Patent registration in Croatia. Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe. Croatia is classified by the World Bank as a high-income economy and ranks very high on the Human Development Index. Service, industrial sectors, and agriculture dominate the economy, respectively. Tourism is a significant source of revenue, with Croatia ranked among the 20 most popular tourist destinations. The state controls a part of the economy, with substantial government expenditure. The European Union is Croatia’s most important trading partner. Croatia provides social security, universal health care, and tuition-free primary and secondary education while supporting culture through public institutions and corporate investments in media and publishing. Accordingly, many businesses want to enter this market and one of the most important preparations a business needs to take before expanding to this country is to learn the procedure of patent registration in Croatia.
Necessary documents for patent registration in Croatia
The necessary documents for patent registration in Croatia include:
- The request to grant a patent (patent application);
- Detailed information on the applicant(s) including the applicant’s and inventor’s names, addresses, citizenships, etc.;
- A description of the invention;
- A signed and stamped power of attorney by the applicant(s);
- A copy of the amendments (if any);
- Priority documents must be submitted within 12 months from the priority date (if any);
- Other required documents.
The official language of the Croatian patent application is Croatian. Although the application may be filed in any other foreign language, the applicant needs to submit the Croatian translation within two months from the filing date.
The certified copy of the priority document and its translation into Croatian must be provided to the patent office of Croatia within 3 months from the date of filing.
The deadline for filing patent applications in Croatia claiming conventional priority is 12 months from the priority date. This term may be restored in Croatia within 1 year after the due date.
Novelty grace period
In Croatia, the novelty grace period is 6 months from the disclosure date of the invention in society.
This means that if the invention is disclosed publicly within 6 months from the disclosure date that occurred at an official or officially recognized international exhibition or due to an evident abuse concerning the patent applicant or his predecessor, the patent application will still be deemed valid.
The procedure of patent registration in Croatia
To obtain a patent in Croatia, the applicant needs to file their patent application to the Croatia IP Office.
After receiving the application, the examiners at the IP Office of Croatia will conduct a formal examination on the application to check if it complies with the formal requirements of a patent application.
After the formal examination, if there is no issues, the applicant may request the state of art search. Together with the search report, the Patent Office may prepare a written opinion on patentability on request of the applicant.
Once the search report is ready, it is published together with the patent application.
After this, the applicant may request the substantive examination within 6 months from the publication.
If the invention passed through the substantive examination, it will be registered and the applicant will be granted a patent.
Validity period and maintenance fees
In Croatia, the validity of patent is 20 years, and the validity of designs and marks 10 years upon the submission of the patent application.
The term for payment of the official grant fee is two months calculated from the date of receipt of the official action requesting the payment of the patent registration fees.
Annuities to maintain the patent’s validity in Croatia are to be paid annually from the third year onwards. Late payment is possible within a 6-month grace period provided that the patentee pays the late payment fees.
You can see a list of Croatia IP firms here.