The joint patent of UPM and CNIC receives objections in substantive examination

The Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (OEPM) has published objections in the substantive examination of patent application P 202531203, filed jointly by the Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM) and the Carlos III National Center for Cardiovascular Research (CNIC). The announcement appears in the Official Bulletin of Industrial Property (BOPI), Volume II of Inventions, number 7230, dated September 3, 2026.

The application, with publication number ES 3062982 A1, is processed in accordance with Law 24/2015, of July 24, on Patents. The notification is inserted under the heading “Objections in substantive examination (art. 34.5 RP)” of the Patents section of the bulletin, within the processing section.

Ownership and Representation

The patent is jointly owned by two reference institutions in Spanish R&D, with the following distribution:

• Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM), with an 80% share.
• Carlos III National Center for Cardiovascular Research (F.S.P.), with the remaining 20%.
• Representation before the OEPM corresponds to the industrial property agent ELZABURU, S.L.P.

The collaboration between a public university and a state-owned biomedical research center reflects the commitment to combining engineering and cardiovascular science in a single technological development.

The Substantive Examination Procedure

The substantive examination is the phase in which the OEPM verifies that the invention meets the patentability requirements: novelty, inventive step, and industrial application. The publication of objections implies that the examiner has detected defects that, for the time being, prevent the granting of the title.

This procedure is part of the processing of the application until the publication of the State of the Art Report (IET), and constitutes a common step in the life cycle of Spanish patents requested under Law 24/2015.

Deadline and Consequences

Pursuant to Article 34 of the Implementing Regulation of the Patent Law, the applicants have a period of two months to correct the application or make the appropriate allegations. The announcement itself warns that if the defects are not remedied, the application will be denied.

The resolution is not final in the administrative route; therefore, if applicable, an administrative appeal (recurso de alzada) may be filed before the director of the OEPM within one month.

Relevance for R&D

The outcome of this substantive examination will be followed with interest by the university and biomedical R&D community, given that the joint patent between the UPM and the CNIC Carlos III constitutes an example of the transfer of scientific knowledge to the market. Overcoming the objections would consolidate the protection of an invention arising from the collaboration between engineering and cardiology, in a field where industrial property is key to attracting funding and industrial partners.

Source: Official Gazette of Industrial Property, Volume II: Inventions, no. 7230, September 3, 2026, Patents section, page 2 (official reference: CVE-BOPI-T2-20260903-00000002; application P 202531203).