Oficina española de Patentes y Marcas

The SPTO, aware of the importance of obtaining the State-of-the-Art Report (IET) before the end of the priority year, and in the interest of possible internationalisation of same, has developed plans to streamline delivery of same.

However, for the SPTO to prepare the IET, the applicant must request it and, if applicable, pay the corresponding fee. This step can be carried out as soon as the patent application has been submitted and until end of one of the two following periods, whichever is later:

• Fifteen months from the submission or priority date, as applicable.
• One month after publication in the BOPI of continuation of the procedure.

The STPO has observed that applicants sometimes allow the period for paying the fee to run out and, therefore, the SPTO, while still able to prepare it, must wait to prepare the corresponding IET.

For this reason, if you wish to speed up preparation and transfer of the IET, you are advised not to let the aforementioned deadlines lapse and to pay the fee as soon as possible.

In addition, if you want your patent to be granted as soon as possible, you should request processing of your application under the Fast-Track Patent Granting Programme (CAP). For more information, see the “Inventions/National patents/Fast-track national patent granting programme (CAP)”.