Patents

Making available the translation of patent claims into Slovak language is regulated by Section 60 of Act No č. 435/2001 Z. z. on Patents, Supplementary Protection Certificates and on Amendments and Additions to Certain Acts (hereinafter referred to as Act No č. 145/1995 Z. z.).

On the date of making the translation of the patent claims available to the public, the applicant for a European patent application has the same rights as the applicant for a national patent application, provided that a European patent with effects in the Slovak Republic is granted.
After publication of the European patent application by the European Patent Office, the Industrial Property Office of the Slovak Republic (hereinafter referred to as the Office) shall make the translation of the patent claims available to the public pursuant to Section 60(2) of Act No 435/2001 Coll. and shall announce this fact in the Journal of the Office, provided that the following conditions are fulfilled:

• the European patent application is directed to the territory of the Slovak Republic (the Slovak Republic is the designation country),
• the European patent application has been published by the European Patent Office in the European Patent Journal,
• a translation of the patent claims into the Slovak language has been submitted to the Office by an authorised person; and
• the administrative fee for the publication and making available of the translation of the patent claims or the corrected translation of the patent claims has been paid pursuant to item 216a(b) of the Act of the National Assembly of the Slovak Republic No. 145/1995 Coll. on Administrative Fees, as amended.

The applicant for a European patent application may at any time file a corrected translation of the patent claims into the Slovak language pursuant to Section 60(2) of Act No 435/2001 Coll. After receipt of the corrected translation and payment of the administrative fee, the Office shall make the corrected translation available to the public and announce this fact in the Journal.
The corrected translation shall be valid instead of the original translation as from the date of the notification of making the corrected translation available in the Journal.
The form available at https://www.indprop.gov.sk/patenty/patenty/dokumenty-na-stiahnutie may be used to file a translation of patent claims into Slovak.
The rates of administrative fees and information on the payment of administrative fees are available at:
https://www.indprop.gov.sk/patenty/patenty/spravne-poplatky
Data concerning European patent applications and European patents with a designation for the Slovak Republic are available to the public at:
https://wbr.indprop.gov.sk/webregistre/?lang=sk
https://www.indprop.gov.sk/produkty-a-sluzby/produkty-uradu/vestnik-upv-sr

Sprístupnenie prekladu európskeho patentového spisu do slovenského jazyka upravuje § 63 zákona č. 435/2001 Z.z. o patentoch, dodatkových ochranných osvedčeniach a o zmene a doplnení niektorých zákonov (ďalej zákon č. 435/2001 Z.z.).
Európsky patent udelený Európskym patentovým úradom s určením pre Slovenskú republiku má rovnaké účinky ako národný patent odo dňa oznámenia udelenia európskeho patentu v Európskom patentovom vestníku. Majiteľ európskeho patentu je však povinný predložiť úradu v zákonom stanovenej lehote preklad európskeho patentového spisu do slovenského jazyka (§ 63 ods. 2 a 3 zákona č. 435/2001 Z. z.). Ak majiteľ nepredloží úradu preklad európskeho patentového spisu do slovenského jazyka, pokladá sa európsky patent na území Slovenskej republiky za neúčinný od začiatku (§ 63 ods. 4 zákona č. 435/2001 Z.z.). Úrad môže sprístupniť preklad patentového spisu do slovenského jazyka podľa § 63 ods. 6 zákona č. 435/2001 Z.z., ak sú splnené nasledujúce podmienky:

• Európsky patentový úrad udelil európsky patent s určením pre Slovenskú republiku (SR je designovaná krajina),
• oznámenie o udelení európskeho patentu bolo zverejnené v Európskom patentovom vestníku,
• majiteľ európskeho patentu predložil úradu preklad európskeho patentového spisu do slovenského jazyka v zákonnej lehote do troch mesiacov od oznámenia udelenia európskeho patentu v Európskom patentovom vestníku alebo v dodatočnej lehote troch mesiacov podľa § 63 ods. 2 a 3 zákona č. 435/2001 Z.z.,
• bol zaplatený správny poplatok za zverejnenie a sprístupnenie prekladu, prípadne opraveného prekladu podľa položky 216a písmeno c) zákona NR SR č. 145/1995 Z. z., prípadne zaplatený správny poplatok v dodatočnej lehote podľa položky 216a písmeno d) zákona NR SR č. 145/1995 Z. z., a
• majiteľ európskeho patentu oznámil úradu adresu na doručovanie na území Slovenskej republiky podľa § 63 ods. 2 zákona č. 435/2001 Z. z.
Za predpokladu splnenia uvedených podmienok úrad sprístupní preklad európskeho patentového spisu a sprístupnenie, ako aj udelenie európskeho patentu oznámi vo vestníku podľa § 63 ods. 6 zákona č. 435/2001 Z. z.

Úrad zapíše európsky patent do registra európskych patentov s údajmi zapísanými do európskeho patentového registra.
Majiteľ európskeho patentu môže kedykoľvek podať opravený preklad európskeho patentového spisu do slovenského jazyka podľa § 63 ods. 2 zákona č. 435/2001 Z.z. Po doručení opraveného prekladu a zaplatení správneho poplatku úrad sprístupní opravený preklad verejnosti a oznámi túto skutočnosť vo vestníku.
Opravený preklad bude platiť namiesto pôvodného prekladu odo dňa oznámenia sprístupnenia opraveného prekladu vo vestníku.
Na podanie prekladu/opraveného prekladu európskeho patentového spisu do slovenského jazyka je možné využiť formulár dostupný na:
https://www.indprop.gov.sk/patenty/patenty/dokumenty-na-stiahnutie
Sadzby správnych poplatkov a informácie k plateniu správnych poplatkov sú dostupné na:
https://www.indprop.gov.sk/patenty/patenty/spravne-poplatky
Údaje týkajúce sa európskych patentových prihlášok a európskych patentov s určením pre SR sú dostupné verejnosti na:
https://wbr.indprop.gov.sk/webregistre/?lang=sk
https://www.indprop.gov.sk/produkty-a-sluzby/produkty-uradu/vestnik-upv-sr

The decision of the European Patent Office on the partial or complete revocation of a European patent or on the maintenance of a European patent in an amended wording shall have the same effects in the Slovak Republic as the decision on the revocation or partial revocation of a national patent pursuant to Section 46 of Act No. č. 435/2001 Z.z. 

If the European Patent Office has revoked a European patent in part or in full by a final decision, the Office shall announce this fact in the Journal.
If the European patent is maintained as amended or restricted in opposition proceedings pursuant to Article 101 of the European Patent Convention by a decision of the European Patent Office in proceedings pursuant to Article 105b of the European Patent Convention, the proprietor of the European patent shall be obliged to:

• submit to the Office a translation of the amended version of the European patent specification into the Slovak language within three months from the date of notification of the amendment in the European Patent Journal pursuant to Section 65(3) of Act No 435/2001 Coll.
• pay the administrative fee for the publication and making available of the translation of the amended version of the European patent pursuant to item 216a(c) of Act č. 145/1995 Z. z. of the National Assembly of the Slovak Republic

If the abovementioned conditions are fulfilled and the European patent is maintained in the amended version, the Office shall announce this fact in the Journal.
If the proprietor of the European patent does not submit a translation of the amended version of the European patent specification into the Slovak language or does not pay the publication fee in accordance with the above-mentioned conditions, the European patent shall be ineffective in the Slovak Republic from the outset.

To file a translation of the amended European patent specification into the Slovak language, it is possible to use the form available at:
https://www.indprop.gov.sk/patenty/patenty/dokumenty-na-stiahnutie
The rates of administrative fees and information on the payment of administrative fees are available at:
https://www.indprop.gov.sk/patenty/patenty/spravne-poplatky
Data relating to European patent applications and European patents with a designation for the Slovak Republic are available to the public at:
https://wbr.indprop.gov.sk/webregistre/?lang=sk
https://www.indprop.gov.sk/produkty-a-sluzby/produkty-uradu/vestnik-upv-sr

The payment of maintenance fees for maintaining the validity of a European patent with effects for the Slovak Republic (hereinafter referred to as the maintenance fee for a European patent) is regulated by Act č. 495/2008 Z.z. on the fee for maintaining the validity of a patent, on the fee for maintaining the validity of a European patent with effects for the Slovak Republic and on the fee for maintaining the validity of the supplementary protection certificate for medicinal products and plant protection products and on amending and supplementing certain acts. The proprietor of a European patent shall pay an annual maintenance fee for the maintenance of the validity of the European patent in the Slovak Republic.

The payer of the maintenance fee for a European patent shall be the proprietor of the European patent with effect for the Slovak Republic (hereinafter referred to as the European patent) or a person authorised by him.The maintenance fee for a European patent shall be paid for each year of the term of validity of the European patent. The beginning of the individual years of validity of the European patent shall coincide with the date and month of filing of the European patent application.
The first maintenance fee for a European patent shall be payable, without any invitation from the Office, in respect of the year following the year in which the grant of the European patent is announced in the European Patent Journal. That fee shall be payable at the latest on the day coinciding with the day and month of the filing of the European patent application in the year in which the grant of the European patent was notified in the European Journal or within two months of the date of the notification of the grant of the European patent in the European Journal, whichever is the later.
The maintenance fee for the European patent for each subsequent year shall be payable without a request from the Office and shall be payable at the latest on the day on which the previous year of validity of the European patent expires.
The fee payer shall be obliged to indicate at the time of each payment of the maintenance fee which European patent the payment relates to.
If the maintenance fee has not been paid within the time limit laid down in the Law on maintenance fees, the fee may be paid by the fee payer subsequently within a period of six months from the date on which it is due, but in that case he shall be liable to pay, at the same time as the maintenance fee is due, a surcharge equal to the amount of the maintenance fee payable.
If the proprietor of a European patent has filed with the Office a written declaration that he grants to anyone the right to exploit the invention for a reasonable remuneration under the conditions laid down in Section 25 of Act č. 435/2001 Z.z. on patents, supplementary protection certificates and on amendment and supplementation of certain acts (hereinafter referred to as Act No 435/2001 Coll.), the maintenance fee shall be paid at 50% of the rate specified in the tariff schedule.
On the expiry of the time limit laid down for payment of the maintenance fee, the European patent shall lapse pursuant to Article 31 of Act No 435/2001 Coll.
The scale of maintenance fees is available at:
https://www.indprop.gov.sk/patenty/patenty/udrziavacie-poplatky
Information on the payment of maintenance fees is available at:
https://www.indprop.gov.sk/vseobecne-dokumenty/udrziavacie-poplatky-informacie-pre-poplatnikov
Data concerning European patent applications and European patents with a designation for the Slovak Republic are available to the public at:
https://wbr.indprop.gov.sk/webregistre/?lang=sk
https://www.indprop.gov.sk/produkty-a-sluzby/produkty-uradu/vestnik-upv-sr

The provisions of Section 79 of Act č. 435/2001 Z.z. shall apply mutatis mutandis to the representation of the parties in proceedings relating to translations of claims of European patent applications and translations of European patent files into the Slovak language before the Office. on patents, supplementary protection certificates and on amendment and supplementation of certain acts.

Compulsory representation

Persons who do not have their permanent residence or registered office in the territory of the Slovak Republic shall be obligatorily represented by a lawyer or a patent attorney in proceedings before the Office, including the submission of translations.Compulsory representation shall not apply to parties to proceedings who are citizens of a Contracting State to the Agreement on the European Economic Area and who have their registered office or establishment in the territory of a Contracting State to the Agreement on the European Economic Area; the parties to proceedings shall be obliged to notify the Office of their address for service in the territory of the Slovak Republic.

Notification of the address for service in the territory of the Slovak Republic

The proprietor of a European patent not subject to compulsory representation who submits to the Office a translation of the European patent file into the Slovak language shall be obliged to notify the Office of the address for service in the territory of the Slovak Republic.If the proprietor of the European patent fails to notify the Office of the address for service in the territory of the Slovak Republic, the official communications relating to his patent shall be deposited in the Office and shall be deemed to have been received 30 days after the expiry of 30 days from the date of their deposit. The consequence of failure to notify the address shall be notified to the proprietor of the European patent by the Office.

Representation in respect of acts relating to the payment of fees

The compulsory representation shall not apply to acts relating to the payment of fees. If the party to the proceedings who carries out the acts connected with the payment of the fees (i.e. also the payer of the maintenance fee for the European patent) does not have his permanent residence or registered office in the territory of the Slovak Republic, he is obliged to notify the Office of his address for service in the territory of the Slovak Republic.If the party to the proceedings fails to notify the Office of an address for service in the Slovak Republic, the Office's documents relating to the proceedings shall be deposited in the Office and shall be deemed to have been served 30 days after the expiry of 30 days from the date of their deposit. The consequence of failure to notify the address must be notified to the party to the proceedings by the Office.