and other public exhi - bitions. Unauthorised commercial exploitation of these recordings can lead to criminal liability, with penalties including imprisonment and fines, and destruction of illegal recordings.
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