To start proceedings for the grant of a patent for an invention, you must first file a written application with the Office in 2 copies. The person entitled to file the application is always the person who holds the so-called “right to the solution”. As a rule, this is the person who created the invention through their own creative effort (the inventor) and who is seeking the patent. Where there are several inventors, the application may be filed in their own name by just some of them, or by only one. At their request, the Office will record the other co-creators as co-applicants for the invention. Where a particular invention has been created independently by several persons, the right to the solution belongs to whoever filed an application with the Office first. If the invention was created by an employee (regardless of whether they work under an agreement or a permanent employment contract) as part of their work duties, the right to the solution, together with the right to file a patent application for the invention, passes to the employer. This does not apply if the employer and employee agree otherwise. The employee must also notify the employer in writing without delay that the invention has been created and hand over the related documents. The employer then has three months in which to assert the right to the solution against the employee in writing; if it fails to do so, the right to the solution and to file the application reverts to the employee. Bear in mind, too, that if the employer asserts this right against the employee, the employee is entitled to reasonable additional remuneration over and above their usual salary.
If you want to be sure that proceedings before the Office will not be complicated by defects in the application or other errors, or if you are unsure whether the invention is patentable, you can turn to industrial property law specialists who professionally advise and represent applicants in patent proceedings before the Office. Patent attorneys practising in the Slovak Republic are members of the SKPZ (Slovak Chamber of Patent Attorneys).
Although the law does not require it, you are advised to use the application form prepared by the Office. A correct and complete application must meet relatively demanding and detailed content requirements (a detailed description of the invention; the subject matter for which a patent is sought must be defined precisely and clearly; the request for the grant of a patent must be stated expressly), which are set out in detail in Office Decree No. 223/2002 Coll.
If the application contains too many serious defects (such as an inadequate description of the invention), it will not be treated as duly filed until the missing information is supplied or the defects are remedied. In that case, the applicant does not acquire a right of priority for the invention, and there is a risk that a competing applicant who files a complete application, even later, will get ahead of them in the patent grant proceedings.
The level of administrative fees for filing the application and the subsequent proceedings depends largely on whether the applicant intends to register the patent only in Slovakia or also expects to exploit it abroad. In the latter case, a European or international patent application is worth considering. With the former, the applicant chooses 2 or more of the 38 member states of the European Patent Organisation in which they wish to obtain patent protection. With the latter, an international application allows the applicant, after a preliminary assessment, to choose from as many as 148 countries worldwide that are contracting states of the Patent Cooperation Treaty.
For proceedings for a “Slovak” patent, the applicant should budget for a fee of 143€ – 169€; for a “European” patent the fee is 120€ – 210€, while fees for an “international” patent are higher, at up to around 1100€ (for an “international” patent, this fee already includes the assessment of the invention’s patentability in the individual contracting states).
All types of patent can be applied for through the Office, but for an international patent the application documents must be submitted in English, German or French.
Discovered an Invention? Patent It!
“Eureka!!!” – did you shout? Has an idea that once fired your imagination, and inspired you so much that you willingly spent long hours, days, months or even years researching, testing and turning it [...]
What to Expect at the Patent Office
Have you developed a new idea, devoted your time to inventing, and is your invention capable of industrial application? If you can answer “yes” to all three questions and you are the inventor, congratulations [...]
Inventions from Slovakia
Could you imagine life without the light bulb, the fridge, the computer or the humble wheel? Although most inventions were made abroad, Slovakia too can boast of contributions that have changed the world for [...]
Patent Protection and Its Scope
In practice, patent protection for an invention means the patent holder's exclusive right to use the invention, to create a lien over the patent or to transfer the patent to another person. No one may [...]
Preliminary and Full Examination, Priority Right and Proceedings
Filing an application that meets the required formalities gives the applicant a right of priority. In practice, this means that, unless and until the Office decides to refuse the application, no patent can be [...]
Filing a Patent Application for an Invention
To start proceedings for the grant of a patent for an invention, you must first file a written application with the Office in 2 copies. The person entitled to file the application is always the [...]
Patent Application Procedure and Grant Conditions
Patent protection for inventions is administered, under industrial property legislation, by the Industrial Property Office of the Slovak Republic (the “Office”), which grants a patent by its decision. An invention is protected by patent law [...]
Patents and Fees: Costs and Types
If you are considering expanding abroad or bringing in an external investor, you have no doubt already thought about patenting some of your technology, inventions or know-how. At this early stage, however, you are [...]
Trade Secrets as an Alternative to Patents
When dealing with business partners in the USA, England or Asia, or when taking investment from business angels or venture capital funds, you need to ask yourself whether to protect your ideas at all, [...]