Government approves Patent Act to help drive innovation and entrepreneurship

Moncloa Palace, Madrid

The government approved, for submission to Parliament, a Draft Law revising the legal framework for industrial property in Spain through a far-reaching renewal of the Patent Act, dating back to 1986.

The Vice-President of the Government, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, highlighted that the legal framework has been revised in order to offer "greater clarity and fewer administrative burdens" and the system of patents has been strengthened in order "to reward innovative activity".
The Minister for Industry, Energy and Tourism, José Manuel Soria, specified that the aim of the new legislation is to establish a new industrial property regime in Spain based on two tools: patents and utility models.

José Manuel Soria explained that patents are an exclusive right of exploitation granted by the State to the holder of an invention provided that three requirements are met: it must be a new invention, involve an inventive activity and be subject to industrial application. The so-called utility models are lesser patents that do not generate the same rights, and are primarily used by small- and medium-sized companies to introduce mechanical improvements in a certain process.
The aim of the new legislation "is not to maximise the number of patents but rather for those patents to be serious and positive", underlined the minister.

Pool MoncloaJosé Manuel Soria pointed out that there currently exist a plethora of weak patents, with no commercial or economic value, which do not respond to the quality of innovation and investment in Spain. The new legislation, he added, seeks "for all patents granted, whether many or few, to be strong patents".

To that end, they will be subject to a preliminary examination in which it will be necessary to substantiate that the invention to be patented is new and incorporates an inventive activity. "The patent will not be granted if these two requirements are not met", stressed the minister.

The draft law simplifies the process for the patent to be granted, adapts Spanish legislation to EU law and guarantees market unity. The Spanish Patent and Trademark Office will be the only institution that can grant them. Moreover, this will help avoid unjustified technological bubbles. In this regard, the minister pointed out that "some companies have many patents but there is not real inventive activity behind them".
On another note, the new legislation will help drive entrepreneurial initiative, which will include a 50% reduction in the fee to obtain the patent. University patents will also benefit from this reduction, which will amount to 100% if they can show true commercial value after being granted.

Aid for the industrial sector

The Minister for Industry, Energy and Tourism reported on the granting of financial aid to Mercedes-Benz España for a sum of 26,889,947 euros. The aim of this loan is to help finance investments at the Mercedes-Benz factory in Vitoria. This aid will be used to implement the industrialisation of the range of models of the new VS20 vehicle.

The government also authorised the concession of a loan of 15,842,500 euros to Fagor Ederlan under the Industrial Investment Plan 2014. The aim of this loan is to finance various purchases of equipment to help improve and modernise its various production lines.

Furthermore, the Council of Ministers authorised the concession of loans for two programmes in the Cadiz Free Trade Zone for a total amount of 40,800,000 euros.

José Manuel Soria explained that the first programme, with financing of 25,904,000 euros, seeks to give productive use to land that had become idle following the relocation of the company ALTADIS. The second programme, with a provision of 14,896,000 euros, has been earmarked for the implementation of services associated with the development of the industrial land referred to in the previous project.

Electricity prices will fall by more than 3.7% in 2014

Pool MoncloaDuring his speech, the minister recalled that the agenda for reindustrialisation and industrial growth in Spain is based on various pillars: driving competitiveness, reducing logistics and labour costs, the internationalisation of industrial companies, regulatory stability and reducing energy costs in Spain.

On this last point, the minister highlighted that the cost of electricity fell by 3.7% in Spain following an annual rise of 5.9% per annum between 2003 and 2012. "This year, with the forecasts we have available plus those made by the markets for the future, prices will fall by more than the 3.7% they fell by last year", he predicted.

Changes in military career

On another note, the government approved the Draft Bill amending the Military Career Act.

The aim, explained the Vice-President of the Government, is "to modify and resolve the main problems caused by the temporary regime set up in application of the Military Career Act 2007 which, due to its complexity and variety, resulted in countless administrative processes being undertaken with the presentation of more than 30,000 claims by members of the armed forces".

Furthermore, the new legislation has been used to strengthen the ties between the armed forces and personnel that had been forced to abandon their military career due to unexpected incapacity in the line of duty, she added

The main reforms tackled by the draft bill include conditions for non-commissioned officers to become lieutenants, the extension of the transitional period to voluntarily join the reserve corps upon reaching 58 years of age and the concession of honorary posts to pensioners.

Agricultural Insurance Plan 2015

Pool MoncloaThe Council of Ministers also approved the Agreement regulating The Combined Agricultural Insurance Plan for the year 2015. The aim is to support these forms of insurance "as a key instrument for stabilising the revenue from agricultural operations", pointed out Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría.

The government will allocate a little over 204 million euros to the Plan, of which 199 million will be wholly earmarked for subsidising the agricultural insurance of almost half a million activities that subscribe insurance policies annually.

The Vice-President of the Government pointed out that new aspects of the 2015 Plan include increasing the percentages of the subsidy and the possibility of paying the costs of the policies in instalments.

Presidency of the Transparency Council

On another note, the government agreed to propose the appointment of Ester Arizmendi to chair the Transparency and Good Governance Council, the Statute for which was approved on 31 October last. Ester Arizmendi was working until recently as the Director-General of Administrative Modernisation, and will now be publicly interviewed by the corresponding committee in the Lower House of Parliament, where her appointment will depend on the support of an absolute majority.

Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría highlighted that Ester Arizmendi "has spent decades working in the public administration for the benefit of the public administration". In her opinion, this is a "very good proposal" since "the first requirement to control the operation of the public administration is to know it well and the best approach is to be willing to improve it".

Current affairs

Pool MoncloaWhen asked about the alleged delay by the Public Prosecutor's Office in bringing an action for the events of 9 November in Catalonia, the Vice-President of the Government highlighted that this Office, entrusted with "defending legality on the State's behalf", acts independently from the government, in its own good time, and according to its own procedures and mechanisms. The government, she said, will respect its actions, and asked "for the rest of the public authorities to exercise the same respect".

In light of the announcement by the Supreme Court to open an investigation on the former Presidents of the Regional Government of Andalusia, Manuel Chaves and Juan Antonio Griñán in relation to the case of the redundancy plans, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría reiterated the government's respect for legal decisions and procedures and the presumption of innocence granted "to anyone and everyone".

She extended this same respect to the President of the Regional Government of Extremadura, José Antonio Monago, whose explanations on Friday morning regarding his trips to the Canary Islands "we respect and accept".

In response to a question from the press, the Vice-President of the Government asserted that "the recognition of Palestine as a State should be fostered", because the only possible solution to this conflict is the peaceful co-existence of two States side-by-side. In this regard, Spain "wants" to talk with the different Spanish political groups and foster a coordinated response to the European Union.

For his part, the Minister for Industry, Energy and Tourism, José Manuel Soria, confirmed that the compensation paid out for the closure of the Castor gas storage plant was not settled by the government, but rather "by the gas operator", in line with the conditions and requirements included in the 2008 regulation on the concession of the storage plant.