The Czech Republic, also known by its short-form name, Czechia, formerly known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The Czech Republic is a unitary parliamentary republic and developed country with an advanced, high-income social market economy. It is a welfare state with a European social model, universal health care, and tuition-free university education. It ranks 12th in the UN inequality-adjusted human development and 24th in the World Bank Human Capital Index. 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 the Czech Republic.
Patent in the Czech Republic
Patent in the Czech Republic is granted for inventions that are new, the result of inventive activity, and industrially usable.
In addition, chemically produced substances, pharmaceuticals, industrial production microorganisms, as well as biotechnological processes, and products obtained through them are all registrable for patent protection in the Czech Republic.
On the contrary, discoveries or scientific theories, computer programs, new varieties of plants and breeds of animals, and ways of treating humans and animals are not patentable.
Necessary documents for patent registration in the Czech Republic
The necessary documents for patent registration in the Czech Republic 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.
If the applicant wants to claim priority, they must send the request for patent registration in the Czech Republic 12 months from the priority date. It is impossible to restore this term. The translation of the priority document into Czech is also needed as for any other necessary documents.
Novelty grace period
The novelty grace period for patents in the Czech Republic is 6 months prior to the filing date.
This means that the disclosure of an invention in public within 6 months from the filing date will not result in the disqualification of the patent registration application.
The exposure will be acceptable if it occurred at an official or officially recognized international exhibition, or due to an evident abuse in relation to the inventor or his predecessor.
The procedure of patent registration in the Czech Republic
To obtain a patent in the Czech Republic, the applicant needs to file their patent application to the Czech Republic IP Office.
The patent application can be filed electronically in the WORD format with a recognized electronic signature, or through a system of data boxes or in writing by post or in-person in the Office’s mailroom.
After the submission of the patent application, the examiners at the IP Office will conduct a preliminary examination to check if the application complies with the regulations of the law and it is registrable.
After approximately 18 months, the Office shall publish the application and announce its publication in the IPO Bulletin.
The substantive examination must be requested within 36 months from the filing of the patent application in the Czech Republic. If the applicant doesn’t make the request on time, the application is deemed to be withdrawn. No extension of this time limit is possible.
If there are no errors found in the process, the patent will be granted to the applicant. They then have to pay the maintenance fee yearly to maintain the validity of the patent.
You can see a list of Czech republic IP firms here.