Patent registration in Slovakia. Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Slovakia is a developed country with an advanced high-income economy, ranking very high in the Human Development Index. It also performs favorably in measurements of civil liberties, press freedom, internet freedom, democratic governance, and peacefulness. The country maintains a combination of a market economy with a comprehensive social security system, providing citizens with universal health care, free education, and one of the longest paid parental leaves in the OECD. 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 Slovakia.
Patent in Slovakia
According to Slovakia law, a patent in this country is a grant of a property right given by the Government to an inventor. With a patent, the inventor, or the patentee will have the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, selling the invention in a country, or importing the invention into a country, along with other rights to protect their best interests.
To be patentable in Slovakia, an invention must satisfy the requirement of new, inventive, and industrially applicability.
The novelty grace period in Slovakia is 6 months before the date of filing.
In addition, an invention that is patentable can also be an improvement on existing items or methods.
On the other hand, the subjects that are unpatentable in Slovakia are:
- Discoveries, laws of nature, and mathematical methods;
- Aesthetic designs;
- Systems, rules, and methods for the performance of mental labor, games or management, computer programs;
- Presentation of data and abstract ideas.
Necessary documents for patent registration in Slovakia
The necessary documents for patent registration in Slovakia include:
- The request to grant a patent (patent application);
- Detailed information on the applicant(s) including the applicant’s names, addresses, 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 patent application’s language is Slovak. The patent application may be filed in any other foreign language, however, the applicant needs to provide a Slovak translation within two months from the filing date.
The procedure for patent registration in Slovakia
To obtain a patent in Slovakia, the applicant needs to file their patent application to the IP Office of Slovakia.
After submission, the patent application will undergo a formal examination to check if it complies with the requirement of the law.
Within 36 months from the filing date, the applicant must file a request for the substantive examination. The request, once filed, can not be retracted.
If there are no errors, the patent will be granted to the applicant.
To maintain the validity of the patent, applicant needs to pay the maintenance fees annually.
The first maintenance fee for the patent is payable with notice from the IP Office within 3 months from the date of the grant decision.
The subsequent fees must be paid without notice from the IP Office before the expiration of the preceding year of validity, meaning that to maintain the validity of the 10th year, the applicant needs to pay the maintenance fee before the end of the 9th year.
However, late payment is possible within 6 months from the expiration date by paying a corresponding 100% surcharge.
You can see a list of Slovakia IP firms here.