Policy Observatory

On 28 August 2015, Portugal lodged its instrument of ratification of the Unified Patent Court Agreement (UPCA), making it the eighth contracting state to do so (joining Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Luxembourg, Malta and Sweden - see details here). 13 of the 25 contracting states are required to ratify before the UPCA and thus the new Unified Patent Court system and unitary patent can come into effect, but these must include France (already ratified), the UK and Germany.

Portugal's parliament has approved a bill that will restrict how Digital Rights Management is applied to some creative works, including those in the public domain or funded by public entities. Even when DRM is present, citizens will be able to circumvent the protection for education and private copying purposes.

The Ministry for Internal Administration (MAI) of the Portuguese government has green-lighted a proposal to gather live audio streams coming from the public surveillance cameras now under the management of the Public Security Police (PSP) and the National Republican Guard, the two main LEAs operating in the state.

The operation is restricted for now to a Lisbon district (Barrio Alto) and will not require any judicial order.