ORGANISATION MONDIALE 
DU COMMERCE 
Conseil des aspects des droits de propriété 
intellectuelle qui touchent au commerce IP/N/1/GRC/P/1 
31 juillet 1996 
(96-3046) 
Original: anglais 
PRINCIPALES LOIS ET REGLEMENTATIONS CONSACREES 
A LA PROPRIETE INTELLECTUELLE NOTIFIEES 
AU TITRE DE L'ARTICLE 63:2 DE L'ACCORD 
Le présent document contient le texte des lois et réglementations ci-après 1, notifiées par la Grèce 
au titre de l'article 63:2 de !'Accord (voir le document IP/N/l/GRC/1): 
Loin° 1733/1987, J.O. (FEK) 171 A'/22.9.1987, 
modifiée par la Loi n • 1739/1987 et le Décret 
présidentiel n • 54/1992 
Article 9 de la Loin· 2359/1995, J.O. (FEK) 241 
A' /21.11.1995 
1Anglais seulement. 2 
23 IP/NIlIGRC/P1 1 
Page 2 
LA\\, No. ]733/19X7 (FEK ]71, A' of 22/9/19X7) 
"Technology (ransfer, inventions, and technological innovation" a~ amended hy Art. 18, 
of Law No ] 739/1987 (FEK 201, A' of 20/1] I] 987) 
PAHT ONE 
]NDUSTl~lAL PROPERTY 
ORGANISATION (O.B.I.) 
Ar( iclc 1 
Foundation -Aim 
1. A legal entity under private law(l) 
shall be founded under the name "Indu­
strial Property Organisation" (O.B.I.), 
with seat at Athens, and under the tutelage 
of the Ministry of Industry, Energy, and 
Technology. 
2. The aim of O.B.I. is to contribute to 
the technological and industrial develop­
ment of the country through the practice of 
° the following competencies: 
a. Grant of patents, patents of modifi­
cation and utility model certificates, as well 
as rendering opinions for the conclusion of 
non-contractual licences within the mean­
ing of article 13; 
b. Registration of contracts concerning 
technology transfer; 
c. Cooperation with similar organisa­
tions in other countries, international 
organisations, research and technological 
centers of the country as well as connection 
with organisations and data banks; 
d. Preparation and monitoring of the 
implementation of international con­
ventions'on matters related to patents and 
technology transfer; 
e. Representation of Greece at inter­
national organisations by decision of the 
competent Ministers, as the case may be. 
r. Rendering of consultation and in­
formation on new technologies and know­
how, under reserve of the dispositions of this law with regard to the confidential 
registcrs, records~ and rolls; 
g. I\.1onitoring and follow-up of the use 
of inventions and technical innovations, 
and of the transferring technology in 
Greece and abroad; 
h. classification of inventions and of 
contracts on technology transfer by 
category of use taking into account the 
internationally established criteria. 
Article 2. 
Administrative Council 
Structure -Function -Competencies 
1. O.B.I. shall be directed by a seven­
member Administrative Council composed 
of: 
a. Two representatives of the Ministry 
of Industry, Energy, and Technology; 
b. Three persons from the scientific 
staff of O.B.I. wOith directorial status and 
with special knowledge and experiences on 
matters related to inventions and ° tech­
nology transfer; one jurist specialized in 
O.B.I. matters, who shall be appointed by 
the I\.1inister of Industry, Energy, and 
Technology and one technical scientist to 
be proposed by the Technical Chamber of 
Greece, with knowledge and experience on 
O.B.I. matters. Forthe first Administrative 
Council of O.B.I., to be appointed by 
decision of the t-.1inister of Industry, 
Energy, and Technology, three employers 
from the General Secretariat of "Energy 
and Technology shall be selected to fill the 
(\) OBI has been exempted from the public sector under Presidential Decree No 232/14.07.1992 P()st (If tile thn.'l' individuals fl()1l1 the 
scient il it: ~t;dT of O. H.I. Till' \(:rm of orrice 
of the fi ('st ;\d III i nist r;l t i vc COli ncil ~It~d I 
cxpin: Oil 31 Decemher IlJXX. 
2. \Vllcn the (Igcnda of Cl meeting of the 
Administrative Council includes items 
regarding the staff of O.B.1., a representa­
tive of 0.13.1.'5 employees, elected and 
recalled from the totality of the working 
force, shall participate with a vote in the 
meeting of the Administrative Council. In 
case the said representative is not elected, 
the Administrative Council shall legally 
meet even without the participation of said 
representative. 
3. The Administrative Council ofO.B.I. 
and the Director General shall be 
appointed by decision of the l\1inister of 
Industry, Energy, and Technology for a 
four-year term of office. The Chairman 
and the Vice-Chairman of the Admini-. 
strative Council shall be appointed by the 
same decision. The Chairman of the 
Administrative Council may be assigned 
with the duties of the Director General of 
O.B.I. The term of office of the members of 
the Administrative Council and of the 
Director General of O.B.I. may be' 
renewed. (1) 
4. The competencies of the Secretary of 
the Administrative Council shall be 
practices by an employee of O.B.I. to be 
appointed along with his. deputy by 
decision of the Chairman of the Admini­
stra tive Council. 
5. The compensation per session of the 
Chairman, the Director General of O.B.I., 
the Vice-Chairman, the members and the 
Secretary of the Administrative Council is 
to be determined by joint decision of the 
Minister of Industry, Energy, and Tech­
nology and the Minister of Finance. The 
number of meetings may not exceed a total of four PCI Jllonth. IP/N/1/GRC/P/l 
Page 3 
(I. The ;\df1liJ)i~trativc Coullcil !->hall 
meet lIpon ~\lmmOIlS hy il~ Chairman, reg­
ularly twice per month Clnd extrdordinarily 
if so requested by the Chairman or the 
majority of the.: memhers of the Admini­
strative Council. 1n the latter case the 
Chairman shall obligatorily convene the 
.members of the Administrative Council 
within five days from the da le of the 
written notification of the request of the 
majori ty. This not ificat ion shall also state 
the items on the agenda. 
7. The Administrative Council shall be 
in quorum when at least four (4) of its' 
members are present. The decisions of the 
Administrative Council shall be made by 
absolute majority of its attending members 
and in case of equality of votes the vote of 
the Chairman shall prevail. 
8. The duties of reporter shall be 
fulfilled by the Director General of O.B.I. 
or the Deputy Director General and 
occasionally the directors as well as 
members of the Administrative Council 
also assigned \I/ith special tasks, if the 
Chairman of ~he Administrative Council 
has been also assigned to the duties of the 
Director General. (2) 
9. The minutes of the Administrative 
.Council shall be sign'ed by the Chairman, 
the members and the Secretary. 
10. The Administrative Council shall 
decide on every subject related to the 
practice of the competencies, the admini­
stration and the staff of O.B.!: 1\10re 
specifically, it shall: 
a. Set up the regulation of organisa­
tional structure of O.B.l., the regulation 
regarding the status of the staff of O.B.I., 
the financial status of O.B.l., and the rules 
ofprocedurc of the Administralive Council 
of O.B.I., and shall submit them for 
(I) Paragraph 3 of Article 2 is cited as replaced by Article 18, paragraph a of Law No 1739/1987 
(2) Par.agraph 8 of Article 2 is cited as replaced by Article 18. paragraph a of Law No 1739/1987 IP IN 11IGRC/P 11 
Page 4 
approbation to the Minister of Industry, 
Energy, and Technology~ 
b. Decidc with regard to the means for 
attaining its gOClls and elaborate its long­
term and short-term plans of action, which 
it shall submit for approbation to the 
Minister of Industry, Energy, and Tech­
nology; 
c. Decide on the annual budget and its 
necessary amendments and shall submit it 
for approval to the Minister of Industry, 
Energy, and Technology; 
d. Decide on the recruitment of staff, on 
their emoluments and their indemnities, 
the emoluments of the Director General 
included, and on every matter concerning 
their professional status in office; 
e. Establish regional services and branch 
offices in Greece and abroad; 
f. Compile the annual balance sheet and 
annual financial report of O.B.I., the 
relevant dispositions' on Limited Com­
panies applied thereto; 
g. Determine the fees and revenues of 
O.B.!. arising from the rendering of 
services; 
h. Entrust organisations and other 
na tural persons or legal entities \vith 
studies, investigations, and works related 
to the realisation of the goals of O.B.I. and 
determine the remuneration to be paid. 
1 I. The Administrative Council may, 
by decision, assign part of its competencies 
to the Director General of O.B.I., to the 
Deputy Director General or to other 
, senior employees of O.B.I. 
12. The Chairman of the Admini­
strative Council shall determine the items 
on the agenda under reserve of art. 2 par. 6, 
summon the members of the Admini­
strative Council to meetings, and follow up 
the implementation of the decisions of the 
Administrative Council. In case of absence 
of the Chairman or his ina bility to atten'd 
the Vice-Chairman shall preside the meeting of the Administrative Council. 
13. The Director General of O.B.l.!I) 
shall have the following competencies: 
a. He shall be responsible for the 
implementation of the decisions made by 
the Administrative Council; 
b. He shall head the units of O.B.I. and 
provide for their normal and effective 
function; 
c. He shall extrajudicially or judicially 
represent O.B.l. and be entitled to entrust, 
by act, according to the case or category of 
case, the representation to the Deputy 
Director General or to a member of the 
Administrative Council, to a lawyer of 
O.B.I. or, for specific matters, to an 
employee of O.B.I. 
d. By his act and in compliance with the 
dispositions of the law, he shall grant 
patents, patents of modification and utility 
model certifiea tes, issue opmlOns in 
accordance with article 13 regarding grant 
of non-contractual licences, as well as any 
other certificate, affirmation or document 
for supply of information defined by the 
present law. 
Article 3. 
Resources -Management -Supervision 
1. O.B.I. shall have the following 
regular and extraordinary resource.s: 
a. Fees and income arising from ren­
dering of services; 
b. Special financing from the budget of 
the Public Investments Programme; 
c. Special financing from subsidies, 
donations, inheritance, legacy, and con­
tributions of any kind from legal entities 
and natural persons. 
2. Following approbation of the Mini­
ster of N at ion a I Economy a nd of the 
~1inister of lndustry, Energy, and Tech­
nology, O.B.I. may contract loans with 
(I) The first period of paragraph 13 of Article 2 is cited as replaced by Article 18, paragraph b of Law 
No 1739/1987 banks alld cH:dit OIganis:lli()lls ill (irc(:ce 
01 ahro;ld. 
Till· gll;\ralllcc of"the Grcek stall' may be 
givcn for thl..' gl":ll1t of the aforcmentioncd 
loans. 
3. The m:1 nagemen t ,1110 the H nnuaJ 
balance sheet of" O.B.1. shall be audited by 
Ccrtified Accountants. 
4. For the supervision of the function of 
0.13.1., the Administrative Council shall 
submit to the Minister of Industry, Energy, 
and Technology Hn annual report of its 
activities, a report of revenues and 
expenses, the budget, and the balance 
sheet. 
Article 4. 
Regulations -Rolls -Registers -
Records 
1. By decision of the Administrative 
Council of O.B.I., approved by the 
~1inister of Industry, Energy, and Tech­
nology the following regulations shall be 
set up: 
a. Regulation of organisational struc­
ture of O.B.I., which shall regulate its 
structure with regard to service units, their 
competencies: and their function. 
The regulation of the organisational 
structure of O.B.I. may provide for the 
estabishment of a committee which shall 
comprise specialized scientists of O.B.I. 
with the purpose of examining patent 
applications, whereever the examination 
of said applications reguires specialised 
scientific knowledge. 
b. Regulation of the status of the staff of 
O.B.I., which shall determine the posts of 
the staff provided by the la wand the 
qualifications for their recruitment; it will 
also regulate issues pertaining to the 
progress of the staff with regard to grade 
and salary, issues pertaining to retirement 
from the service and in general a11 issues IP/NIlIGRC/P1 1 
Page 5 
r cl a t l'<.1 (() (It l' :-. c r v ice s t ; I t \I sas w cl I Cl s the 
disciplill;Iry n::-,p0J)sibility and disciplinary 
pen;dl it's. 
c. ECOJ) 0/11 i c regula t j on \\'11 iell deals 
with matters of management, compiling, 
and publication of the budget, the balance 
sheet and the annual report, issues relating 
to the c~lses and the procedures for 
payment of fees, income or revenues, and 
rendering expenses as well as to matters of 
supplies of O.B.I. 
d, Regulation of function of the Admi­
nistrative Council of O.B.]., which is not 
subject to approbation by the Minister. 
2. O.B.1. shall keep the following 
registers, records, and rolls: 
A: Registers: 
a. Confidential technology transfer re­
gister, within the meaning of article 21 of 
the present law; 
b. Common register for patents; 
c. Confidential register for patents; 
d. Register for utility model certificates; 
B: Records: 
a. Confidential record for technology 
transfer, within the meaning of article 21 of 
the present law; 
b. Ordinary record for patents; 
c. Confidential record for patents; 
d. Record for utility n10del certificates; 
C: Rolls: 
a. Ordinary roll for reports; 
b. Confidential roll for reports. 
3. O.B.I. shall issue the Industrial 
Property Bulletin and publications Jor 
briefing and spreading information relating 
to patents, innovations, and technology 
transfer. 
4. The data which shall be included in 
the aforementioned registers, records and 
rolls and the mode of their redaction and 
presentation shall be determined by 
decision of the J\.1inister of J ndustry, 
Energy, and Technology, following a 
proposal of the Administrative Council of IP/NIlIGRC/PI 1 
Page 6 
O. H.1. Thc sa IllC decision sha 11 dctcrmi nc 
till: 111:1nn\.'1 ill which the industrial Prnpcrty 
Bulletin sh:dl b~ kept ano isslIcd, ClS well 
as the oat:1 to hI.: included therein. 
5. As confidcntial register, record, and 
roll there arc understood, those which exist 
su bject to law No 4325/1963 "on in­
ventions related to the national defence of 
the country". The disclosure of the conridcntial data kepi ill the confidential 
registers, records or rolls by the stLlff of 
O.B.I. in the course of their service and for 
a period of ten years follo\ving dis­
continuation of their service shall be 
punished by thc penalties defined in article 
8 of La w 43251] 9()3 "on inven lions related 
to the national defcnce of thc country". 
PART T\VO 
PATENTS 
CHAPTER A 
GENERAL DISPOSITIONS -
BENEFI CIARIES 
Article 5. 
Meaning 
1. Patents shall be granted for any 
inventions which are new, which involve 
an inventive step, and which are sus­
ceptible of industrial application. The 
invention may relate to a product, a 
process or an industrial application. 
2. The following shall not be regarded 
as inventions within the meaning of 
paragraph 1: 
a. discoveries, scientific theories, and 
mathematical methods; 
b. aesthetic creations; 
c. schemes, rules, and methods for 
performing mental acts, playing games or 
doing business, and programs for 
computers; 
d. presentation of information. 
3. An invention shall be considered new 
if it does not form part of the state of the 
art. The state of the art shall be held to comprise anything made available to the 
public anywhere in the world by means ofa 
written or oral description or in any other 
way, before the filing date of the patent 
application or the date of priority. 
4. An invention shall be considered as 
involving an inventive step if, having 
regard to the state of the art, it is not 
obvious to a person skilled in the art. 
5. An invention shall be considered as 
susceptible of industrial application if its 
su bject ma tter may be produced or used in 
any sector of industrial activity. 
6. The following shall not be regarded 
as inventions susceptible of industrial 
application within the meaning of para­
graph 5: 
a. i\1ethods for treatment of the human 
or animal body by surgery of therapy; 
b. Diagnostic methods practiced on the 
human or animal body. 
7. The exceptions to paragraph 6 shall 
not apply to products and in particular to 
substances or' compositions for use in any 
of these methods. 
8. Patents shall not be granted in the 
following cases: ,\. invl'ntions the puhliccltioll or ex­
ploitation of which would be contr;lry 10 
public order ("ordre pubJique") or mo­
rality; 
b. plant or animal varieties or biological 
processes for the production of plants or 
animals; this provision does not apply to 
microbiological processes or the products 
thereof. 
9. Patents shall be granted also for an 
invention which has been disclosed no 
earlier than six months preceding the filing 
of the patent application, if the disclosure 
was due to: 
a. an evident abuse of the rights of the 
applicant or his/her legal predecessor; 
b. the fact that the invention was 
displayed at an officially recognised 
international exhibition falling within the 
terms of the convention on international 
exhibitions signed in Paris on 22 November 
1928 and ratified by law 5562/32 (Official 
Journal, 221). In said case, when filing the 
application, the applicant should state that 
the invention has been so displayed and 
should file the relevant supporting 
certificate. 
10. The disclosure of paragraph 9 does 
not affect the novelty of the invention 
provided for in paragraph 3. 
Article 6 
Right to a patent 
Invention by an Employee -Claiming 
1. The right to a patent shall belong to 
the inventor or to the beneficiary in 
accordance with paragraphs 4,5, and 6 and 
to his/her general or special successors in 
title. Whoever requests the grant of the 
patent shall be deemed to be the inventor. 
2. If two or more persons have made an 
invention jointly and prdvided that there 
exists no other agreement, the right shall 
belong to all of them jointly. Each IP/N/lIGRC/PIl 
Page 7 
cohcneficial'Y may freely assign his !-iharc 
and take care of the maintaillance of the 
joint patent. 
3. If 1 wo or more persons h~IVC made the 
invention independently of each other, the 
right to the patent shall belong to the 
person whose patent application has the 
earliest date of filing or 10 the person who 
has a priority right against the others in 
accordance Wilh article 9. 
4. An invention made by an employee 
shall belong to him/her (free invention) 
unless the invention is either a service 
invention, in which case it entirely belongs 
to the employer, or is a dependent 
invention in which case it belongs by 40% 
to the employer and by 600/0 to the 
employee. 
S. A service invention is the outcome of 
a contractual relation between the em­
ployee and the employer for the develop­
ment of inventive activity. In case that a 
service invention is accomplished, the 
employee shall have the right to request an 
additional reasonable recompense if the 
invention is particularly profitable to the 
employer. 
6. A dependent invention is the inven­
tion made by an employee with the use of 
materials, means or information of the 
enterprise in which he/she is employed. 
The employer shall be entitled to exploit 
the dependent invention by priority 
against compensation to the inventor, 
proportional to the economic value of the 
invention and the profits it brings. The 
inventor of the dependent invention shall 
without neglect notify in writing the 
employer on the accomplishment of the 
invention and shall give the necessary data 
for the filing of a joint patent application. 
If the employer does not answer in writing 
within four months from said notification 
to the employee that he is interested in 
jointly filing the patent application, the IP/N/lIGRC/P/l 
Page 8 
said application shall he filed hy the 
employee only and in this case the 
invention belongs entirely to the employee. 
7. Any agreement which restricts the 
above mentioned rights of the employee 
shall be considered null. 
8. ] n all cases, the name of the inventor 
shall be mentioned in the patent and the 
inventor shall have the right vis-a-vis the 
applicant or the owner of the patent to 
demand his/her recognition as inventor. 
9. The beneficiary of the in\'ention may, 
if a third party has filed without his/her 
consent a patent application relating to his 
invention or to essential constituents there 
of, demand by legal action against said 
third party the recognition of his/her 
rights emanating from' the patent ap­
plication or, in case, that a patent has been 
granted, his/her rights emana ting from the 
patent. 
10. The aforementioned legal action 
shall be brought before the court within a 
period of two years from the date of 
publication of the summary of the patent 
in the Industrial Property Bulletin. This 
term does not apply if the patentee is aware 
of the right of the claimant at the time of 
grant or assignment of the patent. 
1]. A summary of the irrevocable 
decision stating the acceptance of the 
aforementio.ned action shall be recorded in 
the Patents Register. 
The licences and all other rights which 
have been granted on the patent shall be 
considered null as from the date of said 
recordal. The defeated litigant and th~d 
parties, if they have exploited the invention 
in good faith or had proceeded with the 
necessary preparations for said exploi­
tation, may request from the recognised 
beneficiary the grant against compensation 
of a non-exclusive licence for a reasonable 
period of time. ln case of dispute of the 
parties the conditions shall be determined by thc onc-member court of first instance 
in the place of residence of the applicant, in 
accordance with the procedure laid out in 
articles 74] to 78] of the Code of Civil 
Proced u re La w. 
CHAPTER B 
PROCEDURE FOR GRANTING 
A PATENT 
Article 7 
Filing of application -Acceptability -
Publication 
l. For the grant of a patent an 
application shall be filed with O.B.l. 
including: 
a. Full name or name of legal entities, 
nationality, residence or seat, and address 
of the applicant; 
b. Description of the invention and 
determination of one or more claims. 
O.B.l. may request completion or re­
wording of the description or the claims in 
order to comply with the dispositions of 
the present law. By claim shall be held in 
the present law the extent and the content 
of the requested protection; 
c. A request for the grant of a patent. 
2. The application shall be accompanied 
by the drawings referred to in the claims or 
the description, an abstract of the 
invention, the explanations for the proper 
understanding of the description, and the 
documents empowering the applicant to 
act in case of a legal entity or in case of a 
natural person if he/she is not the inventor. 
It shall be further accompanied by the 
receipts evidencing payment of the ap­
plication fee and of the first annual renewal 
fee. 
3. The claims of the invention shall be 
based on the description. 
4. The description of the invention shall 
be so compiled as to be sufficiently carried out hy :1 third pcr~(}n ~"illrd in till: ;11'1. 
5. Tilt: ahslr;lcl of the invention scrves 
only for I he pll rpose of t ech /l ica I i n­
formalion. 
6. The application may relate either to a 
single or 10 multiple inventions so linked as 
to form a single general concept. If the 
application relates to several inventions 
(compound application) the applicant 
may, up to the date of grant of the patent, 
divide the application into more than one 
divisional applications, maintaining the 
filing date of the initial application as filing 
date of each divisional application. 
7. Upon filing the patent application, 
the applicant may state that he \vishes his 
application to be considered, in accordance 
with article 19, as an application for the 
grant of a utility model certificate if the 
application shall be rejected as a patent 
application. 
8. The application shall be accented for 
filing provided that it meets the terms laid 
down in paragraph I and that it is 
accompanied by the receipts of the filing 
fee and the first annual renewal fee. In this 
case the filing of the application shall be 
considered as orderly filed but not 
complete. 
9. \Vithin a period of four months from 
the filing date, the applicant should submit 
any missing drawings or other supporting 
documents, complete any lacking data, 
and correct any eventual errors in the draft 
of the documents and of other supporting 
documentation in accordance with para­
graphs 2, 3, 4, and 5. In this case the filing 
of the application shall be considered 
complete. 
10. The date of the orderly filing of the 
application in accordance with paragraph 
8 is considered as the filing dale of the 
application. 
11. The manner of drafting and filing of 
the patent application and of the docu-IP IN I lIGRCIP 11 
Page 9 
ments :ltl:lched therelo as Wl:l! as of nny 
other detail relating to Ihe procedure for 
thc grant of a palent shall be determined by 
decision of t he ~1 in iSler of I ndust ry) 
Energy, and Technology, follo\ving pro­
posal of the Administrative Council of 
O.B.l.. 
] 2. The patent application of paragraph 
I as well as the documentation attached 
thereto provided for in paragraph 2 shall 
be made available to the public eighteen 
monts following the filing date or the date 
of priority, unless the patent has already 
been granted in which case they arc made 
available to the public on the date of grant 
of the patent. 
13. As from the da te on which the 
application is made available to the public, 
any third party may request information 
and capies of the application, of the 
description, of the drawings, and of any 
other relevant data. 
14. Extracts of the application shall be 
published in the Industrial Property 
Bulletin. 
Article 8. 
Grant of the patent -Procedure 
1. If after the lapse of tbe term stated in 
paragraph 9 of the preceding article O.B.I. 
discovers the orderly but not complete 
filing of the application, this shall be 
considered as not filed. 
2. If the filing of the application is 
orderly and complete, O.B.I. shall examine: 
a. whether the subject matter of the 
application relates to an invention which is 
obviously -patentable within the meaning 
of paragraphs 6 and 8 of article 5; 
b. whether the subject matter of the 
application cannot be obviously considered 
as invention within the meaning of article 5 
paragraph 2. 
If either of the a bove cases occurs, O.B.!. IP/N/1/GRC/P/l 
Page 10 
shall r ej l' c t the r; It c n I a p pi i c; 1\ i () 11 ill i I s 
entirety or in tile part \vhich falls under 
SLl id cases. 
3. Hthe application is not considered as 
non-fi led or if it is not reject ed, in 
accordance with the preceding paragraphs, 
O.B.I. shall draft a search report based on 
the description of the invention, the claims, 
and the attached drawings which shall 
mention all data of the state of the art 
necessary for the assessment of the novelty 
and the inventive step of the invention 
(search report). The search report may be 
accompanied by comments or brief 
explanatory remarks made by O.B.!. 
which shall relate to the characteristics of 
the invention in accordance with article 5 
par. l. 
4. The search report shall be drafted 
only if the applicant pays the search fee 
within four months from the filing date of 
the application. In case said fee is not paid 
in time, the patent application is auto­
mati cally converted into an application 
for grant of a utility model certificate. 
5. The search report, along with a copy 
of the documents accompanying it, shall be 
notified to the applicant who is entitled to 
present his/her comments within a period 
of three months from the date of the 
notification. 
6. On the basis of the applicant's 
comments, O.B.I. shall draft a final search 
report including all data of the state of the 
art which have to be taken into con­
sideration in appraising the patentability 
of the invention by granting a patent in 
accordance with the present Jaw. 
7. The search report shall be made 
available to the public along with the 
patent application or, ifit has not yet been 
drawn-up, following its notification to the 
applicant. 
8. The search report or the final search 
report have an informative character. 9. UpOIl drafting the ~c;IJTh reporl, 
O.B.1. may request fr()m the European 
Patent Office or from (lilY other inter­
national Of national organisation the 
supply of informCltion or opinions which 
shall be freely evaluated. Furthermore, 
O.B.1. may request from the applicant 
additioni11 information, clarifications or 
comments. 
] O. Allot her ma tters reIn ted to the 
procedure of drafting the search report or 
the final sea rch report a re regu la ted by 
decision of the Minister of Industry, 
Energy, and Technology. 
11. O.B.I. grants a patent following 
completion of the procedure of the 
preceding paragraphs. The patent certifies 
the complete and orderly nature of the 
patent application. The patent indicates its 
classification and its period oflife, whereas 
the following shall be attached thereto: 
a. The original of the description of the 
. invention together with the claims, the 
abstract, and drawings, if any; 
b. The search report or the final search 
report. 
12. The priority claim from an ap­
plication in another country is inscribed on 
the patent, indicating also the country, the 
date, and the number of its filing abroad on 
which the priority is based. 
13. The patent shall be recorded in the 
Patents Register and its summary shall be 
published in the Industrial Property 
Bulletin. 
14. A copy of the patent, together with 
the documents attached thereto, shall be 
given to the applicant. 
] 5. Any third party shall be entitled to 
request infromation or copies of the 
patent, the description, the drawings, or 
any relevant da ta. 
Article 9. 
International priority I. If' al1 OJ<.iclly p:lll:nt application or 
application for grallt of" a utility mockl 
certificate has been filed abroclu, the 
applicant or its beneficiary shall be entitled 
to claim priority provided that, within 
twelve months from the filing date, he shall 
file an applica tion in Greece for the same 
invention and that the condition of 
reciprocity applies. In this new application 
he must state the date and the country of 
the first filing. The right for priority goes 
back to the date of the first filing abroad. 
2. As orderly filing abroad there shall be 
considered every patent application which 
is considered orderly in compliance with 
the law of the country \vhere it has been 
filed and provided that the filing date 
ensues from its content. The subsequent 
fate of said patent application is of no 
concern. 
3. \Vithin sixteen months from the first 
orderly filing abroad, the following shall 
be submitted to O.B.I.: 
a. Certificate by the competent autho­
rity from the country where the first 
application was filed, indicating the 
number and the filing date along with the 
description, claims, and any drawings 
attached thereto, certified by the foreign 
authority, and 
b. Translation into Greek of the afore­
mentioned certificate, description, claims, 
and drawings, by a lawyer or authority 
having the right to certify translations. 
4. If several priorities are claimed, the 
terms starting from the date of priority are 
calculated as from the date of the earliest 
priority. 
CHAPTER C 
RIGHTS DERIVED FROM 
THE PATENT 
AND DURATION OF ITS VALIDITY IP/NIlIGRC/P/l 
Page 11 
Art iell" J O. 
Contents of" the right 
1. The patent confers upon its owner, 
whether natured person or legal entity, the 
exclusivc and time-limitcd, in accordance 
with article ]], right to productively 
exploit the invention and particularly: 
a. To produce, offer or make available 
in the market, to use and to possess for said 
purpose the products protected by the 
patent~ 
b. To apply, offer or make available in 
the market the process protected by the 
patent~ 
c. To produce, offer or make available 
in the market, to use and to possess for said 
purpose the product whose production 
results from the process protected by the 
patent; 
d. To forbid each and every third party 
from productively exploiting the invention, 
within the meaning of the above passages, 
or to import, \vithout prior consent of said 
owner, the products protected by the 
patent. 
2. The owner of the patent may not 
forbid, in the meaning of the preceding 
paragraph, the following activities: 
a. The use of the invention for non­
professional or research purposes; 
b. The use of the invention built in an 
automobile, railway, vessel or airplane 
entering the Greek territory on a temporary 
basis; 
c. The prepara tion of a pharmaceutical 
product in a pharmacy for a specific 
individual, following medical prescription 
as well as the dispensing and use of said 
pharmaceutical product under the reser­
vation of article 25 paragraph 3 of the 
present Law. 
3. \Vhoever shall exploit his/her con­
trivance or has proceeded with the 
preparations required for said exploitation, IP/N/lIGRClP1l 
Page 12 
at the timc thc application 1"01" iI patent WilS 
filed by a third party or ill accordance with 
the date of priority, shilll have the right to 
go on using said contrivance for their 
enterprise and its needs. This right may be 
only assigned along with the enterprise. 
Article 11. 
Duration of the Validity of the Patent 
1. The duration of the validity of the 
patent shall be twenty years starting the 
day following the date of the filing of the 
patent application. 
2. In case of claim of priority on the 
basis of filing abroad, the duration of the 
validity of the patent shall be calculated 
from the day following its filing in Greece. 
CHAPTER D 
SUCCESSION AND LICENCES 
Article 12. 
Assignment -Succession -
Contractual Licence 
1. The right on a patent application and 
on the patent itself may be assigned 
following written agreement or they may 
be inherited. The assignment shall be 
completed upon registration of the as­
signment agreement or of the certificate of 
inheritance in the Patents Register and 
it is published in the Industrial Property 
Bulletin. 
2. The joint owners of a patent may 
assign, each one separately, following 
written agreement, their share of the 
patent. The same applies to the right in 
common for granting a patent. 
3. The patentee may grant to a third 
party, following written agreement, a 
licence for exploitation of the patent. In 
case of a licence for a joint patent, the agrceml'nt or all the patcntccs is reqllired. 
4. Unlt:ss otllcrwisc agreed, tile licence 
is neither exclusive nor assignable nor 
inherit'lble. 
5. The patentee may at any lime slate to 
the I ndustria I Property Orga nisa t ion his 
consent to the grant of licences with or 
without exclusivity, against compensation. 
The statement shall be valid for a period of 
two years, shall be recorded in the Patents 
Register, and published in the Industrial 
Property Bulletin; the appropriate note 
shall be written on the patent. 
6. In the case of paragraph 5, for the 
period of time only for which the statement 
shall be valid, the patentee shall be entitled 
to a deduction from the sum of the annual 
fees paid for protection of the patent. The 
deduction shall be determined in general or 
for specific categories of cases by decision 
of the Administrative Council of the 
Industrial Property Organisation. 
Article 13. 
Non-contractual licence 
1. The competent court mentioned in 
paragraph 10 of the present article may 
grant to a third party, without prior 
consent of the patentee, a licence for 
exploitation of the patent in case that the 
following prerequisites concur accumu­
latively: 
a. A period of three years has elapsed 
since the grant of the patent or a period of 
four years has elapsed since the filing date 
of the patent application; 
b. The relevant invention has not been 
exploited in Greece or, in case it has, the 
production of the products thereof is 
insufficient to cover local demand; 
c. The third party is in a position to 
exploit productively the invention covered 
by the patent; 
d. The third party notified the patentee, OIlC Illolllh pliul 10 till' initiatioJ) of" the 
judicial proct'edings, rcg:lI'<iillg his in­
tClltio/l to request Cl nOli-contractual 
licence. 
2. The non-contractual licence shall not 
be granted in case the patentee justifies· 
lack of ex ploi t ,.11 ion or insu fficien t ex­
ploitation in the country. The importation 
of the product does not constitute an 
excuse for the invocation and application 
of this paragraph. The regulation of item 
1 above shall not apply to products im­
ported from Member States of the Euro­
pean Union.(I) 
3. The grant of a non-contractual 
licence may not exclude other contractual 
or non-contractual licences. The non­
contractual licence may be assigryed only 
along with the part of the enterprise which 
exploits the invention. 
4. The owner of the patent may request 
from the competent court mentioned in 
paragraph 10 the grant of a non­
contractual licence on an earlier patent, 
provided that his invention relates to the 
invention of the earlier patent, the 
productive exploitation of said invention is 
not possible without offending the rights of 
the owners of the earlier patent and his 
invention constitutes a significant progress 
in comparison with the invention of the 
prior patent. \Vhen the aforementioned 
non-contractual licence has been granted, 
the owner of the earlier patent may request 
the granting of a non-contractual licence 
for the subsequent invention. 
5. The non-contractual licence shall be 
granted following petition of the interested 
party before the competent court men­
tioned in paragraph 10. The petition is 
accompanied by the opinion of the 
Industrial Property Organisation regarding 
the existence of the prerequisites for 
granting the non-contractual licence in IP/N/lIGRC/P1l 
Page 13 
accordancc with Ihe prcccdingparClgrilphs, 
the amo\l nt, the t crms of the compensa I ion 
to be given to the owner of the palent, and 
the exclusive or non cxclusivc character of 
the exploitation of the invcntion. Tht 
Industrial Property Organisation slates its 
opinion following petition of the P,Hty 
interested in exploiting the patent. The: 
opinion of O.B.T. is granted within one 
month from the date the relevant petition 
is filed and is not binding for the competent 
court. Copy of the application for granting 
a non-contractual licence along with the 
relevant opinion of O.B.1. and the note 
fixing the day of the trial shall be notified 
to the owner of the patent and to the 
beneficiaries of other contractual or non­
contractual licences. 
6. In case the petition is approved, the 
competent court grants a non-contractual 
licence. The licence pertains to the extent 
of the exploitation rights of the invention, 
the duration of its validity, the date of 
commencement of the productive ex­
ploitation of the invention in Greece and 
the amount and terms of compensation to 
be paid to the patentee by the beneficiary 
of the licence. 
The amount and the terms of the 
compensation are determined in accord­
ance with the extent of the lndustrial 
exploitation of the protected invention. 
7. The decision of the court in ac­
cordance with paragraph 6 shall be 
recorded to the Patents Register of O.B.I., 
published in the Industrial Property 
Bulletin and notified to the persons 
mentioned in paragraph 5. 
8. Following petition of the owner of 
the patent or the beneficiary of the non­
contractual licence, the competent court 
mentioned in paragraph 10 may amend the 
terms of granting of the licence if new data 
justify the amendment or revoke the non-
III Paragraph 2 of Article 13 is cited as replaced by Article 2 of Presidential Decree No 54/1992 IP/NIlIGRC/PI 1 
Page 14 
contractual licence if its bcnefici;lry does 
not respect t he terms of t he licence or if the 
prerequisites for its granting have ceased 
existing. If the immediate revocation 
brings about a significant damage to the 
beneficiary of the non-contractual licence, 
the court may allow the continuation of the 
exploitation for a reasonable period of 
time. 
9. The non-contractual licence does not 
grant the right for importation of the 
products covered by the invention. 
10. The competent courl for the grant, 
assignment, amendment or revocation ofa 
non-contractual licence is the three­
member court of first instance at the place 
of residence of the petitioner, whichjudges 
in accordance with the proceedings of 
articles 741 to 781 of the Code of Civil 
Procedure Law. 
Article 14. 
Licence to the Public Sector 
1. For imperative reason of serving 
public health and national defence after 
justified decision of the Minister of 
Industry, Energy, and Technology and, 
according to the case, any competent 
Ministers, a licence for exploitation of an 
invention can be granted to bodies of the 
public sector which may exploit the 
invention in Greece, provided that the 
relevant invention has not been pro­
ductively exploited in Greece or the 
production of the products thereof is 
insufficient to cover ]ocal needs. 
2. Prior to the issue of the relevant 
decision, the patentee and anyone who is in 
position to give useful advice, are called 
upon to express their views. 
3. By the same decision, following the 
opinion of O.B.I., the amount and the 
terms of the compensation to the owner of 
the patent are determined. The amount of 
the compensation is determined in ac­
cordance with the extent of the industrial 
exploitation of the invention. In case of 
• I d is:! grce me n 1 of' till' p:11 L'l1ll'l' ;IS I q.!,C1 n.b the 
amollllt of tile compensatioll, the COIl1-
pcns~tioll is dctermined by the relevant 
onc-member court of first instance of the 
jurisdiction, in thc injunction proceedings. 
CHAPTER E 
NULLIFICATION -fORfEITURE 
-PROTECTION 
Article 15. 
Nullification 
1. The patent shall be declared null by 
Court decision if: 
a. The owner of the patent is not the 
inventor or his assignee or his beneficiary 
according to article 6, paragraphs 4, 5 and 
6; 
b. The invention is not patentable in 
accordance with article 5; 
c. The description attached to the 
patent is insufficient for the invention to be 
carried out by a person skilled in the art; 
d. The subject matter of the granted 
patent extends beyond the content of the 
protection, as requested in the application. 
2. The persons mentioned in passage (a) 
paragraph 1 are entitled to bring action 
against the owner in the case of said 
passage, whereas in all other cases action 
may be brought before the court by 
whoever has legal interest. The nullification 
action shall be brought before the 
competent civil court: Patentees who are 
not residents of Greece bring actions or are 
sued in the courts of the capital. 
3. lf the nullification is brought before 
the court only against part of the 
invention, the patent is accordingly 
restricted. 
Article '16. 
Forfeiture 
1. Whoever files a sta tement of waiver willl O.ILI. or \VllC)eVl'r d()l'~ not p:ly the 
pr(JlI."rti(Hl f"L-c ill due Inm, declincs from 
till' rights derived from the pall'1l1. 
2. O.ILI. issues:ln aet ror the rorfeiture 
published in the Industrial Property 
Bullet i 11. The forfeit ure is valid as from the 
da te of i Is pu bl ica lion. 
3. In case 8 non-contracttlallicence or a 
right to the invention has been granted, the 
registration of the waivcr further neces­
sitates written consent of the beneficiary of 
the licence or of the right. 
Article 17. 
Actions before justice by the owner 
of the patent -False pretence 
1. I n case of present or threatened 
infringement of the patent, its owner has 
the right to demand the cease of the 
infringement and the omission from any 
infringement in future. 
2. In case of intentional infringement of 
the patent, its owner who suffered damage 
is entitled to demand restitution of the 
damage or return of the benefits derived 
from the unfair exploitation of the 
invention or the payment of an amount 
equal to the value of the licence for said 
exploitation. 
3. The same rights are granted to the 
beneficiary of an exclusive licence, to 
whoever has a right on the invention, and 
to whoever has filed a patent application. 
In the latter case the court may postpone 
the trial procedure of the case until said 
patent has been granted. 
4. The aforementioned rights shall be 
prescribed after the lapse offive years from 
the date the owner of the patent took 
knowledge either of the infringement or of 
the damage and of whom is obliged to give 
compensation, and definitely after the 
lapse of twenty years since the infringement 
took place. IP IN I IIGRCIP /1 
Page 15 
5. III case of (.;ondcllllliltiol\ or lht: 
def"cnti;lllt, the cOllrl Illily orurr the 
destructioll of tht: products l11aIlUr"L"tun:d 
in violation of the dispositions of tht 
present le\\\'. The court may also, instead of 
the destruction, order that the products or 
a part thcreof be rendered to the plaintiff 
for his total or partial compensation, upon 
request of the la tter. 
6. If the invention relates to a process 
. for the manufacture of a product, each 
product of the same nature is presumed to 
have been manufactured according to the 
protected process. 
7. \Vhoever places on products or on 
their wrapping, or on any kind of 
commercial documents destined for the 
public or on other relevant means of 
pUblicising and advertising, a false state­
ment that the objects in question are 
protected by patent, shall be punished by 
up to one year imprisonment or by fine 
amounting to at least fifty thousand 
drachmas or by both penalties. 
CHAPTER F 
PATENT OF l\10DIFICATION 
Article 18. 
Meaning -Procedure up to grant 
1. If an invention constitutes modi­
fication of another inventioi1 already 
covered by a patent (main patent), the 
owner of the latter may request the grant of 
a new patent (patent of modification) 
provided that the subject-matter of the new 
patent relates to at least one claim of the 
main patent. 
2. The patent of modification shall 
follow the fate of the main patent and 
expires therewith. The patent of modi­
fication may be used by all beneficiaries of 
licences for exploitation of the main IP IN 11 IGRC/P 11 
Page 16 
patent, unkss otherwise slated in the 
licences. 
3. No annual renewal fees arc to be paid 
for the p:llent of modification. 
4. The patent of modification may be 
converted into a main patent, upon request 
orits owner. The duration ofllle validity of 
the converted patent shall be governed by 
art i cl e 1 1. As d ate 0 f fi 1 i n g s h a 11 be 
regarded the filing date of the application for gr:1111 or:1 palenl of Jl)odiriGllioJ). 
5. Till' nullification of the 1l1~lil1 patent 
does not cilll for lhe nullification of the 
patent of modification. In case tile main 
patent is annulled, the fees to he paid for 
the main patent shall be paid for the patent 
of modification. 
6. As regards all other matters, the 
respective dispositions of the present law 
regarding patents shall apply. 
PART THREE 
TECHNICAL INNOVATIONS 
CHAPTER A 
UTILITY MODEL CERTIFICATE 
Article 19. 
Meaning -Procedure up to grant 
1. The utility model certificate shall be 
granted for each novel and industrially 
applicable three-dimensional object with 
definite shape and form, such as a tool, an 
instrument, a device, an apparatus or even 
parts thereof, proposed as novel and 
industrially applicable and capable of 
giving a solution to a technical problem. 
2. \Vhoever files a patent application 
may request up to the date of grant of the 
patent the conversion of his patent 
application into an application for a utility 
model certificate. 
3. The duration of validity of the utility 
model certificate is seven years from the 
date foHowing the date the application for 
the grant of a utility model certificate or for 
the grant of a patent has been filed in case 
of conversion in accordance with para­
graph 2. 
4. The application for the grant of a 
utility model certificate shall be subn1itted to O.B.I. The requirements for filing the 
application, the relevant supporting 
documentation, and all other pertinent 
details are determined by decision of the 
l\1inister of J ndustry, Energy, and 
Technology. 
5. If the application for a utility model 
certificate complies with the requirements 
of paragraph 4, O.B.I. grants a utility 
model certificate without prior exami­
nation of the novelty and industrial 
applicability of the utility model at the 
responsibility of the applicant. 
6. As regards all other matters, the 
respective dispositions of the present law 
regarding patents apply. 
CHAPTER B 
TECHNICAL INNOVATIONS 
AND A\VARDS 
Article 20. 
Technical innovation -Subsidies 
-Awards 
1. A certificate of technical innovation 
may be granted for a new solution of a 
specific technical problem (technical in-Illlval iOIl), PI()p()~l'd hy OI1l' or Illore 
pcr:--ons working for ill1 enterprise Clnd 
rcl:lll'd to tilL: activities or the lalter. The 
certificatc of tcchnical innovation con­
stitutes Cl!) award to v,'orking persons 
involved for their creative contribution to 
the enterprise. 
2. The details of the procedure for 
granting certificates of technical inno­
vation shall be determined by joint 
decision of the Ministers of Labor and of 
Industry, Energy, and Technology, pu­
blished in the Official Journal of the 
Government. 
3. The requirements for subsidising 
unions and associations of inventors or 
scientists as well as cooperatives and 
unions ofproductive units which aim at the 
development of research and technological 
installations and models, at the joint 
reclamation of results derived from 
research, or at the presentation of 
inventions or new products and processes 
in exhibitions and congresses, shall be 
determined by joint decision of the 
~1inisters of Finance and of Industry, 
Energy, and Technology. 
4. The procedure for granting state 
awards andlor financial support to 
inventors, persons employed in enterprises 
and whoever may contribute to the 
development of technology, to the po-IP/N/lIGRC/P/l 
Page 17 
plIl;lris;llioll :Illd jll'op;lgatioJ) or SCil'lllirit.: 
(1nL! lechnic;d knowledge, ClS well il!' to the 
creill i on or I c:chnologicill plilCC!' of d i!'pl;\ y 
and museums, sh:dl he governed by joint 
decision of tile M inisters of N:II i()l1~d 
Economy, of Finance, and of Industry, 
Energy, and Technology. 
5. The research centers or institutes of 
the country may, following request of tire 
pa fly concerned, gra nt a lea vc of lip to two 
years with salaries not exceeding fifty 
percent to a researcher of any degree who 
\vishes to render industrially and com­
mercially productive his technical con­
trivances and inventions provided they fall 
within the scope of the center or institute. 
Following request of the person concerned, 
the research center or institute may extend 
the aforementioned leave for a further 
total period of three years and \\'ith 
emoluments up to t\venty-five percent of 
the regular ones. After the lapse of five 
years, the researcher shall choose either 10 
resign from the center or to return to the 
center as a full-timer. The assessment of 
the petitions for granting or extending sucb 
leave shall be effected by the Admini­
strative Council of the researche center or 
institute and the grant of the leave or its 
extension shall be approved by the 
Minister or Industry, Energy, and 
Technology. 
PART FOUR 
TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER 
Article 21. 
J\.1eaning -Nullity of terms of the contract 
1. By the contract on technology 
transfer the supplier oftechno]ogy is called upon to supply technology to the recipient 
of technology, and the recipient is called 
upon to pay the value agreed upon. In 
particular, the following are conceived 
within the meaning of this article as IP IN I lIGRCIP /l 
Page 18 
tcrhlltllo!!y ~tlpply: 
;1. Till' lin:nce for exploitation of 
patents <IIH.f utility model certificates; 
h. Tile assignment of patents and of 
utility model certificates; 
c. The supplying of technical construct­
ing instructions, drawings or services; 
d. The supplying of organisational and 
management services, as well as of 
specialised consulting services or services 
for follow-up and control; 
c. The disclosure of industria] secrets 
with drawings, diagrams, specimens, 
models, instructions, proportions, condi­
tions, processes, prescriptions and methods 
of production of products referring to the 
productive exploitation. Such industrial 
secrets are mainly technical information, 
data or knowledge which relate to 
processes, expertise or skills, that have 
practical application particularly to the 
production of goods and the rendering of 
services, provided that they have not 
become widely known; 
f. The joint research or development of 
new technology, demonstrative or expe­
rimental programs or works; 
g. Providing technical assistance in the 
form of briefing, instruction, and for­
ma tion of personnel. 
2. The following terms shall be null and 
void: 
a. Terms in patent licences that inlcude 
dispositions which are contrary to those of 
article 3 of Regulation number 2349/1984 
of the Commission of European Com­
munities (Official Journal No. L 219115) 
concerning the implementation of article 
85 par. 3 of the EEC Convention, to classes 
of agreements relating to the licence for 
exploitation of pa tents; 
b. Terms in contracts on technology 
transfer including ban of exportation. The 
Minister of lndustry, Energy, and Tech­
nology may, by his decision, permit the COIH.:ltlsillll ()r iI contract cOllt;tillill!!. Cl 
CI;llISC h;ll1nillg cxpOrlCltioll, if this IS 
imposed hy seri()us reasons or economic 
developmellt i111<.1 puhlic intcresl and 
provided tl1;lt the han is not contrary to 
international obligations of the country. 
Article 22. 
Hegistration of the contract on 
technology transfer 
1. The contract on technology transfer 
shall be submitted to O.B.I. by the 
contracting parties \vhich have their 
domicile or scat in Greece, within one 
month from its conclusion and at the same 
time the dispositions of law No 1360/83 
(Official Journal No. 65) apply. 
2. The contract shall be registered in the 
register of technology transfer. The 
registered contracts on technology transfer 
or the information contained in the form 
provided in paragraph 5 of the present 
artic1e shall be kept secret. \Vhoever shall 
viola te the present disposition shall be 
punished according to article 17 of Law No 
146/1914 on Unfair Competition. 
3. Contracts with the following subject 
shall not be subject to the obligation of 
being registered: 
a. Isolated use of foreign engineers and 
technicians for installation and repair of 
factories or machinery; 
b. Advice, drawings or similar pro­
visions usually accompanying n1achinery 
or equipment, provided that they do not 
entail any special surcharge for the one 
whom they are destined to; 
c. Urgent technical assistance or repair, 
provided that they are carried out. by 
reason of an earlier registered agreement. 
d. Technical training given by educa­
tional organisations or enterprises to their 
personnel; e. Defense systems. 
4. The party responsible for registering 
the contract on technology transfer may 
either submit a copy of the contract or 
complete the special form in accordance 
with paragraph 5. Suit or petition to the 
Court which concerns any difference 
between the contracting parties and which 
rela tes to a contract on technology transfer 
cannot be discussed before the court 
without a written confirmation of O.B.I. 
indicating that the parties have complied 
with the requirements of this paragraph. 
5. The process of compiling, drafting, IP/NIlIGRC/P/l 
Page 19 
and granting of the special form regarding 
contracts on technology transfer and tIle 
relevant prerequisites to be completed for 
statistical use are determined by decision 
of the Minister of ]ndustry, Energy, and 
Technology. 
6. The registration of the contract on 
technology transfer with O.B.J. may entail 
for the con tracting party( -ies) su b-mitting 
the agreement a deduction from the sum of 
the fees due to O.B.I.. The p~rcenlage of 
the deduction shall be determined by 
decision of the Administrative Council of 
O.B.I. 
PART FIVE 
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 
CONVENTION ON THE 
GRANT OF EUROPEAN PATENTS 
Artic1e 23. 
European application -European patent 
Reasons for Nullification 
1. The application for the grant of a 
European patent shall be obligatorily 
submitted to O.B.I. when the applicant is a 
Greek citizen unless claiming the priority 
of an earlier Greek application. 
2. Since the date of its publication, in 
accordance with law 1607/1986 (Official 
Journal 85), article 93 of the convention 
concerning the European patent, the 
European patent application in Greece has 
the same effects as the Greek patent 
application. 
3. The provisional protection of para­
graph 2 is provided only starting the date 
on which the applicant of the application 
of the European patent submits to O.B.l. 
the relevant certified trans]a tion in Greek of the claims of the application. 
4. The European patent has the same 
effects in Greece as the Greek patent 
granted by O.B.l. 
5. The proprietor of the European 
patent shall supply O.B.I. \vith the relevant 
certified Greek translation of the text on 
the basis of which the European Patent 
Office has granted the European patent or 
has maintained it with modifications. 
6. The European patent is not valid in 
Greece unless the terms ofparagraph 5 are 
observed. 
7. For as long as the reserve formulated 
by Greece in accordance with article 167 
paragraph 2 passage (a) of the convention 
regarding the European patent remains in 
force, European patents granting pro­
tection to pharmaceutical products are 
ineffective in Greece. 
8. A European patent may be declared IP/NI1 IGRC/P/l 
Page 20 
null in Greece only on the grounds of law 
No 1607/19X() article 13g paragraph] of 
the Convention regarding the European 
patent. 
9. If the grounds for nullification relate 
to the European patent only in part, the 
c1aims, the description, and the drawings 
of the patent shall be limited accordingly. 
10. The following shall be determined 
by Presidential Decree to be issued upon 
recommendation of the Minister of In­
dustry, Energy, and Technology: 
a. The deadline and prerequisites for 
su bmitting the translation of the ap­
plication for the grant of a European 
patent; 
b. The deadline and prerequisites for 
submitting the translation of the European 
patent; c. The terms lor Clscertaining the 
authenticity of the translation, its possible 
revision, clnd the rights of third parties 
who, in good faith, are already exploiting 
the pa lent; 
d. The mode and the prerequisites for 
filing the European patent application 
with O.B.l.; 
e. The keeping of the register of 
European patents; 
f. The prerequisites for converting the 
European patent application into a Greek 
patent application; 
g. The prerequisites for representation 
before O.B.I. concerning matters of 
European patents; 
h. The regulation of cases of cumulative 
protection of Greek and European patents. 
PART SIX 
FINAL AND TRANSITIONAL 
PROVISIONS 
Article 24. 
Fees 
1. Fees shall be paid for the registration 
of contracts on technology transfer, for the 
furnishing of advice and information with 
regard to technology transfe4, and for the 
grant, assignment or amendment of rights 
on patents and utility model certificates. 
2. For each patent application the filing 
fee, the annua1 fees for protection, the fee 
for the search report and fees for the 
registration of modifications shall be paid 
in advance to O.B.I. The receipts of 
payment of the filing fees and for fees 
covering the first year of protection shall 
be deposited along with the patent application. The annual fees for protection 
shall be paid in advance for each 
subsequent year and the relevant receipt 
shall be submitted to O.B.I. each year up to 
the last day of the month corresponding to 
the date on which the application wad 
filed. Following the lapse of the afore­
mentioned term and within six months 
from said term the owner of the patent may 
pay the due fees increased by fifty percent. 
3. Annual fees for pro~ection shall also 
be paid in advance for each year for any 
patent application, as though the patent 
had been granted. If these fees are not paid 
within the terms prescribed in paragraph 2, 
article] 6 applies. 
4. As date of payment of the fees there !'h;dl he leg;lIdnl till' d;llc of filing or the 
tlpplic;,tiol1l(l which I Ill' n.:.kvalll receipt is 
atlachnl. 
5. Tilt.: above dispositions apply res­
pectively to utility mod<:ls clIld to all other 
cases for which the p~yment of fees is 
provided for by this law. 
6. The amount of the fees is determined 
by decision of the Administrative Council 
of O.D.l. 
7. Fees for protection which have been 
paid in advance and \vhich relate to a 
subsequent period of time shall be 
exempted from all subsequent readjust­
ments. 
8. ]n case of irrevocable rejection of the 
application, the proportion of the annual 
fees for protection paid in advance and 
corresponding to a period of inexploitation 
shall be restituted. 
Article 25. 
Repealed -Transitional Dispositions 
-Authorisations 
1. For patent applications filed prior to 
the entry into force of this law, the 
dispositions being in force on the filing 
date of the application apply with regard to 
the prerequisites for the granting procedure 
of the patent. The patents shall be granted 
by O.B.I. Patents granted on the basis of 
these applications and patents already 
granted prior to the entry into force of the 
present law shall be regulated by the 
dispositions of the present law, with the 
exception of paragraph 1 of article 11) and 
any possible acquired rights shall be 
reserved. The duration of the validity of 
the aforementioned patents shall be fifteen 
years starting the day following the filing 
date of the patent application. 
2. Starting the date the present law 
enters into force, the following shall be 
repealed: law no 2527/1920 "regarding IP/NIlIGRC/P1l 
Page 21 
P;lkllh", '1l1icic ()(ll-: nl lilt" ('ivil ('odC', 
1{oy;t\ DCCI IT d;llc:c.i 22.11.ll)20 "n.:gihding 
execution or litW j\!() 2527 C<VH.:crning 
p;ltents", :noticks J 10 12 inclusive of law 
No 1 023/l9~O "regarding amendment and 
completion of law No 2527/1920", case of 
article 7 of Presidential Decree No 
5741 I 982 "Rc-assignment of competencies 
of the 11inistries", as well as all other 
dispositions contrary to those of the 
present law or related to matters governed 
by the present law. Law No 4325/1963 
regarding inventions concerning the na­
tional defence of the country" shall remain 
in force. \Vherever law No 4325/1963 
refers to the 11inistry of Commerce it is 
understood as O.B.I. and any references to 
law No 2527/1920 shall be replaced by the 
corresponding regulations of the present 
law. 
3. As long as the reserve formulated by 
Greece in accordance with article 167 
paragraph 2, passage (a) of the Convention 
for the European patent shall remain in 
force, no patents for pharn1aceutical 
products shall be granted by O,B.I. within 
the meaning of article 2 of law No 
1316/1983. 
4. Upon publication of the present law, 
by decision of the 11inister, the staff of all 
categories serving at the Patent Section of 
the 11inistry of Industry, Energy, and 
Technology, may be placed at the disposal 
of O.B.I. in order to serve its functional 
needs, in deviation from all other relevant 
dispositions. The period of their service at 
O.B.I. shall be regarded in each case as a 
period of real service with the Ministry of 
Industry, Energy, and Technology. In 
accordance 'with the same decision, the 
equipment of any nature of the said 
Section may be transfered to O.B.I. 
5. By presidential decree to be issued 
following recommendation of the J\.1inisters 
of Commerce and ofIndustry, Energy, and IP/NIlIGRC/PI 1 
Page 22 
Technology, the competencies of the 
Directorate of Commercial and 1 ndustrial 
Property of the Ministry of Commerce for 
registration and grant of trade marks may 
be transferred to O.B.]. 
............................ ,. ................................... . 
Article 29. 
Entry into force 
The present Law shall enter into force 
upon its puplication in the Official Journal 
of the Government, with the exception of the provisions of Parts Two, Three and 
Four as well as of Article 25 paragraphs I 
and 2 of this law, which shall enter into 
force as from 1 January 1988. As from the 
entry into force of the present law, the 
competencies of the Patent Section of the 
1\.1inistry of Industry, Energy and Tech­
nology shall be transferred to O.B.I. 
NOTE: Paragraphs 6 and 7 of article 25, 
and articles 26, 27 and 28, do not concern 
OBl's competences and are, therefore, 
omitted. 
., ..... . .< 1\ I .l.J) T] (JIJ -.'l.)1E:'H,l'lJ~' IT TU 
T }! ~: .~ (; V E P. } .n.~ E ~~ TB] L:..1 U JJ T}I E IP IN/lIGRC/P /1 
Page 23 
HeJJcldr. R(~n}: fl>l JIldusLlial Development (E:TV1\) 
The f.ollowing article is adued: 
1. Tbe dUrntjol1 of the patent.~ grant.ed purSuCint to La"y 
2527/J ~~;~O "on PiitenLslI is ex1.en:ied ~])d shall remain in fc,rce 
on the ~,J .19~:)6 unlil the complet.ion ot twenty years as of the 
d ~ Y () f )"' ~ 9 \J) 0 r f i ) j n ~1 u f thE' a pp 1 i cat 1 0 n for 9 r ?i n t 0 f ~ pat -
8flt.. R~(IlJ).at.ion~ rp.),:iLeu t.o fee.:: aTe also applicflbJc to these 
patents. 
2. 1\ )" tic 1 F. 7. ~) • 1 . 3 0 f L n W 1 i' ~, 3 / } 9 8 7 0 n 11 J n v en t. ~L 0 n sIT e ch nolo g y 
T r :1 :') S f \=!, and T f: r.: h n 010 Y j ca 1 In J) 0 vat i (') n 11 i s a men d e d a s f 0 11 ow S : , 
"Pat.en·:'s grC1nL~d on the b3E',is of t:t1ese a.ppl icaliorls aDd pat-
en t ~ n.l. 1" C Cl cl Y g ran t. e d pr i 0 :r t () t. h e .~ n try i n to f 0 Z' C ~ 0 f the 
pr· e ,~ e n ~: 1 ~ w s b n 1) be r e 9 u 1 Cl t e d by ·t he d i s P 0 s i l: i () n 5 0 f L 11 e 
presG'Il1: 1.:tH and ~ny po~:sible i.1c'lui:~'ed x·ights s.h~J.l be ~ 
reservf~d. 'I 
3. Axt~c18 2~.1 .. 4 of LQW 1733/)981 on "Technology Transfer 
and Tc?chnc.J.:og i ca 1 T nno v a l.:i on" if,· l'{: pea 1 ed • 
4. ]~rtjcle 13.2.3 of Lew 1733/1.987 on '''i'echnology Transfer, 
I n v ('! 1) t .:i 0 :"1!;i ( 0 Tl cl T e <.: h n 0 1. 09 1 C i:\ 1 J r; no\' a l ion fI i s a In end e d a s f 01 -
low:::: "'1'))r:: rcg\J] ation~ of i tern 1 al)ove shall not apply to 
prOdtlct3 imported [I·om Mern})el· Statf'S of the European Unlon and 
1'1 cm}·;-e ,.' !:.i ': u t. e S Cl f the W u r 1 d T r a (j e 0 r 9 n n j 7., a t ion . " 
5. The pl~c.scnt. artieJe shi31J el1LeJ:· into force as of 1.1.19~o . 
.l disposjt.ion 
The MiniRter for Industry, Energy, 
~nd Techno)ogy 
(signature)