Instituto Nacional de Propriedade Intelectual (INPI - National Institute of Intellectual Property) has granted the title of registered national brand to the name ''Observatório de Tarifários'' (Tariff Monitor), the name of the interactive simulator developed by ANACOM, which allows users to consult and compare, free of charge, the tariffs which are in force for individual consumers, at a national level, for voice calls, text messages (SMS) and multimedia messages (MMS). The information available is provided by the three operators of the mobile telephone service - TMN, Vodafone and Optimus - which therefore makes the operators essential partners for the success of the Monitor.
The right of property of the brand covers Class 16 (Forms, prospectuses, pamphlets, brochures and advertisements) and Class 38 (Service of information in respect of telecommunications matters). The duration of the registration is ten years, indefinitely renewable for equal periods of time.
Under the terms of the provisions of article 257 of the Code of Intellectual Property (Decree-Law n.o 36/2003 of 5 March), the words ''Marca Registada'' (Registered Trademark), the initials ''M.R.'' or simply the symbol ® may be used together with the name ''Observatório de Tarifários'', thereby informing third parties that the expression concerned is a registered trademark and therefore protected.
In terms of use, the Tariff Monitor recorded, in 2007, around 20.7 thousand access and over 21.7 thousand simulation operations performed, corresponding to an average of around 1,725 access and 1,808 simulations each month.
Evolution of the n.o of access and operations performed on the TM in 2007
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