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History of the Office
The Industrial Property Office of the Slovak Republic ("the Office") was established on the basis on the Act No. 2/1993 Coll. of the Slovak National Council of December 16, 1992 amending the Act No. 347/1990 Coll. of the Slovak National Council on the organisation of the ministries and other central state administration bodies of the Slovak Republic as amended. It is the central state administration body for the field of the industrial property, which is competent to make decisions about granting protection for patents, designs, utility models, topographies of semiconductor products, trademarks, designations of origin /geographical indications. The Office also manages the patent and trade mark documentations and patent literature fund. The Office thus continues in fulfilling the tasks of the former Federal Office for Inventions with its seat in Prague.
Since it was necessary to continue the work of the former Czech and Slovak Federative Republic (CSFR), the primary task of the Office was continuity in registering applications for various subjects of industrial property. This objective was accomplished thanks to employees of the Slovak branch of the Federal Office for Inventions in Bratislava who provided for essential conditions necessary for performing the Office activities from the very first day of its existence.
The Slovak Republic declared through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the SR its accession to all international treaties dealing with industrial property protection, thereby establishing a link-up between activities of the former Republic.
The Office, yet in the first year of its existence, took part in sessions organised by the WIPO and resumed contacts with the European Patent Office (EPO) and several national patent offices. Providing for continuity in the sphere of the industrial property protection, recruitment of the new personnel and rebuilding of the Office as well as its location were of no less importance in this first year.
In accord with the amendment of the Act No. 745/95 Coll. of the National Council of SR on Organisation of Ministries and Other Central State Administration Bodies of the Slovak Republic of April 6, 1995 the Office changed its establishment and moved from Bratislava to Banská Bystrica, where a suitable building for the Office had been found.
92 per cent new employees were employed. Most of them were young and skilled in languages.
During the year 1996 the Office functioned as a standard office dealing with inventions, trade marks, utility models and industrial designs.
The building in Švermova Street in Banská Bystrica, designed to perform specific activities, was solemnly opened by Mr. Arpad Bogsch - the Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) accompanied by Mr. Jeno Bobrovszky - the WIPO representative, Mr. Sergej Kozlík - the Vice Prime Minister of the SR, Mr. Milan Čič - the Chairman of the Constitutional Court of the SR and Mr. Igor Presperín - the Mayor of Banská Bystrica.