Patent registration in Lithuania. Lithuania is a developed country, with a high-income advanced economy; ranking very high on the Human Development Index. It ranks favorably in terms of civil liberties, press freedom, and internet freedom. 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 Lithuania.
Patent in Lithuania
To be patentable in this country, an invention must meet the requirements of novelty, inventiveness, and industrial applicability.
However, the novelty requirement is not absolute.
If the disclosure of the invention occurs within 6 months, whether made by the owner of the invention or his/her predecessor in title, if it is made or used during an industrial or agricultural trade show in Lithuania, or at an internationally recognized exhibition, etc., the novelty requirement will not be affected.
This means that for 6 months from the disclosure date, the patent application will still be considered valid.
Necessary documents for patent registration in Lithuania
The necessary documents for patent registration in Lithuania 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 (if any).
- Other required documents.
The language of the patent application is the Lithuanian language. However, the applicant may choose to file the patent application in other languages, provided that they submitted a translation of those documents within 3 months from the filing date.
The procedure of patent registration in Lithuania
To obtain a patent in Lithuania, the applicant needs to file their patent application to the IP Office of Lithuania.
Once submitted, the patent application will undergo a formality examination to check if it complies with the regulations of the Lithuania IP Law and if it is patentable.
At the moment, the IP Law of Lithuania doesn’t stipulate anything about a substantive examination. Therefore, the invention is not checked as to compliance with the criteria of patentability. Accordingly, patents are granted at the applicant’s liability.
There are also no regulations on the examination fee and the examination request.
If there is nothing wrong detected with the formality examination, the patent will be granted.
The grant fee should be paid within 3 months from receipt of the official publication notice.
A patent in Lithuania has 20 years of validity from the filing date.
The maintenance fee must be paid to maintain the validity of the patent, even for pending applications.
The maintenance fees must be paid starting from the 3rd year within 2 last months of the current validity year.
If the patentee misses the deadline for payment, they can pay it within the 6 months grace period after the deadline with a 50% surcharge.
You can see a list of Lithuania IP firms here.