An International Guide to
Patent Case Management for Judges

12.7.3 Other actions for the enforcement of patent rights

Other actions specifically provided for in Spanish law may also be brought to address the consequences of infringement, as described below.

1. 1. Actions designed to erase undesirable situations created by infringement, making the effects generated in commercial markets disappear to the extent possible, and at the infringer’s expense. These include applications for: the detention of objects produced or imported in violation of patent rights and of means exclusively dedicated to the production of such objects; measures against the use of patented procedures;¹⁰⁴ the transformation of detained objects or means, or their destruction when necessary to prevent infringement;¹⁰⁵ and even the transfer of ownership of those objects or means (with compensation in that case for their value).¹⁰⁶
2. 2. Actions to publicize judgments against patent infringers, at the latter’s expense, in the form of announcements and notifications issued to interested parties.¹⁰⁷ The aim here is not retribution or even punishment for the infringer, but exclusively to contribute on a proportionate basis to correcting the alteration produced in commercial traffic and re-establishing, where necessary, the plaintiff’s former market position.

While not explicit in the legislation, the regulatory framework also allows for other, less typical means of supporting patent owners. A simple declaration can be issued proclaiming that infringement has been committed against exclusive patent rights. This can be done on a one-off basis, following a specific dispute, if the aim is to dispel controversy and restore legal certainty. It is also often done as a prelude to other measures being taken in response to an infringement – though not indispensable where clearly implicit in the measures themselves.