The Republic of Lithuania’s Patent Law was enacted on January 18, 1994, and became effective on February 1. The Patent Law establishes inventions as legitimate objects of industrial property, governs the obligations and rights of legal and natural people with regard to inventions, and offers legal protection for such objects. This Law was created to harmonize Lithuanian patent law with European patent law. It is based on the experience of other nations.
After more than 50 years, Lithuania is moving past the idea that patents are the only means of protecting inventions.
Filing requirements
Applications for Lithuanian patents must be submitted in Lithuanian. The application may, nevertheless, be submitted in any other foreign language; however, the Lithuanian translation must be submitted within three months of the application’s filing date.
To obtain the filing date, it is necessary to provide the patent office with the following:
- Request to grant a patent;
- Information about the applicant;
- Description and claims;
- Drawings (if necessary for understanding the invention);
- Priority claim(if any).
Within 16 months following the earliest priority date, the patent office of the Republic of Lithuania may ask for a certified copy of the Priority Document and its translation into Lithuanian.
Powers of Attorney must be submitted within three months of the filing date, either signed and stamped (if the applicant is a legal body) or merely signed (if the applicant is a natural person).
The provision of a document attesting to the right to file a patent application and the declaration of inventorship is required.
Novelty grace period
Disclosure will be disregarded if it occurred within six months before the filing or priority date and:
- The disclosure was abuse in relation to the inventor or their successor in title;
- As a result of the invention’s display at an officially recognized international exhibition.
Validity term
The grant fee must be paid within three months of receiving the official publishing notice. In Lithuania, a patent is suitable for 20 years after filing. Beginning with the third year, annual maintenance fees are paid within the final two months of the current validity year for applications that are still pending. Within six months of the patent’s validity expiring, late payments are permitted with a 50% surcharge.
Utility model
The Lithuanian patent legislation does not provide utility model protection.
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