Patents

The application for the grant of a patent shall be submitted in a single copy, normally on a form issued by the Office and available on the website of the Office and at the Office's Registry.

The description of the invention must include:

1. the name of the invention as it appears in the patent application. The title should be concise and precise and should not contain more than 10 words;
2. the field of technology to which the invention relates;
3. a description of the state of the art, preferably with an accurate citation of the documents from which the state of the art emerges;
4. an explanation of the substance of the invention as defined in the patent claims. This part of the description of the invention should also include a description of the terms used to explain the substance of the invention. This explanation should be sufficient to understand the technical problem and its solution. At the same time, the advantages or disadvantages of the invention in the light of the prior art should be pointed out. The same terms should be used to explain the substance of the invention as in the patent claims;
5. a brief description of the figures in the drawings (if included in the application); a description of sections, views and diagrams;
6. at least one example of an embodiment of the invention. The number and type of examples should be chosen so that the examples help to explain the invention in more detail and demonstrate the feasibility of the invention. It is desirable that the examples sufficiently cover the scope of the protection afforded by the patent claims. If the patent application contains drawings, this part of the description shall indicate, for each feature of the invention, the relation marks by which those features are indicated in the drawing. As a rule, Arabic numerals are used as relation marks; if there are more than one, it is recommended that a list of them be attached on a separate sheet. Relation marks shall not be underlined and shall be given in the description without brackets;
7. the manner of industrial application of the invention, if this is not apparent from the preceding parts of the description of the invention.

The individual parts of the description of the invention which follow the title of the invention shall be indicated by headings: Field of the art, Prior art, Nature of the invention, Summary of the figures in the drawings, Examples of embodiments of the invention, Industrial applicability. The headings are given from the left margin above the actual text with a single line space.

1. Where the invention relates to mechanical mixtures, these mixtures are to be characterised (as far as possible) in the description by the qualitative and quantitative properties of their individual constituents.
2. Where the invention relates to products obtained by a physico-chemical process, these products are to be characterised in the description by the composition and content of the individual components and, where appropriate, by their physical structure.
3. Where the invention relates to specific chemical compounds, including high-molecular-weight compounds, these compounds are to be defined in the description by the name of the compound according to the applicable chemical nomenclature, by the structural formula of the compound, or by a general formula, as the case may be.
4. If the invention is a pharmaceutical, the description shall, in addition to the physico-chemical characteristics of the pharmaceutical, also include, as appropriate, the results of pharmacological or clinical trials, as the case may be.
5. Where the invention relates to biologically active substances, the description shall, in addition to the physico-chemical characteristics of those substances, include, as appropriate, the results of tests for biological efficacy.
6. Where the invention relates to products obtained by the transformation of the atomic nucleus by artificially induced nuclear reactions, the description shall characterise these products by the properties necessary for their unambiguous identification.

The part of the patent application containing the patent claims should begin on a separate sheet marked PATENT CLAIMS.

The subject matter for which protection is sought shall be defined in at least one patent claim by the technical features of the invention. The technical features of the invention include, for example, the structural elements of the device and their interconnection in a static state, the qualitative and quantitative composition of the mixture, the structural formula of the chemical compound, etc. Where the nature of the invention does not preclude it, the patent claims must include:

an introductory part , comprising the name of the invention or part of the name of the invention and the technical features which are necessary to define the invention and which, in combination, form part of the state of the art, and

a significant part, beginning with the words 'characterised in that', containing the technical features for which protection is claimed in conjunction with the features set out in the introductory part. Subject to the condition of unity of invention, a patent application may contain more than one independent claim. Each independent patent claim may be accompanied by patent claims relating to specific (advantageous) embodiments of the invention (dependent patent claims).

The application must satisfy the condition of unity, i.e. the application must contain only one invention or a group of inventions which are connected together so as to form a single inventive idea. If the unity condition is met, the patent application may contain several independent claims. Each independent patent claim may be supplemented by patent claims defining specific or advantageous embodiments of the invention (dependent patent claims).

A dependent patent claim contains all the features of any earlier patent claim, referring, where possible in the introductory part, to that earlier patent claim and defining in the operative part additional (specific or advantageous) features of the invention. A dependent patent claim which refers to another earlier dependent patent claim is also allowed. All dependent patent claims that refer to a prior patent claim or to several prior patent claims must be listed in a logical order.

The number of patent claims shall be proportionate to the nature of the invention for which protection is sought. Patent claims shall be numbered in ascending Arabic numerals.
Patent claims may not contain references to the description or drawings; this shall not apply where the inclusion of references to the description or drawings is necessary to ensure the clarity of the patent claim. For example, references to 'as written in the description' or 'as shown in the figure' are inappropriate.

In patent claims, the technical features shown and indicated in the drawings by reference marks are indicated with those reference marks. Relation marks shall be indicated in round brackets in patent claims.

Each patent claim shall be expressed in one sentence.

The area used on the drawing sheets shall not exceed 26,2 x 17 cm. The used or usable area of the drawings shall not be framed. The margins of the drawings shall be at least

• 2,5 cm from the top edge of the drawing,
• 2,5 cm from the left edge of the drawing,
• 1,5 cm from the right edge of the drawing, and
• 1 cm from the bottom edge of the drawing.

The figures on the drawings shall be drawn in durable black, saturated, uniformly thick and distinct lines, without the use of other colours or shading. Sections in the drawing shall be indicated by hatching which does not reduce the legibility of the relationship marks and plotting lines. The scale of the figures and their graphic design must be such that electronic or photographic reproduction at two-thirds linear reduction makes it possible to discern the details. If a scale is indicated on the drawing, it shall be shown graphically. Numbers, letters and relationship marks on drawings shall be simple and clear. Brackets, circles and quotation marks shall not be used in conjunction with numbers or letters. The height of numbers and letters on drawings shall not be less than 0,32 cm. Letters must be in the Latin alphabet and, if usual, may also be in the Greek alphabet.

One side of a drawing may contain more than one figure. If the figures on several sheets represent a single figure, they must be so arranged that they can be made into a complete figure without obscuring any part of the sub-figures. The figures shall be numbered in ascending Arabic numerals independently of the pagination of the drawing.

Relative symbols used in the drawing shall be explained in the caption.

Drawings shall not contain text. This does not apply if they are short key words necessary to understand the drawing, such as 'water', 'steam', 'open', 'closed', 'section A-A', or words used in electrical circuits and block diagrams or flow charts.

The annotation must include the title of the invention and a brief summary of what is stated in the description, patent claims, or drawings. The annotation must indicate the field of technology to which the invention relates and must be worded in such a way as to enable the technical problem to be understood, the nature of the solution to it by means of the invention and the principal possible applications of the invention.

The annotation shall appear on a separate sheet and shall be as brief as the nature of the invention permits, not exceeding 150 words.

Where drawings are included in the application, the applicant may indicate the figure which best characterises the invention and which is to be published with the annotation. The technical features mentioned in the annotation and shown in the figure to be published with the annotation must be followed by the relevant reference marks in round brackets. The figure which best characterises the invention and which is to be published with the annotation must be submitted on a separate sheet.

The application shall not contain expressions or images which are contrary to public policy or good morals or which disparage the products or processes of other persons or the substance or value of the applications or protected technical solutions of such persons.

The application must be submitted in a form which permits direct electronic reproduction, free from tears, creases and folds. The application must be submitted on A4 paper which is flexible, strong, white, smooth, matt and durable. The pages of the application must be oriented portrait. Landscape orientation is acceptable only if the pages contain only figures or tables which do not fit in portrait orientation.

Each part of the patent application (the patent application, the description, the claims, the drawings and the annotation) must start on a new page. The margins of the pages of the application, excluding the pages of the patent application and drawings, must be at least

• 2 cm from the top edge of the page,
• 2,5 cm from the left edge of the page,
• 2 cm from the right edge of the page, and
• 2 cm from the bottom edge of the page.

The pages of the application containing the description, the claims, the drawings and the annotation shall be numbered in ascending Arabic numerals and the page numbers shall be indicated in the centre of the lower margin of the page. The pages of the patent application shall not be numbered.

Values of physical quantities must be expressed in the application in legal units of measurement or in accordance with international convention. Only terms, formulae, signs and symbols which are generally accepted in the field should be used in the application. Terminology and relationship marks shall be uniform throughout the application. Relation marks shall not be underlined, in the annotation and in the patent claims the relation marks shall be indicated in round brackets, in other parts of the application the relation marks shall be indicated without brackets. Stamps, stickers, barcodes and other indications which are not related to the content of the application may not be used in the application.Where nucleotide or amino acid sequences covered by WIPO Standard ST.26 (WIPO ST.26) are cited in the application, a list of these sequences, which forms part of the description, shall be drawn up in accordance with that Standard and shall be provided in a separate electronic file. The WIPO Sequence software tool, which is available for download at https://www.wipo.int/standards/en/sequence/index.html, can be used to produce the list of nucleotide and/or amino acid sequences as an XML file in accordance with that standard.

The application must be in Courier New, Tahoma or Times New Roman fonts. The font size must be between 12 and 14 point and all characters in one paragraph of the text section must be the same font size. Italics, bold, superscript and subscript must not be used when writing the text. Text must not be indented, underlined or justified. These requirements do not apply to images, graphic symbols, symbols, signs, chemical formulae and mathematical formulae which are part of the application. The application must be drawn up in black ink and in 1,5 lines.

If tables are included in the application, they must be bordered by solid lines at least 1,5 points thick. Tables must use a white background.

When drafting patent application documents, it is recommended that the recommendations of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) Standard ST.22, which relates to the adaptation of patent applications to facilitate their processing by optical character recognition, be followed as far as possible. The original text of Standard ST.22 is available on the WIPO website and its Slovak translation on the Office's website.

Date of last revision of the text: January 2019