Law and Practice
1. Trade Mark and Copyright Law
1.1 Governing Law
Governing Law on Copyright
Copyright is statutory and governed mainly by the Portuguese
Copyright and Related Rights Code (Código do Direito de
Autor e dos Direitos Conexos), enacted by Decree-Law No 63/85
of 14 March, as amended (most recently by Law No 47/2023).
Nature
Copyright protection is automatic, it arises upon the creation
of an original work, without any registration requirement.
Recognition of Common Law Copyright
Portugal is a civil law country, not a common law jurisdiction.
Therefore, there is no common law copyright.
However, unregistered works are still protected by law, not by
custom or precedent.
