The European Union has Slovakia as one of its member nations. Thus, the international treaties and multilateral agreements included in national IP law impact it.
A patent is a safeguard that grants the owner of the document the state’s sole right to utilize the innovation for a predetermined amount of time. Patents are issued for novel innovations that take an inventive step and have the potential for industrial use. It is possible to obtain a patent for chemically generated compounds, pharmaceuticals, industrial production microorganisms, and biotechnological processes in addition to new goods, machinery, and technological advancements.
Filing requirements
A registered patent, which grants its owner the only right to utilize an invention for a specific time, is the foundation of patent protection. An employer may file a patent application on behalf of an employee’s inventions if there are several co-inventors, legal agents, or successors. A patent application is published in the IPO’s gazette for 18 months following filing. It may take up to three years to complete the registration process. National and European patents with Slovakian designations are valid in Slovakia for 20 years following the application’s filing date. A patent must be registered and kept current for a price. An application for a patent may be lost if payments are not made on time. The length of a patent’s protection is 20 years at most. For instance, a discovery, a scientific theory, a computer program, a plant variety, an animal breed, a disease diagnosis, a treatment approach, a cloning method, or the use of a human embryo cannot be granted a patent.
Grace period
The novelty of an invention is not disputed if the applicant disclosed information about it at the legally sanctioned exhibition within six months of filing or if priority is claimed before the date of priority. In this situation, the applicant must include a statement that the invention has been displayed in the application and submit a certificate attesting to the invention’s issuance in accordance with the international convention within four months of the application’s filing date.
Validity term
In most jurisdictions, awarded patents are protected for up to 20 years after filing as long as the maintenance fees are paid. Slovakia is not an exception to this. Under the Supplementary Protection Certificate system, a pharmaceutical composition is protected for up to 25 years from the filing of the basic patent application. In Slovakia, utility models are protected for up to 10 years after filing.
Utility Model
A utility model safeguards a registered utility model that grants its owner the right to use a novel, technologically imaginative, industrially applicable solution. A utility model application for an employee can be submitted by the employer, the inventor, one or more co-inventors, legal representatives, or successors.
Also, contact for trademark registration in Slovakia.