Trademark Registration in Slovakia

The Slovak Act No. 506/2009 Coll. on Trade Marks (the “Trade Marks Act”) specifically governs trademarks.

In the Slovak Republic, case law is not legally binding. Nevertheless, all identical matters must be treated similarly in accordance with the legal principle of legal certainty. Therefore, when they think it appropriate, the Slovak Industrial Property Office (IPO) and courts may apply legal interpretations offered by the European Court of Justice, the Slovak Supreme Administrative Court, the Constitutional Court, or other pertinent authorities.

The Slovak Republic is a party to:

  • The TRIPS Agreement;
  • The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (the “Paris Convention”);
  • The Convention establishing the World Intellectual Property Organisation;
  • The Madrid Agreement and Madrid Protocol concerning the international registration of trademarks;
  • Trademark Law Convention;
  • The Singapore Trade mark Law Convention; and
  • The Nice Agreement concerning the international classification of goods and services for the registration of trademarks.

Trademark Registration Process

A trade mark application procedure involves:

  1. The application shall be submitted in person to the filing office of the Industrial Property Office in Banská Bystrica, by post to the Office’s address in Banská Bystrica or electronically (the service is available only in Slovak).
  2. Payment of the administrative fee is required.
  3. The Office shall examine the application and publish it in the Official Gazette if it meets the requirements.
  4. Third parties have three months from publication to submit oppositions.
  5. Provided that the procedure has not been halted, the application has not been rejected and no oppositions have been submitted, the Office shall register the trade mark in the register and notify the registration in the Official Gazette.
  6. The Office shall issue a certificate to the proprietor.

Period to Oppose

The opposition against trademark registration in Slovakia should be filed within three months of the publication of an application.

Validity Period

The Slovakian trademark is valid for ten years from the application filing date and may be extended an infinite number of times for ten more years. The request for renewal may be submitted as early as twelve months before the registration expires. Within six months of the renewal deadline, the trademark may be renewed. The POA is necessary.

Requirement of Use

A third party may file a lawsuit to have a trademark in Slovakia that has not been used for five years in a row before the start of revocation procedures revoked.

Also, contact for patent registration in Slovakia.

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