PORTUGAL Law and Practice Contributed by: Jorge Silva Martins, João Carminho and Inês Coré, CS’Associados
• Digital Rights Management (DRM) systems to prevent unauthorised access, copying, or distribution. Special considerations apply to virtual econo - mies, including in-game items and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The legal status of these assets may vary depending on functionality and juris - diction. Trade Mark Laws for Virtual Goods and Services • Trade marks safeguard brand names, logos, and other distinctive elements used in games and related services. In Portugal, trade marks can extend to virtual goods, such as branded in-game and digital assets. • Developers must ensure that virtual goods replicating real-world brands (eg, virtual replicas of branded products) are properly licensed to avoid legal disputes. • A growing trend involves registering trade marks specifically for use in virtual and metaverse environments to protect digital brand identity. Implications of User-Generated Content (UGC) User-generated content (UGC), such as mods, skins, maps, and custom game levels, raises significant IP challenges for game developers: • Ownership disputes: Clear terms of service are essential to define whether UGC owner - ship rights belong to the developer or the user. • IP infringement risks: Developers must active - ly monitor UGC to ensure it does not infringe on third-party copyrights, trade marks, or other legal protections. Failure to do so may result in liability for hosting infringing content.
• Monetisation and licensing: If UGC crea - tors monetise their content (eg, through mod sales, in-game marketplaces, or content- sharing platforms), there must be: (a) defined licensing agreements to clarify usage rights and revenue-sharing models; and (b) clear policies on how UGC can be distrib - uted, modified, or commercialised within the game’s ecosystem. 10. Social Media 10.1 Laws and Regulations for Social Media Main Laws and Regulations Portugal does not have a specific national legal framework for social media. As an EU member state, Portugal is directly subject to EU legisla - tion that impacts social media, either directly or indirectly. Key applicable legal regimes include: • Digital Services Act (DSA) – Regulation (EU) 2022/2065; • General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR); • Portuguese GDPR Implementation Law – Law No 58/2019; • Privacy in Electronic Communications Law – Law No 41/2004; • E-Commerce Law – Decree-Law No 7/2004, governing certain legal aspects of information society services, particularly electronic com - merce, within the internal market; • Portuguese Cybersecurity Law – Law No 46/2018; and • Cybercrime Law – Law No 109/2009.
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