Patents

Information for Applicants of a Patent

A request for granting a patent shall be filed on the official form (application form) of the Industrial Property Office of the Slovak Republic ("the Office"). The patent application shall contain a request for granting a patent in two copies, a description of an invention, at least one claim, abstract and drawings if any, an image or chemical formula of a compound in one original and two copies; the original shall meet requirements for copying and printing. Necessary attachments shall make a part of the application. Applicant shall be obliged to pay an administrative fee for filing an application.

A patent application shall contain the name of the inventor. A patent application may contain only one invention or a group of inventions so linked as to form a single general inventive concept. If the Office finds out that there is no unity, the applicant shall be requested to correct all irregularities within the prescribed time limit. In addition to correct all irregularities concerning the patent unity the applicant may also decide to file an excluded patent application. The Office gives the excluded application the filing date or priority right of the earlier application. The description of an invention shall be done in manner sufficiently clear and complete to be carried out by the person skilled in the art.

If an applicant filed a utility model application in the Slovak Republic prior to filing a patent application with the identical subject-matter, he/she may request with filing an application conferring the filing date, where appropriate also priority right, from this utility model application. The Office shall confer the filing date for an application, where appropriate also the priority right, from this utility model application, if an application is filed within 36 months from filing a utility model application.

If a utility model application procedure was suspended or utility model application was refused, the application has to be filed within 2 months from delivery of relevant decision or within 36 months from filing date of utility model application at the latest.

By filing the patent application an applicant shall enjoy the priority right. The applicant shall declare the priority right resulting from the international convention in the patent application and upon the invitation of the Office he/she must prove the priority right within a prescribed time limit, otherwise it shall not be taken into consideration.

The Office shall perform the search on subject-matters of patent applications filed after January 1, 2012 and fulfilling the requirements (PDF, 33,3 kB) published in the Official Journal No 12/2011 within the period of 9 months since the filing an application. The search report shall be delivered to an applicant within the stated period and published together with the patent application after lapsing the period of 18 months from the establishment of the priority right.

The Office shall perform a preliminary examination to inspect whether the invention includes non patentable subject-matter, or other irregularities preventing from publication. An application shall be published after expiry of 18 months from the date of priority and relevant notification shall be published in the Official Journal.

The Office shall perform a substantive examination, at the written request of an applicant or other person, or it can be performed ex officio. A request for a substantive examination shall be filed within 36 months from the filing date of the patent application at the latest and the request may not be withdrawn. An applicant shall pay the administrative fee.

If a subject-matter of an application meets prescribed requirements and an applicant paid the administrative fee, the Office shall grant a patent. An applicant becomes the proprietor of the patent.

The proprietor of the patent shall have an exclusive right to use the invention, to authorise other persons to use the invention or to transfer the patent.

The scope of the patent protection is determined by the defining the patent claims. The patent is valid for 20 years from the date of filing the patent application. The patent shall be valid from the date of publication of the notice on its granting in the Official Journal.

For applicants without adequate patent and legal knowledge or skills it is recommended to use the services of patent agents, attorneys or commercial lawyers, which are entitled to act before the Office (list of agents).

The applicant or his/her representative shall act in proceedings before the Office. The inventor of an invention, if he/she is not also the applicant, shall not be a party to proceedings.

Rights and duties arising from creation and use of invention are regulated by the Act No. 435/2001 Coll. (PDF, 327,0 kB) on patents, supplementary protection certificates and on amendment of some acts as amended.

Formal requirements for a patent application as well as whole proceeding before the Office is regulated by the Decree of the Industrial Property Office No. 223/2002 Coll. implementing the Act No. 435/2001 Coll. (the Patent Act).

Formal requirements for the form and the contents of the application are defined in the Instruction of the President of the Industrial Property Office of the Slovak Republic.

The administrative fees shall be paid in Euro. Payment may be effected by money order or transfer to a bank account of the Industrial Property Office of the Slovak Republic kept in the State Treasury.

Payment order shall state:

Name of the account: Depozitný účet ÚPV SR BB
IBAN code:                   SK49 8180 0000 0070 0006 0750
BIC code:                     SPSRSKBA
Constant Symbol:       0558

Variable symbol identifies the payment. It is created by the 10-digits numerical code as follows: 1 plus 9-digits application number assigned by the Office. (e.g. 1007482000 is variable symbol for the patent application no. PP 748-2000, 1500032007 is a variable symbol for patent application no. PP 50003-2007).