435/2001  Coll. of Laws of the Slovak Rep.  
 
ACT 
 
of October 4, 2001  
 
on patents, supplementary protection certificates and on alterations of and additions to certain laws  (Patent Act) 
 
Amendment: 435/2001 Coll. of Laws of the Slovak Rep.  
Amendment: 402/2002 Coll. of Laws of the Slovak Rep.   
Amendment: 84/2007 Coll. of Laws of the Slovak Rep.   
Amendment: 517/2007 Coll. of Laws of the Slovak Rep.  (indirect amendment)  
Amendment: 495/2008 Coll. of Laws of the Slovak Rep.  
Amendment: 202/2009 Coll. of Laws of the Slovak Rep.  (indirect amendment)  
Amendment: 125/2016 Coll. of Laws of the Slovak Rep.  
Amendment: 242/2017 Coll. of Laws of the Slovak Rep.  
Amendment: 242/2017 Coll. of Laws of the Slovak Rep.  
Amendment: 291/2018 Coll. of Laws of the Slovak Rep.  
 The National Council of the Slovak Republic has adopted the following A ct: 
 
Art. I 
 
PART  ONE  
 
BASIC PROVISIONS  
 
§ 1 
 
Subject -matter  of regulation  
 
 This Act shall regulate legal relationship s arising in connection with the creation, legal protection and application of 
an invention being the subject -matter  of a patent application or patent.  
§ 2 
 
Scope of the Act  
 
 This Act applies to  
(a) a patent application (hereinafter referred to as "application"), a European patent application [section  3(e)] and an international 
application [ section  3(g)], 
(b) a patent and a European patent [ section  3(f)], 
(c) the rights and obligations of an inventor, an applicant of an application (hereinafter referred to as "applicant") and the patent 
owner, the applicant f or a European patent application and the owner of a European patent, the applicant f or an international 
application,  
(d) the legal statu s of a third party who is a holder of other rights or obligations in relation to an application, a European patent 
application, an international application, a patent or a European patent,  
(e) proceedings on subject -matter s of a right  pursuant to subsections (a) to (d). 
§ 3 
 
Definition of some terms  
 
 For the purposes of this Act  
(a) biological material means any material containing genetic information and capable of reproducing itself or being reproduced 
in a biological system,  
(b) a microbiological process means any process involving or performed upon or resulting in microbiological material , 
(c) an essentially biological process  for the  creati on of plants or animals  means a process based e ntirely on natural phenomena, 
such as crossin g or selection,  
(d) reproduction means generative or vegetative reproduction,  
(e) a European patent application means a n application for a  European patent filed under  the Convention on the Grant of 
European Patents concluded in Munich on October 5, 1973 (hereinafter referred to as the "European Patent Convention"),  
(f) a European patent means a patent granted by the European Patent Office under the European Patent Conventio n, 
(g) an international application means an application filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty , 1) 
(h) commercial  exploitation of a patent or an invention  means  any activity in relation to the patent as a  subject -matter  of a right 
or in relation to the invention as the subject -matter  of the patent  performed by the patent owner or another authorized person 
with the aim of making a profit.  
 
 
 
 PART  TWO  
 
PATENTS FOR INVENTIONS  
 
§ 4 
 
 The Industrial Property Office of the Slovak Republic (hereinafter referred to as the "Office") shall grant patents for 
inventions that  meet the terms and conditions established by this Act. 
§ 5 
 
Patentability of inventions  
 
 (1) Patents shall be granted for inventions, in all fields of technology that  are new, involve an inventive step and are 
susceptible of industrial application.  
 (2) Patents pursuant to subsection 1 shall be  also granted for biotechnological inventions which concern a product 
consisting of or containing biological material or a process by means of which biological material is produced, processed or 
used, even if the invention concerns  
(a) biological material which is isolated from its natural environment or produced by means of a technical process even if it 
previously occurred in nature,  
(b) plants or animals if the technical feasibility of the invention is not confined to a particular plant or animal variety, 2)  
(c) a microbiological or other technical process, or a product obtained by means of such a process,  
(d) an element isolated from the human body or otherwise produced by means of a technical process, including the sequence 
or partial sequence of a gene, even if the structure of that element is identical to that  of a natural element.  
 (3) The following in particular shall not be regarded as inventions within the meaning of subsectio n 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,  
(d) programs  for computers , 
(e) presentation s of information.  
 (4) Subsection 3 shall exclude the patentability of the subject -matter  or activities referred to therein only to the extent 
to which a p atent relates to such subject -matter  or activities as such.  
§ 6 
 
Exceptions to  patentability  
 
 (1) Patents shall not be granted  in respect of  
(a) plant varieties and animal varieties , 
(b) essentially biological processes for the creation of plants or animals,  
(c) methods for treatment of the human or animal body by surgery or therapy and diagnostic methods and disease prevention 
methods practiced  on the human or animal body. This provision shall not apply to products, in pa rticular substances or 
compositions, for use in any of the  said methods  of treatment, diagnostics or disease prevention , 
(d) inventions that relate to the human body , at various stages of its formation and development, and the simple discovery of 
one of its elements, including the sequence or partial sequence of a gene, with the exception of section 5(2)(d)  
(e) inventions the commercial exploitation of which would be contrary to "ordre  public" or morality. The mere prohibition of the 
exploitation of the invention by law s hall not be deemed contrary to "ordre public" or morality within the meaning of this provision.  
 (2) Pursuant to subsection  1 paragraph  (e) patents shall not be granted  in particular in respect of  
(a) processes  for cloning human individuals,  
(b) processes for modifying the germ line genetic identity of human beings , 
(c) uses of human embryos for industrial or commercial purposes , 
(d) processes for modifying the genetic identity of animals which are likely to cause them suffering without any substantial 
medical benefit to man or animal, and also animals resulting from such processes.  
 
§ 7 
 
Novelty  
 
 (1) An invention shall be considered to be new if it does not form part of the state of the art.  
(2) The state of the art shall be held to comprise everything made available to the public anywhere in any way before 
the date from which an applicant enjoys a priority right (section 36).  
(3) The contents of patent appli cations and utility model applications filed in the Slovak Republic with an earlier priority 
right shall also be considered state of the art, if they are published in the Official Gazette of the Industrial Property Off ice of the 
Slovak Republic (hereinafte r referred to as “ Official Gazette”) on or after the day from which the applicant enjoys the priority 
right.  This shall also apply to international applications with designation for the Slovak Republic, where the publication of the 
international applicatio n shall mean publication in the Official Gazette  (section 41), and to European patent applications with 
designation for the Slovak Republic (hereinafter referred to as “European patent application”), where the publication of the 
European patent application  shall mean publication pursuant to Article 93 or Article 153 of the European Patent Convention. A 
classified application (section 59(10)) shall be considered published for the purpose of this provision after the expiry of 1 8 
months from the date of the cr eation of the priority right.  
(4) A disclosure of an invention shall not be considered state of the art if it occurred not earlier than six months 
preceding the filing of the patent application and if it directly or indirectly results from  
(a) an evident abuse in relation to an applicant or his legal predecessor,  
(b) the fact that the applicant or his legal predecessor has displayed the invention at an official or officially recognized e xhibition 
pursuant to an international convention.3) In this c ase, the applicant is obliged to state, when filing the application, that the 
invention has been so displayed and within 4 months of filing the application he shall file a certificate of displaying the i nvention pursuant to an international convention.  3) 
(5) Subsections  1 to 3 shall not exclude the patentability of substances or compositions which are  
(a) comprised in the state of the art, for their use in methods referred to in section 6(1)(c), provided that such use is not comprised 
in the state of the art,  
(b) referred to in subparagraph a) for any specific use thereof in methods referred to in section 6(1)(c), provided that such 
specific use is not comprised in the state of the art.  
§ 8 
 
Inventive step 
 
(1) An invention shall be  considered  as involving an inventive step  if it does not follow  from the state of the art in an 
obvious way for a person skilled in the art.  
 (2) When assessing the inventive step, the content s of applications, European patent applications and utility mod el 
applications that have not been published as of the date from which the applicant enjoys  the right of priority shall not be taken 
into account ( section  41 or section  60(2)). 
§ 9 
 
Industrial applica tion 
 
 An invention shall be considered as susceptible of industrial application if it can be made or used in any industry, 
especially in the industrial industry or in agriculture.  
Heading  repealed  as of January 1, 2018  
 
§ 10 
 
Inventor  
 
 (1) The right to a solution, including the right to file an application (hereinafter referred to as the "right to a solution" ), 
shall belong to the inventor of the invent ion (hereinafter referred to as the "inventor"), unless section  11 provides otherwise.  
 (2) The inventor is the one who created the invention through his own creative activity.  
 (3) Co -inventors of the invention (hereinafter referred to as "co -inventors") shall have the right to a solution to the 
extent that they have participated in the cr eation of the invention. Unless the co -inventors agree otherwise or unless the court 
decides otherwise, it holds that the share of the co -inventors in the creation of the invention is identical . 
 (4) If an invention has been created by several persons inde pendently of each other, the right to a solution shall 
belong to the one who has the earlier priority  right (section  36). This applies only if the application has been  published according 
to section  41 or section  60(2). 
§ 11 
 
Employee invention  
 
 (1) If the inventor has created an invention as part of the performance of tasks resulting from a labor law relationship , 
a similar work -related  relationship or a membership relationship  (hereinafter referred to as "employee invention") , the right to a 
solution belongs to the employer, unless the participants of this relationship have agreed otherwise. This does not affect the 
right to inventorship . 
 (2) An inventor having c reated an employee invention is obliged to notify the employer of this fact in writing without 
delay, and at the same time to hand over to him all the documents necessary for the assessment of the invention. In the 
notification, the inventor  shall describe  the technical problem and its solution, as well as the origin and essence of the employee 
invention so that a person skilled in the art  can implement the invention.  
 (3) The employer may exercise the right to a solution  against the inventor  in writing within a period of three months 
from the notification by the inventor  pursuant to  subsection  2. The filing of an application, a European patent application or an 
international application, the subject -matter  of which is an employee invention and in which the inventor who created the 
employee invention is listed as the inventor  shall be also considered an exercise of the right to a solution pursuant to the 
preceding sentence. If the employer exercises the right to a solution,  he is obliged to immediately inform the inventor  in writing 
about the chosen method of protection of the employee invention, in particular about the filed application, European patent 
application or international application.  
 (4) If the employer does not  exercise the right to a solution in the manner referred to in subsection  3 within the period 
pursuant to subsection  3 or notifies the inventor  in writing within this period that he does not exercise the right to a solution , this 
right shall be transferred  to the inventor . 
 (5) Until the expiry of the deadline for exercising the right to a solution pursuant to subsection  3 or until exercise of 
the right to a solution pursuant to subsection 3 or until the transfer  of the right to a solution to the inventor pursuant to subsection  
4, whichever occurs first,  the employer and the inventor  are obliged to maintain confidentiality towards third parties about the 
employee invention.  If the employer has exercised the right to a solution withi n the period pursuant  to subsection 3, the inventor  
is obliged to maintain confidentiality about the employee invention towards third parties until the invention is made availab le to 
the public in accordance with this Act, the European Patent Convention or  the Patent Cooperation Treaty or until it is made 
available to the public with the employer's consent, whichever  occurs first. If the right to a solution has been transferred to  the 
inventor  in accord ance with subsection  4, the employer is obliged to maintain confidentiality about the employee invention 
towards third parties until it is made available to the public in accord ance with  the previous sentence.  
 (6) The inventor , against whom the employer has exercised the right to a solution  pursuant to subsection 3, has the 
right to an adequate remuneration in relation to the employer. When determining the amount of remuneration, the technical and  
economic significance of the employee invention and the benefit that can be achieved through its exploitation  or other application 
are decisive, taking into account the employer's material share in the creation of the employee invention and the scope and 
content s of the inventor's work tasks. The re muneration  shall be  payable within one month from the exercise of the right to a 
solution.  
 (7) If the remuneration under subsection  6 does not correspond to the benefit achieved by the later exploitation or another application of the employee invention, or if the remuneration has been  determined by the employer as a lump sum 
without taking into account the conditions under subsection  6, the inventor  has the right to an additional settlement. After the 
expiratio n of three years from the exercise of the right to a solution, the employer, based on the inventor 's written request, is 
obliged to provide the inventor  with the source documents necessary to determine the amount of the additional settlement. If 
the employ er provides the inventor  with information marked by the employer as confidential, the inventor  is obliged to keep it 
confidential towards third parties and m ust not use it for himself contrary to the purpose for which the employer provided it  to 
him. The inventor  can exercise the right to additional settlement at the earliest after three years have passed since the employer 
exercised the right to a solution . The right to additional settlement does not expire before the protection of the employee invention 
lasts.  
 (8) The rights and obligations under subsections  1 to 7 remain unaffected after the termination of the legal relationship 
between the inventor  and the employer.  
 (9) Co -inventors have the right to an adequate remuneration pursuant to subsection  6 and the right to additional 
settlement pursuant to subsection 7 to the extent that they have participated in the creation of the employee invention. Unless 
the co -inventors have agreed otherwise or unless  a court has decided otherwise, it holds that the share of the co -inventors in 
the creation of the employee invention is identical . 
 (10) Provisions of the Civil Code shall apply to legal relationship s arising from an employ ee invention, unless otherwise 
provided in subsections 1  to 9. 
§ 12 
 
Transfer  and assignment  of the right to a solution  
 
 (1) The right to a solution , apart from the right to inventorship, also belongs to the legal successors of the persons 
specified in section  10(1) and (3) or in section  11(1) and (4). 
 (2) The right to a solution is transferred to another  person in cases established by special pieces of legislation .4) 
 (3) The contract for the assignment  of the right to a solution must be in writing, otherwise it is invalid.  
 (4) The assignment  or transfer  of the rights resulting from the application occurs simultaneously w ith the assignment  
or transfer  of the right to a solution, which takes place after the application has been  filed. 
§ 13 
 
Scope of protection  
 
 (1) The scope of protection conferred by  a patent s hall be  determined by the content s of the patent claims. The 
description of the invention and the drawings shall also be used  for the interpret ation of  the patent claims.  
 (2) The scope of the protection resulting from the application s hall be  preliminarily determined by the content s of the 
patent claims published pursuant to section  41. A granted patent or a partially revoked patent shall determine the scope of this 
preliminary protection retroactively ; this does not apply if the patent confers a  broader protection than from the published 
application.  
 (3) The protection conferred by a patent granted for a process shall  also appl y to the product directly obtained by 
such process . 
 (4) The protection conferred by a patent granted for biological material with specific properties resulting fro m the 
invention also applies to any other biological material derived from the original biological material in the form of reproduc tion in 
an identical o r different form  with the same properties.  
 (5) Protection conferred by a patent granted for a process enabling the production of biological material with specific 
properties resulting from the invention also applies to biological material obtained directly by a protected process,  as well as to 
any other biological material de rived from directly obtained biological material in the form of reproduction in  an identical or 
differen t form with the same properties . 
 (6) Protection conferred by a patent granted for a product containing genetic information or consisting in genetic 
information applies to all material in which the product is incorporated and in which the genetic information is contained and 
performs its functions. This does not apply to the case under section  6(1)(d). 
 (7) A product identical to a product protected pursu ant to subsections  3 and 5 shall be considered a product directly 
obtained by a protected process , unless the contrary is proven.  
§ 14 
 
Exploitation of the invention  
 
 (1) The patent owner ( section  19) shall have the exclusive right to exploit  the invention, to give consent for the 
exploitation of the invention, to assign  the patent to another person or to establish a right of pledge with respect to the patent.  
 (2) The patent shall be effective from the date of th e announcement of the grant of the patent in the Official Gazette . 
§ 15 
 
Prohibition of the exploitation  of the invention  
 
 (1) Without the consent of the patent owner, no one may  
(a) produce , exploit , use, offer or place on the market, or for this purpose store or import a product that is the subject -matter  of 
a patent,  
(b) use a production  process that is the subject -matter  of a patent (hereinafter referred to as "protected process ") or offer such 
a protected process  for use to another person,  
(c) produce, exploit, use, offer or place on the market, or for this purpose store or import a product directly obtained in a protected 
process , 
(d) deliver  or offer for delivery  to a person who is not authorized to use the invention the means used for the implementation  of 
the invention, if the infringer knows or, taking into account the circumstances, should know that these means are intended or 
suitable for the implementation  of the invention; this does not apply if these means are available on the market and the supplier 
did not in stigate  the unauthorized person to act contrary to paragraphs  (a) to (c). 
 (2) The applicant also has exclusive rights pursuant to subsection  1, starting from the date of publication of the application in the Official Gazette , provided that a patent has been  granted for an invention that is the subject -matter  of the 
application. However,  asserting these rights against third parties is only possible from the date on which the effects of the 
patent begin.  
§ 16 
 
Exhaustion of rights  
 
 (1) The patent owner does not have the right to prohibit third parties from d isposals of  the product that is the subject -
matter  of patent protection after this product has been placed on the market by the patent owner or with his express consent in 
a member state of the European Union or a state that is a party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area; this does 
not apply if  there are reasons for extending the rights resulting from the patent to such disposals . 
 (2) Subsection 1 also applies to biological material obtained by reproduction of protected biological material, provided 
that such reproduction necessarily results fr om the use for which the biological material has been placed  on the market, if the 
biological material thus obtained is not subsequently used for its further reproduction.  
 (3) The acquisition of protected plant reproducti on material by a grower within a b usiness relationship with the patent 
owner or with his consent includes the grower's right to use the product of his work to reproduce this product in his farm. To 
determine the scope of the grower's right according to the first sentence and the conditions  for the exercise  of this right, the 
provisions of a special piece of legislation  shall be used  mutatis mutandis . 6(a) 
 (4) The acquisition of protected animal reproduct ion material by a breeder within the framework of a business 
relationship with the patent owner or with his consent includes the right of the breeder to use protected livestock for agric ultural 
purposes, including the use of animal reproducti on material to ca rry out the breeder's agricultural activities, with the exception 
of the sale of animal reproducti on material in connection with business or for the purpose of business5) in the form of subsequent 
reproducti on activity.  
Limitation of the effects of the pat ent 
 
§ 17 
 
 (1) A right of the patent owner cannot be exercised against a person who, prior to the emergence of the priority right 
(section  36), exploited  the invention in good faith on the territory of the Slovak Republic or carried out demonstrable preparations 
directly aiming at the exploitation  of the invention independently of the inventor  or the patent owner (hereinafter referred to as 
"prior user"). In case of doubt s, the pr ior user's actions are considered to be in good faith until proven otherwise.  
 (2) The assignment  or transfer  of the pr ior user's right to exploit  the invention under subsection  1 shall be  possible 
exclusively as part of the transfer or passage  of the business enterprise or its part within  which the invention is being exploited . 
§ 18 
 
 (1) The rights of the patent owner are not violated if the invention is exploited  
(a) on vessels  of other countries that are members of an international convention6) or members of the World Trade Organization7) 
(hereinafter referred to as "Union countries") of which the Slovak Republic is a member , in the vessel 's hull, in the machinery, 
in the vesse l's equipment, in the devices  and other accessories, if th ose vessels  temporarily or accidentally enter the territory 
of the Slovak Republic and the invention is used exclusively for the needs of the vessel , 
(b) in the construction or operation of aircraft  or vehicles of the Union countries, or in the case of parts or other accessories of 
these aircraft or vehicles, if they temporarily or accidentally enter the territory of the Slovak Republic,  
(c) when carrying out activities pursuant  to an international contract ,8) if these activities concern the aircraft of the state that 
enjoy s the advantages of this contract , 
(d) in individual preparation of a medicine in a pharmacy on the basis of a medical prescription or during activities relate d to the 
medicine prepared in this way,  
(e) in activities carried out privately and for non -commercial purposes,  
(f) in activities carried out for experimental purposes, which also include s studies and tests necessary for the registration 
proce edings  pursu ant to a special piece of legislation . 8(a) 
 (2) Persons using the invention under subsection  1(d) to (f) are not considered to be persons authorized to exploit  the 
invention under section 15(1)(d). 
§ 19 
 
Patent owner  
 
 Patent owner shall mean the  legal entity or natural person registered as the owner in the Patent Register of the Office 
(hereinafter referred to as the " Register"), unless a court decides otherwise.  
§ 20 
 
Co-ownership of a patent  
 
 (1) The co -ownership share in a patent is derived from the extent of the right to a solution, unless the co -owners of 
the patent agree otherwise.  
 (2) On the basis of a request documented by a written agreement concluded between the patent owner or all co -
owners of the patent and the  person who has the right to a solution under s ection 10 to 12, the Office  will enter such a person 
in the Register as a co -owner of the patent.  
 (3) Each of the co -owners of the patent has the right to exploit  an invention which  is the subject -matter  of the patent, 
unless the co -owners of the patent agree otherwise. In case of unauthorized interference with the exclusive rights pursuant to 
section 15, each of the co -owners of the patent can assert claims pursuant to section  32 by a court action  in accord ance with 
the Code of Contentious Civil Procedure or by a motion according to a special piece of legislation .8b) As soon as the proceedings 
according to the previous sentence started or have been finally  ended, court actions  in accord ance with the Co de of Contentious 
Civil Procedure or motions a ccording to  a special piece of legislation8b) of other co -owners of the patent for the same claims 
from the same unauthorized inter ference  are not permissible; this is without prejudice to the right of th ose co-owners of the patent to  intervene in  the initiated proceedings as the plaintiff.  Final  decisions on claims pursuant to section  32(1) issued on the 
basis of a court action  of even one co -owner of the patent are also binding for other co -owners of the patent; this does not affect 
the right of co -owners of the patent to assert claims in accordance with section 32(2). 
 (4) Granting the right to exploit  an invention protected by a patent to a third party requires the consent of all co -owners 
of the patent, unless the co -owners of the patent agree otherwise; this does not affect the right of co -owners to disposals of their 
co-ownership share in accord ance with section 21 to 23.  
 (5) The agreement on cancellation of co -ownership of the patent and mutual settlement must be in writing, otherwise 
it is invalid. The agreement according to the first sentence shall acquire legal effects vis -à-vis third parties on the day of entry 
into the Register.  
 (6) If the co -owner of the patent has no legal successor, after the death or cessation of the existence of the co -owner 
of the patent, his share shall be transferred to the other co -owners of the patent in a proportion corresponding to their co-owner 
shares; this also applies if the patent co -owner gives up his share.  
 (7) Subsections 1 to 6 shall be applied  mutatis mutandis  to legal relationship s between co -applicants.  
 (8) The provisions of the Civil Code on ownership  in common9) shall be applied  mutatis mutandis  to the legal 
relations hips between the co-owners of the patent, unless subsections 1 to 7 provide otherwise.  
§ 21 
 
Patent assignment  
 
 (1) A  contract for the assignment of a patent must be in writing, otherwise it is invalid. A partial assignment  of a patent 
is not permissible.  
 (2) The assignment of a patent shall acquire legal effects vis -à-vis third parties on the date of entry of the assignment  
of the patent in the Register. The rights of third parties acquired prior to the date of the entry of the assignment of the patent in 
the Register shall remain preserved.  
 (3) The entry  of the assignment  of a patent in the Register shall be carried out by  the Office on the basis of a request 
for the entry of the assignment  of a patent, which any of the parties to the contract on the assignment  of the patent  is authorized 
to file . The Office shall refuse  a request for the entry  of the assignment  of a patent unless the requester  attach es documents 
proving the assignment  of the patent to the request; before deciding on the refusal  of the request  for the entry  of the assignment  
of the patent, the Office shall allow the requester  to comment on the es tablished reasons on the basis of which the request  for 
the entry  of the assignment  of the patent is supposed to  be refused . 
 (4) The acquirer of the patent may perform acts towards the Office only after receiving the request for the entry  of the 
assignment of the patent; this does not apply to filing a request  pursuant to subsection 3 and paying a patent maintenance fee 
according to a special piece of legislation9a) (hereinafter referred to as "maintenance fee").  
 (5) Subsections 1 to 4 shall also be applied  mutatis mutandis  to the assignment  of rights resulting from the application.  
§ 22 
 
Patent transfer  
 
 (1) A patent is transferred to a new  owner by registration in another person's name pursuant to section  48 and in 
cases stipulated by special pieces of legislation .4) 
 (2) The transfer of the patent shall acquire legal effects vis -à-vis third parties on the date of the entry of the transfer 
of the pat ent in the Register. The rights of third parties acquired prior to  the date of transfer of the patent shall remain preserved; 
this does not apply i n the case of a registration in another person's name pursuant  to section  48. 
 (3) The entering  of the transfer of a patent in the Register shall be carried out by the Office on the basis of  a request 
of the original patent owner or on the basis of a request of the new patent owner. The Office shall refuse  the request  for entry  
of the transfer of th e patent unless  the requester  attach es to the request the documents proving the transfer of the patent; before 
deciding on the refusal  of the request for the entry  of the transfer of the patent, the Office shall allow the requester  to comment 
on the established reasons on the basis of which the request for the entry  of the transfer of the patent is supposed to be refused . 
 (4) The new patent owner may perform acts towards the Office only after the request  for the entry  of the transf er of 
the patent has been delivered; this does not apply to request filings under subsection 3  and to the payment of the maintenance 
fee. 
 (5) Subsection 1 to 4 shall also be applied  mutatis mutandis  to the transfer of rights resulting from the application.  
§ 23 
 
Right of pledge  
 
 (1) A right of pledge  may be established for a patent. The establishment of a right of pledge  with respect to  a part of 
the patent is not permissible.  
 (2) The contract on the establishment of a right of pledge  with respect to  a patent must be in writing, otherwise it is 
invalid.  
 (3) At the request of the pledgee or at the request of the pledgor , the Office shall enter the right of pledge in the 
Register . The Office shall refuse  the entry of the right of pledge with respect to the patent unless the requester attaches to the 
request the documents proving the transfer of the patent; before deciding on the refusal  of the request for the entry of the right 
of pledge  with respect  to the patent, the Office shall allow the requester to comment on the established reasons on the basis of 
which the request for the entry of the right of pledge with respect to  the patent is supposed to be refused . 
 (4) Subsection s 1 to 3 shall also appl y mutatis mutandis  to the right of pledge with respect to  the application and to 
the right of pledge  with respect to th e patent that will be granted in the future10) (hereinafter referred to as  "right of pledge with 
respect to the application"). The grant of a patent does not affect the entry of the right of pledge with respect to an  application 
and is considered to be an entry of a right of pledge with respect to  the patent, unless otherwise agre ed in the contract for the 
establishment of the right of pledge  or if it does not follow otherwise from the decision by which the right of pledge  has been  
established.  A modification or division of  the application ( section  45) does not affect the entry  of the right of pledge  with respect 
to the application; i n the case of  a division of the application ( section  45(2)), the Office shall enter a right of pledge also with 
respect to divisional  applications.  
 (5) Provisions of the Civil Code shall apply to the creation, termination  and exercise  of a right of pledge  with respect 
to a patent,11) unless otherwise provided in subsection s 1 to 4.  § 24 
 
License  contract  
 
 (1) The patent owner may grant another person the right to exploit  an invention protected by a patent (hereinafter 
referred to as the "license") by means of a license contract . 
 (2) The license shall acquire legal effects vis -à-vis third parties on the date of entry into the Register. The entry  of the 
license s hall be  carried out by the Office based on a request for the entry  of the license, which any of the parties to the license 
contract is authorize d to file . The Office shall refuse  the entry of the license unless the requester attaches to the request the 
documents proving the license; before deciding on the refusal  of the request for the entry of license, the Office shall allow the 
requester to comm ent on the established reasons on the basis of which the request for the entry of the license is supposed to 
be refused . 
 (3) The patent owner may grant an exclusive license or a non -exclusive license by means of  a license contract . Unless 
it has been agreed in the license contract  that the patent owner has granted an exclusive license, it holds that he has granted a 
non-exclusive license.  
 (4) If the patent owner has granted an exclusive license, he m ust not grant the license to a third party and is obliged, 
unless otherwise agreed in the license contract , to refrain from using the invention protected by the patent himself.  
 (5) If the patent owner has granted a non -exclusive license, his right to exploit  the invention ( section  14) and his righ t 
to grant a license to a third party are not affected.  
 (6) A license contract  by which the patent owner granted a license to a third party is invalid if the licensee  of the 
previously granted exclusive license has not given prior written consent to concl ude such license contract . 
 (7) The assignment or transfer of the right of the licensee is possible exclusively as part of an assignment or transfer 
of a business  enterprise or its part within which the invention is used on the basis of a license, unless the license contract  
stipulates otherwise.  
 (8) Unless otherwise agreed, in the event of unauthorized interference with exclusive rights pursuant to section  15, 
the licensee of a non-exclusive license, on his own behalf  and on his own account, can assert claims pursuant to section  32 by 
means of a court action  pursuant to the Code of Contentious Civil Procedure or a motion  pursuant to a special piece of 
legislation8b) only with the consent of the patent owner; the licensee  of an exclusive license can do so if the patent owner, after 
a written notification, does not assert  claims pursuant the Code of Contentious Civil Procedure pursuant to section  32(1). The 
provisions of the previous sentence do not affect the rights and obligations of the patent owner and licensee under the 
Commercial Code12) nor the right of the licensee to intervene in proceedings initiated by the patent owner as an intervener.  
 (9) Subsection s 1 to 8 shall also apply mutatis mutandis  to the license contract  by which the applicant grants 
authorization to exploit  the invention being the subject -matter  of the application (hereinafter referred to as the "license for the 
application"). Th e granting of a patent does not affect the entry of a license for the application and i t shall be  considered  an entry 
of a license in accord ance with  subsection  2, unless otherwise agreed in the license contract.  A modification or division of  the 
application ( section  45) does not affect the entry  of the license for the application; i n the case of a division of the application 
(section  45(2)), the Office shall also enter a license for the divisional  applications.  
 (10) Provisions of the C ommercial Code12a) shall apply to the creation, termination  and exercise of the rights resulting 
from a license contract , unless otherwise provided in subsections 1 to 9. 
License offer  
 
§ 25 
 
 (1) If the applicant or patent owner (hereinafter referred to as the " licensor ") files a written statement at the Office that 
he will grant anyone the right to exploit  the invention for a n adequate  compensation  (hereinafter referred to as the "license 
offer"), the Office  shall enter  the license offer in t he Register.  
 (2) The license offer may be withdrawn until the licensor  receives a written notification of acceptance of the license 
offer.  
 (3) If the licensor  does not withdraw the license offer, it is not possible to enter an exclusive license in the Register.  
 (4) The statement on the license offer cannot be filed i f an exclusive license has been  entered in the Register.  
 (5) On the date of the entry  of the patent owner's assignment  in the Register pursuant to section  48, it holds that the 
license offer has been withdrawn if the new patent owner does not deliver to the Office a written request to maintain the license 
offer within 30 days from the date of entry of the registration in another person's name . 
§ 26 
 
 (1) The right to exploit  the invention shall arise to the person who accepts the license offer and notifies thereof the 
provider a s well as  the Office in writing.  
 (2) A license obtained pursuant to subsection  1 shall be  considered a contractual non -exclusive license concluded for  
an indefinite period  and valid on the territory of the Slovak Republic.  
 (3) If, despite attempts, no agreement has been  reached between the participants of the created  licensing relationship 
on a compensation for the granted license, the amount of an adequate compensation , as well as the payment conditions, shall 
be determined by a court upon  proposal of one of the participants of the licensing relationship, taking into account the 
significance of the invention  and the usual l icense prices in the given area . In the event of a substantial change in the 
circumstances decisive for the determination of an adequate compensation , the court may, upon  proposal of one of the 
participants of the licensing relationship, ch ange the amount of compensation  originally agreed or determined by the court or 
the terms of payment, if, despite attempts, no agreement has been  reached between the participants.  
Compulsory license  
 
§ 27 
 
 (1) Upon motion , a court may grant a compulsory license to anyone who demonstrates the ability to use the invention , 
which  is the subject -matter  of the granted patent , on the territory of the Slovak Republic, provided that  
(a) four years have passed since the filing of the application , or three years since the grant of the patent, whichever expires 
later, 
(b) the movant for the granting of the compulsory license gave the patent owner , prior to filing the motion , a proper offer to conclude a license contract and  this offer was not accepted by the patent owner within three months of its filing, and  
(c) the invention is not used on the territory of the Slovak Republic without adequate reason on the part of  the patent owner or 
is exploited  insufficiently, and the subject -matter  of the patented invention is not supplied as a product to the market of the 
Slovak Republic in sufficient quantities. Absence of a reasonable cause is presumed until proven otherwise.  
 (2) A compulsory license can only be granted as a non -exclusive license  and its duration and scope shall be limited 
to the purpose for which it is granted, with the condition of preferential satisf action  of the needs of the domestic market.  
 (3) If the subject -matter  of a patent is the technology of semiconductor products, a compulsory license can only be 
granted for public non -commercial exploitation  or to prevent further actions of the patent owner, which, based on a decision of 
the competent authority, can be considered  actions that abuse or restrict economic competition ,13) or in the event of a threat to 
an important public interest.  
 (4) In the event of a threat to an important public interest, a compulsory license may be granted regardless of 
subsection  1(a) and (b). 
 (5) Regardless of the prerequisites pursuant  to subsection  1 and the conditions pursuant  to subsection  2, a court may, 
upon motion , grant a forced non -exclusive license for the exploitation  of a biotechnological invention, if the breeder2) cannot use 
or acquire the right to a plant variety without infringing an earlier right to the patent, if the movant  proves that  
(a) before filing the motion  he gave the patent owner a proper offer to concl ude the license contract and  the patent owner did 
not accept this offer within three months of its filing, and  
(b) the plant variety represents an important technical progress  of significant economic importance comparable to the invention 
that is the subject -matter  of the motion  for the granting of the compulsory license.  
 (6) In the case of the granting of a compulsory license according to subsection  5, the patent owner has th e right to 
grant a compulsory cross -license for the use of a plant variety pursuant  to a special piece of legislation .2) 
 (7) If a patent owner has been  granted a compulsory license for the exploitation  of a plant variety pursuant to a special 
piece of legislation ,13a) the holder of a cultivator  certificate has the right to be granted a compulsory cross -license for the 
exploitation  of the biotechnological invention.  
 (8) The assignment  or transfer of the right of the licensee  of the compulsory license is possible only as part of the 
assignment  or transfer of the business enterprise or its part within  which the invention is exploited  on the basis of the compulsory 
license.  
 (9) The licensee  of a compulsory license may waive the  rights resulting from the compulsory license by a written 
notification delivered to the Office. The waiver  of the right shall take effect as from the date of delivery of the noti fication  to the 
Office or the later date specified in the noti fication  as the  date on which the licensee  of the compulsory license waives his rights.  
§ 28 
 
 (1) The granting of a compulsory license does not affect the patent owner's right to an adequate compensation ; for 
the purpose of determining the compensation  for the exploitation  of the invention, which is the subject -matter  of the compulsory 
license, section  26(3) shall apply mutatis mutandis . 
 (2) In the event of a substantial change in the circumstances that led to the granting of the compulsory license, a court 
may, upon  motion of one of the participants of the licensing relationship, cancel the decision on the granting of the compulsory 
license, provided that the re -occurrence  of the reasons for the granting  of a compulsory license is unlikely or that the rights 
resulting from the compulsory license have not been used during one year.  
 (3) The Office shall enter the valid decision on the granting and cancellation of the compulsory license in the Register 
without undue delay.  
§ 29 
 
Patent validity  
 
 A patent is valid for 20 years from the date of filing the application ( section  35). 
§ 30 
 
Patent surrender  
 
 (1) The patent owner may surrender  the patent by written notification delivered to the Office. A partial surrender  of a 
patent is not permissible.  
 (2) The surrender  of a patent becomes effective on the date of delivery of the noti fication  pursuant to subsection  1 to 
the Office or a later day, which is indicated in the noti fication  as the date on which the owner surrenders  the patent.  
 (3) The surrender  of a patent, to which the rights of third parties entered in the Register are attached , becomes 
effective only upon submission of the written consent of the person whose rights and legitimate interests may be affected by the 
termination  of the patent. The same applies in the case of the existence of a l itigation entered in the Register, the subject -matter  
of which is the right to a solution, until the expiration of six months of the date of finality of the court's decision.  
§ 31 
 
Termination of the patent  
 
 (1) A patent shall terminate  
(a) upon expiry  of its term , 
(b) upon expiry of the time limit set for  the payment of the maintenance fee,  
(c) on the effective date of patent surrender  pursuant to section  30(2). 
 (2) The time limit for the payment of the maintenance fee shall be  interrupted on the date of delivery of the request  
for the entry  of the litigation on the right to a solution in the Register ( section 50 (4)) until the expiration of six months from the 
date of finality  of the court' s decision.  
 (3) repealed as of  January 1, 2008  
 (4) repealed as of  January 1, 2008.  
Enforcement of rights  
 
§ 32  
Heading  repealed  as of January 1, 2018  
 
 (1) In the case of unauthorized interference with exclusive rights pursuant to section  15, the patent owner may 
demand, in particular, that the violation of the right or the endangering  of the right be prohibited and the consequences of this 
interference be removed.  
 (2) If damage has been  caused by interference with the rights pursuant  to subsection  1, the patent owner has the 
right to compensation  for the damage , including lost profit.  If non -proprietary  damage has been  caused by interference with the 
rights pursuant to subsection  1, the patent owner has the right to adequate satisfaction , which may also be monetary 
performance .13b) The right to the recovery of property obtained as a result of unjust enrichment  as a result of interference with 
the rights under  subsection  1 is not affected by this.  
 (3) The right to compensation for damages or the right to adequate satisfaction in money pursuant to subsection  2 
shall become time -barred  three years from the date the patent owner becomes aware of the damage or non -proprietary  damage 
and of who is responsible for it; when exercising the rights pursuant  to section  15(2) there will be no time bar earlier than three 
years of the date on which the effects of the patent begin. At the latest, the right to compensation for damage s or the right to 
adequate satisfaction in money pursuant to subsection  2 shall be time -barred five years, and in the case of damage or non -
proprietary  damage caused intentionally, ten years from the day when the rights pursuant to subsection  1 were interfered with, 
or from the date from which the effects of the patent take effect, whichever of these facts occurs later.  
 (4) The right to the recovery of property obtained as a result of unjust enrichment pursuant to subsection  2 shall 
become time -barred  three years after the patent owner learns that unjust enrichment has occurred and who has enriched himself 
at his expense; when ex ercising the rights pursuant to section  15(2) the time bar shall not occur earlier than three years from 
the date on which the effects of the patent begin. At the latest, the right to the recovery of property obtained as a result of unjust 
enrichment pursu ant to subsection  2 shall be time -barred five years, and in the case of intentional unjust enrichment, ten years 
from the date when the rights pursuant to subsection  1 have been interfered with or from the date from which the effects of the 
patent begin, whichever of these facts occurs later.  
 (5) Provisions of the Civil Code shall apply to legal relationship s that have arisen as a result of the interference with 
rights pursuant to  subsection  1, unless otherwise provided in subsection s 1 to 4.  
§ 32a  
 
Right to information  
 
 (1) In the case of unauthorized interference with the rights protected by this Act, the patent owner may request that 
the person who violates or endangers  his rights provide him with information regarding the origin of the product or services and 
the circu mstances of their placing on  the market.  
 (2) The information pursuant to  subsection  1 shall contain in particular  
(a) the first and last name or name and permanent residence, place of business or registered office of the manufacturer, 
processor, storer, distributor, supplier, seller, intended seller and other previous holders of the product or service provider,  
(b) data on the produced, processed, delivered or ordered quantity and the price of the respective  products or services.  
 (3) A person who  
(a) possess es products that violate rights pursuant to  this Act,  
(b) uses services that violate rights pursuant to  this Act,  
(c) provides services used  in activities related to a violation of rights pursuant to  this Act , or 
(d) has been designated by a person mentioned in paragraphs  (a) to (c) as a person involved in the production, processing or 
distribution of products or the provision of services violating  rights pursuant to  this Act , 
is also obliged to provide information pu rsuant to subsections 1 and 2.  
 (4) The court shall not grant the right to provide information if the possible consequences of its exercise would be 
disproportionate to the seriousness of the consequences resulting  from the fulfillment of the imposed oblig ation.  
Heading  repealed  as of January 1, 2018  
 
§ 33 
 
Judicial protection of rights  
 
 (1) Disputes about rights under this Act shall be  discussed and decided by courts13c, unless this Act provides 
otherwise.  
 (2) Upon motion , a court shall order that products, materials or instruments through which a violation of the law or 
endangering of  the law directly occurs  be 
(a) recalled  from the channels of commerce , 
(b) definitively removed from the channels of commerce , 
(c) otherwise secured in a manner preventing further violations or endangering of  the law,  
(d) destroyed in an appropriate manner.  
 (3) Measures pursuant to  subsection  2 shall be carried out at the expe nse of the person violating or endangering the 
rights prot ected by this Act, unless  special circumstances justify a different procedure.  
 (4) The motion  pursuant to  subsection  2(d), in the part concerning the method of destruction, it is not binding on the 
court.  
 (5) Upon motion , a court  may request from  the Office an expert opinion13d) on questions related to the scop e of 
protection resulting from the  specific patent ( section  13). 
§ 34 
 
Security  on the part of the movant for  a preliminary injunction  
 
 (1) In the resolution ordering a preliminary injunction ,14) a court may, even without a motion , impose on the movant  
the obligation to post monetary security in an adequate amount or make the enforceability of the preliminary injunction  
conditional on the posting of a monetary security . When deciding on the amount of the monetary  security, the court shall take 
into acco unt the extent of the damage or other loss that may be incurred by t he other party, as well as the movant 's possibilities in terms of property , providing that the imposition of the obligation to post security must not be a significant obstacle to an 
effect ive application of the law.  
 (2) A final legally awarded compensation for damage s or other loss shall be satisfied from the posted security pursuant 
to subsection  1.14a) The obligation to compensate for damage or other loss that has not been satisfied from this security shall  
not be affected by this.  
 (3) The court shall return the posted security pursuant to subsection  1 or its proportional part to the movant , if 
(a) the injured party does not assert a claim for compensation for damage s or other loss14(a) in court within six months from the 
date on which the injured party  became aware of the occurrence of the damage or other loss, but no later than three years from 
the order of the preliminary injunction , 
(b) an agreement of the parties on the use of monetary security has been  presented to the court or  
(c) the movant has succeed ed, wholly or partially , in rem. 
PART  THREE  
 
PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE OFFICE  
 
§ 35 
 
Application filing date  
 
 (1) The application proce edings  begin with the filing of the application at the Office.  
 (2) Unless otherwise stated below, the application filing date shall be deemed to be the da te of delivery or 
supplementing of the filing which contains at least  
(a) data from which the intention of the applicant to file the  application is obvious,  
(b) data enabling the identification of the applicant and contact with the applicant,  
(c) the part that appears a s a description.  
 (3) The obligation of the applicant to make a filing in the state language ( section 79 (12)) does not apply for the purpose 
of determining the application filing date in relation to the data pursuant to subsection  2(c). 
 (4) If the Office finds out that the application does not meet the requirements pursuant to  subsection  2(c) or is 
incomplete, it shall call upon the applicant to supplement the application within a period that cannot be shorter than two months. 
If the applicant does not comply with the request of the Office pursuant to  the previous sentence, the application s hall be  
considered not filed, and the Office shall notify the applic ant of  this. 
 (5) In the case under  subsection  4, the application filing date shall mean  the da te of supplementation  of the missing 
part of the filing. 
 (6) The d etermination of the application filing date pursuant to  subsection  5 shall not apply if  
(a) the priority right pursuant to  section  36(2) was exercised in the original filing and  - simultaneously with supplementing  the 
missing part of the description or the missing drawing, which the applicant  is obliged to supplement no later than two mont hs 
after the original filing - the applicant  requests that the date of the application be determined as at  the date of the original filing, 
or 
(b) after supplementing the filing due to incompleteness pursuant to subsection  4, the applicant withdraws his filing in the part 
thus supplemented before publication of the application.  
 (7) The applicant may request the determination of  the application filing date as at the date of the original filing 
pursuant to subsection  6(a), if the missing part of the description or the missing drawing w ere the content s of the first application.  
§ 35a  
 
 (1) When filing an application, the applicant may replace the part of the filing p ursuant to  section  35(2)(c) with a 
reference to the first application, if he has exercised the priority right pursuant to  section  36(2) in the application . 
 (2) The reference to the first application pursuant to subsection  1 shall contain  
(a) an express declaration of the will of th e applicant that he is replacing the part of the filing pursuant to  section  35(2)(c) with a 
reference to the first application,  
(b) the number of the first application,  
(c) the date of filing of the first application,  
(d) the state in which the first application has been  filed, or the authority to which the first application has been  filed. 
 (3) The applicant is obliged to submit a copy of the first application within two months based on a call of the Office; if 
the first a pplication is not in the state language, the applicant is obliged to submit also its translation into the state language 
within two months based on a call of the Office . 
 (4) If the reference to the first application pursuant to  subsection  1 does not contain the requirements pursuant to  
subsection  2 or the applicant does not comply with the call of the Office pursuant to  subsection  3, the application shall be 
considered unfiled. If the application is considered unfiled, the Office shall  notify the applicant  of it. 
§ 36 
 
Priority r ight 
 
 (1) The priority right shall arise for the applicant  
(a) on the application filing date or  
(b) on the date of the priority right pursuant to  the conditions specified in an international convention,14b) which results from the 
first application, from the application for a utility model, inventor's certificate  or utility certificate.  
 (2) The priority right pursuant to  subsection  1(b) must be exercised  by the applicant in the application.  
 (3) The priority right pursuant to  subsection  1(b) can be exercised  if the first application is filed in a state or in relation 
to a state that is a party to an international convention6) or that is a member of the World Trade Organization.7) Otherwise, this 
right can only be exercised if the condition of reciprocity has been  met. 
 (4) If the applicant, who filed the application within 12 months from the date of creation of the priority right, does no t 
exercise  the priority  right pursuant to  subsection  1(b) in the application, the Office shall grant the priority right on the basis of a 
request for subsequent granting of a priority right filed  within 16 months from the date of creation of the priority  right, but no later than 
(a) within four months from the application filing date,  
(b) on the date of filing a  request for earlier publication of the application ( section  41(2)). 
 (5) If, despite the due care required by the circumstances, the applicant files an application after 12 months have 
passed from the date of creation of the priority  right, the Office sha ll grant the priority right on the basis of a request for 
subsequent granting of a priority right, provided that  
(a) the application, as well as the request for subsequent granting of a  priority  right, were filed within 14 months from the date 
of the creat ion of the priority  right, 
(b) in his request , the applicant adequately justif ies the late filing of the application and, in particular, state s the facts that 
prevented the timely filing of the application.  
 (6) The Office may call upon the applicant to pr ove the exercised p riority right with a document on the priority right 
(hereinafter referred to as "priority document") within the period determined by the Office, but no sooner than 16 months aft er 
the date of creation of the priority  right. 
 (7) If the applicant does not prove the priority right properly and in time pursuan t to subsection  6, the Office shall grant 
the priority  right on the basis of a justified request for subsequent granting  of a priority document, provided that  
(a) a request for the issuance of a priority document has been  filed to the competent  authority  no later than one month from the 
date of delivery of the call to the Office pursuant to  subsection  6, 
(b) a request for subsequent recognition  of the priority document together with the priority document was filed within one month 
from the date o f delivery of the priority document to the applicant.  
 (8) If the assessment of the patentability of the invention depends on the granting of the priority  right, the Office may 
call upon the applicant to submit a translation of the priority document into the Slovak language or into one of the official 
languages of the European Patent Office at the applicant's choice.  
 (9) In the case of justified doubts about the truth of the justification pursuant to  subsection s 5 and 7, the Office may 
call on the applicant to prove his statements . 
 (10) The applicant is obliged to pay an administrative fee for the application pursuant to  subsection s 4, 5 and 7 ( section 
79(13)). 
 (11) The Office does not take into account the exercise of the priority right and a proof of the priority right that does 
not meet the conditions pursuant to  this provision and pursuant to  a generally binding piece of legislation . The Office shall notify 
the applicant of this fact.  
 (12) At the request  of the applican t or patent owner, after payment of an  administrative fee ( section 79 (13)), the Office 
shall issue a priority document in paper form certifying the priority right resulting  from an application, from an international 
application or from a European patent application filed at the Office.  
§ 36a  
 
 If the applicant applied for utility model protection for the same subject -matter  in the Slovak Republic before filing the 
application, he can request the granting of the date of filing, or where applicable also the priority right from this utility model 
application, when filing the application. The Office shall grant to  the applicatio n the filing date, and possibly also the priority right 
from this utility model application, as long as the application is filed within 36 months from the filing of the utility model application; 
if the proceedings on the utility model application have bee n discontinued  or the utility model application was refused , the 
application must be filed within two months from the date of finality of this decision, but no later than within 36 months from the 
filing of the utility model application.  
§ 37 
 
Application  
 
 (1) An application may be filed by a person or persons who have the right to a solution pursuant to  section  10(1) and 
(3), section  11(1) and (4) or section  12(1). 
 (2) If the right to a solution belongs to several persons, it is allowed that one or some of these persons file(s) the 
application on its (their) own behalf. On the basis of a request documented by a written agreeme nt concluded between the 
applicant or applicants and a person who has the right to file an application pursuant to  subsection  1, the Office will enter such 
a person in the Register as a co -applicant.  
 (3) The application may contain only one invention or a group of inventions that are connected to each other in such 
a way that they form a single inventive idea.  
 (4) The invention must be described and explained in the application so clearly and completely that an expert can 
implement it.  
 (5) The application must contain:  
(a) a request  for the grant of a patent,  
(b) a description of the invention, a bstract  and, where applicable,  drawings,  
(c) at least one asserted patent claim,  
(d) identification data of the applicant or co -applicants,  
(e) identification data of the inventor or co -inventors of the invention,  
(f) a proof of the acquisition of the right to a solution, if the applicant is not the inventor , or information that the subject -matter  of 
the application is an employee invention.  
 (6) The applicant is obliged to pay an administrative fee for the filing of the application ( section  79(13)). 
§ 38 
 
Special provision on the application of a biotechnological invention  
 
 (1) If the subject -matter  of an invention is biological material or the use of biological material, which is not accessible 
to the public and which cannot be described in the application in such a way that a  person skilled in the art can carry out the 
invention, the description shall be  considered sufficient only provided that  
(a) the biological material has been  deposited in a recognized depository  institution no later than on the application filing date,  
(b) the application in its original form contains information about the properties of the stored biological material that the applicant 
had at his disposal,  
(c) the application states the name and seat of the storage  institution, as well as the deposit number of the deposited sample.   (2) The deposited  biological material s hall be  accessible from the date of publication of the patent application by 
providing a sample upon request. On the basis of  a request filed to the Office before the application is published, the applicant 
is entitled to limit access to  the deposited biological material to independent experts only.  
 (3) After the grant of a patent, irrespective of its revocation  or expiration, the deposited  biological material is accessible 
by providing a sample upon request.  
 (4) The sample can only be provided if the person requesting it, or the independent expert pursuant to subsection  2 
second sentence, undertakes that during the validity of the patent  
(a) he will not provide the sample or material derived from it to a third  party and  
(b) he will use the sample and the material derived from it only for experimental purposes, unless the applicant or the patent 
owner expressly relieves him of this obligation.  
 (5) On the basis of a request filed with  the Office before publicati on of the application, the applicant is entitled to limit 
access to the deposited  biological material for a period of 20 years from the application filing date to independent experts only 
in the event that the application is refused  or the proceedings on t he application are discontinued ; subsection  4 shall apply 
mutatis mutandis . 
 (6) In case of doubts about the accessibility of biological material to the public or the sufficiency of the description 
under subsection  1, it holds that the condition of accessibility or sufficiency of the description has not be en fulfilled until the 
contrary is proven.  
 (7) If the subject -matter  of the application is a sequence or partial sequence of a gene, the industrial applicability of 
the invention must be explained in the application.  
 (8) A recognized depository  institution is an institution for t he deposition  of biological material which  has acquired a 
status pursuant to  an international contract ,15) or has been recognized for this by the Office . 
 (9) The conditions established by an international convention  apply to the re -deposit of biological material in a 
recognized depository  institution.15)  
§ 39 
 
Suspension  of the application proceedings  
 
 (1) If there are court proceeding s, the subject -matter  of which is the right to a solution, the Office shall suspend  the 
application proceedings at the request  of one of the parties to the litigation . The applicant shall attach a co unterpart  of the court 
action,  certified by the court , to the request for susp ension  of the application proce edings . 
 (2) During the suspension  of the proceedings, the running  of the prescribed time periods  under this Act shall stop, 
with the exception of the time limit pursuant to section  41(1). 
 (3) The Office shall continue the suspended  proceedings on the application after delivery of a final court decision on 
the right to a solution, which the party to the litigation  that has filed  the request  pursuant to subsection  1 is obliged to deliver to 
the Office.  
Preliminary examination of the application  
 
§ 40 
 
 (1) As part of a preliminary examination of the application, the Office shall determine whether  
(a) the conditions for determining the application filing date pursuant to  section 35 are met,  
(b) the conditions for granting the priority right pursuant to sections 36 and 36a are met,  
(c) the application meets the conditions pursuant to section s 37, 38 and 59,  
(d) the application meets the conditions pursuant to  a generally binding piece of legislati on (section  80), 
(e) the applicant has paid the appropriate administrative fee pursuant to section  79(13), 
(f) the applicant is represented pursuant to  section  79(2), 
(g) the application does not contain a subject -matter  that clearly fails to meet the conditions pursuant to section  5(1) or is not 
considered an invention pursuant to section  5(3), or which is subject  to exclusion from patentability pursuant to section  6. 
 (2) In case of doubt, the Office may call upon the applicant to demonstrate its usability by presenting the subject -
matter  of the application or in another appropriate way. If the applicant fails to demonstrate the usability or to comply with the 
call, the subject -matter  of the application is not usabl e. 
 (3) In case of detection of deficiencies pursuant to  subsection  1(e) and (f) or section  37(3) and (5), or section  45(1), 
or section  79(13), or pursuant to  an implementing piece of legislation  (section  80), the Office  shall call upon the applicant to 
remove the alleged deficiencies within the specified period or to comment on the call. If the applicant fails to comply with the 
call within the specified period or his comment  does not refute the justification of the call, the Office  shall discontinue  the 
application proce edings . The Office shall notify the applicant of this consequence in the call. 
 (4) If the application fails to meet the conditions pursuant to  section  37(1) and (4) or section  38(1) to (3), or the subject -
matter  of the application clearly does not meet the conditions pursuant to  section  5(1), or is not considered an invention pursuant 
to section  5(3), or is clearly subject -matter  to exclusion from patentability pursuant to section  6, or the presumption pursuant to  
subsection  (2) applies, the Office  shall refuse  the application. Before deciding on the refusal  of the application, the Office  shall 
call upon the applicant to comment on the detected facts that justify the refusal  of the  application.  
 (5) If the conditions for exercising the priority right pursuant to  section  36(2) to (9) and pursuant to  a generally binding 
piece of legislation  (section  80) are not met , the Office shall grant the applicant the priority right pursuant to  section  36(1)(a). 
§ 41 
 
 (1) The Office shall publish the application without undue delay after the expiry of 18 months from the creation of the 
priority right and shall announce this publication in the Official Gazette . 
 (2) The Office may publish the application before the expiry of the period specified in subsection  1, if the applicant 
requests it no later than within 12 months from the creation of the priority right and if he pays the administrative fee ( section  
79(13)). The Office shall publish the application before the expiry of the period specified in subsection  1, if a patent has already 
been granted for the invention; however, without the consent of the applicant, the Office  shall not publish the application before  
the expir y of 12 months from the creation of the priority  right. 
 (3) Together with the application, the Office may publish a report on the state  of the art (search report) relating to the 
invention claimed in the application.  § 41a  
 
International -type search  
 
 (1) Upon  the applicant's request, the Office  shall enable the international search authority15a) to conduct an 
international -type search regarding  the subject -matter  of the application.  
 (2) If the application pursuant to  subsection  1 was filed within six months from the creation  of the priority right and if 
in the application proceedings a report on an international -type search was filed, which was carried out by the Office  as a branch 
of the V isegrad  Patent Institute in accordance with an international contract ,15b) the Office  shall publish the report on the 
international -type search together with the application ( section  41(3)) and the report on the international -type search shall be 
taken into account during the full examination of the application.  
§ 41b  
 
Search within the priority period  
 
 (1) The applicant  may file , along with the application, a request to conduct a search within a period of nine months 
from the filing of the application (hereinafter referred to as "search within the priority period"), which must contain  
(a) identification data of the applicant or c o-applicants,  
(b) the name of the invention being the subject -matter  of the application,  
(c) the applicant's declaration of will that he requests that the Office  conduct a search within the priority period and publish the 
application together with the search report ( section  41(3)). 
 (2) The Office will immediately examine the request for conducting a search within the priority period  as to  whether  it 
(a) contains the details pursuant to  subsection  1, 
(b) it has been filed together with the application,  
(c) the applicant's priority right arose on the application filing date pursuant to section  36(1(a). 
 (3) If any of the requirements listed in subsection  2 are not met, the request to conduct a search within the priority 
period shall be  considered  unfiled . 
 (4) The Office is not obliged to take into account a request to conduct a search within the priority period if it has called 
upon the applicant to eliminate deficiencies pursuant to section  40(3) or for a comment  pursuant to  section  40(4). 
 (5) If the Office  does not proceed pursuant to  subsection  3 or subsection  4, within a period of nine months from the 
filing of the application, it shall draw up  a search on the subject -matter  of the application, deliver the search report to the applicant 
and publish it together with the application ( section  41(3)). 
§ 42 
 
 (1) After the publication of the application, anyone can submit critical comments to the Office  on the patentability of 
its subject -matter ; the critical comments shall be taken into account by the Office  during the full examination of the application.  
 (2) Persons who filed the critical comments pursuant to subsection  1 do not become participants in the application 
proce edings . However, the applicant must be notified of the critical comments and can comment on them.  
Substantive  examination of the application  
 
§ 43 
 
 (1) At the request  of the applicant, a third party, or ex officio, the Office  shall without undue delay carry out a 
substantive  examination of the application, in which it shall ascertain whether the application meets the conditions for granting 
a patent , established by this Act. A person other than the applicant, who filed a request for  a substantive  examination of the 
application, does not become a party to the application proce edings . 
 (2) The request for a substantive examination must be filed no later than 36 months from the application filing date 
(section  35) and cannot be withdrawn. The applicant is obliged to pay the administrative fee together with the application ( section 
79(13)). 
 (3) If the request to conduct a substantive examination has not been properly filed within the deadline pursuant to  
subsec tion 2 or if the Office  did not start a substantive examination  of the application ex off icio within the same deadline, the 
Office  shall discontinue  the application proceedings.  
 (4) The Office  shall notify the applicant without undue delay of the initiation of a substantive examination  at the 
suggestion of a third party or ex off icio. The Office  shall notify the person who filed a request for a substantive examination of 
the application about t he result of the substantive examination  of the application; this does not affect section  56. 
§ 44 
 
 (1) If the conditions established for the granting of a patent have not been  met ( sections 5, 7, 8 and 9), the Office  shall 
refuse  the application. Before refusing  the application, the Office  shall allow the applicant to comment on the detected reasons 
on the basis of which the application is to be refused . 
 (2) If the Office  additionally discovers deficiencies in the application or non-fulfillment of the conditions that are the 
subject -matter  of a preliminary examination of the application, he shall  proceed pursuant to  section  40(2) to (5). 
 (3) If several applications with the same subject -matter  and priority right are filed ( section  36), only one patent may 
be granted to one applicant. The Office  shall discontinue  the proceedings on other applications.  
 (4) If the subject -matter  of the application meets the established conditions and the applicant pays the re spective  
administrative fee ( section 79 (13)), the Office  shall grant the applicant a patent and the applicant becomes the patent owner. 
The Office  shall issue a patent document in paper form to the patent owner and he shall announce the granting of the patent in 
the Official Gazette . 
 (5) The owner is obliged to pay a  maintenance fee  for the maintenance  of the patent . 
§ 45 
 
Modification a nd di vision of the application  
  (1) The applicant may modify the application during the application proce edings ; modifications and alterations made 
to the application may not go beyond its original filing. 
 (2) Until the moment  of the grant  of a patent pursuant to  section  44(4), the applicant may divide the application. The 
Office shall grant the divisional  applications a filing date, or even the priority right from the origi nal application, if they do not 
exceed its scope . 
 (3) If an application is divisional  after the start of a substantive examination  pursuant to  section  43, the divisional  
application s hall be  considered the ap plication in which a request for a substantive examination  was filed. 
Revocation and partial revocation of a patent  
 
§ 46 
 
 (1) The Office shall revoke a patent if  it is proven  in proceedings initiated at the request  of a third party or ex officio  
that 
(a) the conditions for its granting p ursuant to  sections 5 to 9 have not been met,  
(b) the invention is not described and explained in the patent so clearly and completely that a person skilled in the art  can 
implement it,  
(c) the subject -matter  of the patent exceeds the content s of the application in its original wording. This also applies if the subject -
matter  of the patent granted on the basis of an divisional  application exceeds the content s of the original wording of the 
application,  
(d) the scope of protection resulting from the patent has been  extended,  
(e) the owner does not have the right to a solution pursuant to section  10(1) and (3), section  11(1) and (4) or section  12(1), 
(f) the conditions for its granting have not been met pursuant to  the regulations in force at the time of its granting . 
 (2) If the reasons for revocation relate to the patent  partially , the patent shall be revoked only to the extent adequate 
to the ascertained reasons, namely by a change of the patent claims, description or drawings.  
 (3) If the patent is revoked, it holds that it has not been granted to the extent affected by the revocation.  
 (4) The Office may cancel the patent even after its expiry, if the requester  proves a legal interest.  
 (5) The Office may also revoke a patent at the request  of the patent owner irrespective  of the existence of reasons 
pursuant to  subsection  1. The Office shall not take into account the patent owner's request  for a partial revocation  of the patent, 
if the patent revocation request  proceedings or the patent revocation proceedings initiated ex officio  are ongoing. If rights of 
third parties registered in the Register  are attached to the patent , the Office  shall act on the patent owner's request  to revoke  
the patent only after the written consent of the person , whose righ ts and legitimate interests may be affected by the revocation 
of the patent , is filed; the Office  shall proceed in the same way even i n the case of  a litigation entered in the Register, the subject -
matter  of which is the right to a solution, until the expir y of six months from the date of the finality of the court's decision.  
 (6) The Office shall discontinue  the patent revocation proceedings if the decision by which the same patent was 
revoked has become final. 
 (7) The Office  shall announce the decision on the revocation  or partial  revocation  of a patent in the Official Gazette . 
 (8) Together with the filing of the  request  pursuant to  subsection s 1 and 5, the  requester  is obliged to pay an 
administrative fee ( section  79(13)). 
§ 47 
 
 (1) The patent revocation request must contain a legal and factual justification. Simultaneously with t he patent 
revocation request , the requester must submit evidence or designate  the evidence  that he will file. If the request for the 
revocation of the patent does not contain the requirements pursuant to  the previous sentences or the requirements established 
by the generally binding piece of legisla tion issued pursuant to section  80 or the requester fails to file the designated evidence  
or the  requester  is not represented pursuant to  section  79(2), the Office  shall call upon the applicant to eliminate the detected 
deficiencies within the specified period. If the requester  does not comply with the call within the specified period, the Office shall  
discontinue  the patent revocation request  proceedings . The Office shall notify th e requester of this consequence in the call. 
 (2) If the patent revocation request proceedings have not been discontinued  pursuant to subsection  1, the Office  shall 
deliver the request for revocation of the patent to the patent owner and calls upon him to comment on it within the specified 
period. In the call pursuant to  the previous sentence, the Office shall notify the patent owner of the possibility to change the 
patent claims, descri ption or drawings with regard to the reasons and evidence  applied and presented by the requester , and the 
changes made must meet the conditions pursuant to  the generally binding piece of legislation  issued pursuant to section  80 and 
must not go beyond the scope of protection resulting from the patent. If the patent owner proposes changes pursuant to  the 
previous sentence, these are the basis for further proceedings on the request for revocation of the patent.  
 (3) The patent o wner's statement pursuant to subsection  2 and his request  for changes pursuant to subsection  2, if 
filed, shall be delivered by the Office  to the requester , and if it deems it expedient, it shall also  call upon him to comment on 
them within the specified period.  
 (4) In the course of patent revocation request proceedings , the Office  may 
(a) call upon the participant to comment on the filing of the other participant or on the facts that the Office  considers decisive in 
the patent revocation procee dings , within the specified period, or  
(b) determine a joint deadline for the participants for final comments ; the Office shall  not take into account comments received 
after this deadline  and the Office shall  notify of this the participants . 
 (5) If the pa tent owner does not comment on the request for revocation of a p atent within the time limit specified in 
the call pursuant to subsection  2 or does not request  changes pursuant to subsection  2 within the same time limit, or if the 
requester  fails to  comment within the time limit specified in the call pursuant to subsection  3, or if the participant fails to comment 
within the period pursuant to subsection  4(a), the Office shall  continue the pr oceedings and shall make a decision based on the 
contents of the file.  
 (6) The Office shall proceed pursuant to subsection 5 even if the patent owner is not represented pursuant to section  
79(2). If the patent owner does not comply with the call to submit  the power of attorney within the specified period, it holds that 
he has not commented on the request for revocation of the patent.  
 (7) If it is not possible to make a decision based on the written filings  of the participants in  the patent revocatio n 
request proce edings , the Office shall  determine the date of  an oral hearing. Simultaneously with the summons for the oral 
hearing, the Office shall deliver to the participant in  the patent revocation request proceedings all the comments of the other 
party, if it has not already done so earlier.  
 (8) The Office may continue the patent revocation request proceedings and decide on the matter even if the duly and timely summoned participant fails to  participate in the oral hearing. The Office may grant a request to postpone the oral hearing 
only for important reasons and only if the request to postpone the oral hearing was delivered to the Office without delay aft er 
the su mmoned participant in  the pa tent revocation request proceedings learned about the reason for which the hearing is 
requested to be postponed; otherwise, the Office shall  not take into account the request to postpone the oral hearing.  
 (9) Exten ding or supplementing  a request for revoc ation of a patent by a new reason pursuant to section  46(1) or by 
a new proof of non -fulfillment of the conditions for granting a patent pursuant to section  5 to 9 or pursuant to section  37(4) is not 
permissible in patent revocation request proceedings; the Office shall  not take into account such an extension or supplementing  
within th ese proce edings  and this decision -making in the matter.  
 (10) Subsection s 2 and 4 to 8 shall also be applied  mutatis mutandis  to patent revocation proceedings initiated ex 
officio.  
§ 48 
 
Request  for registration in another  person's  name  
 
 (1) The Office shall enter the person of the requester  as the patent owner, if  
(a) it finds out from a final decision of a court that the person originally entered as the patent owner did not have the right to a 
solution pursuant to section  10(1) and (3), section  11(1) and (4) or section  12(1), 
(b) the request  for registration in another person's name  has been  submitted by a person who, pursuant to  the final court 
decision, has the right to a solution, or i ts legal successor , and 
(c) the request  for registration in another person's name  has been  filed within six months from the date of finality of the court 
decision.  
 (2) The final decision of the court pursuant to subsection  1(a) shall constitute an annex to the request  for registration 
in another person's name . 
 (3) If the request for registration in another person's name  fails to  meet the requirements pursuant to subsection  1 or 
subsection  2, the Office shall  refuse  the request  for registration in another person's name ; before deciding on the refusal  of the 
request  for registration in another person's name , the Office shall  allow the requester  to comment on the detected  reasons on 
the basis of which the request for registration in another person's name  is to be refused . 
 (4) If the person wh ich, pursuant to  the final decision of the court, has the right to a  solution, or its legal successor , 
fails to file a request for registration in another person's name  within the deadline pursuant to subsection  1(c), the Office shall  
revoke the patent ex officio for the reason under section  46(1)(e). 
 (5) Subsection s 1 to 4 shall be used  mutatis mutandis  for registering the rights resulting from the application  in another 
person's name . If the  rights resulting from the application are not registered in another person's name for reasons pursuant to 
subsection  3, the Office shall  refuse  the application in accordance with section  40(4). 
§ 49 
 
Determination proce edings  
 
 (1) Upon request, the Off ice shall determine whether a subject -matter  specified and described in the request falls 
within the scope of protection of a specific patent (hereinafter referred to as "determination  request "). The description of the 
subject -matter o f determination must be clear and complete, and the  determination request must meet the requirements 
established by the generally binding piece of legislation issued pursuant to section  80. 
 (2) Only the person who filed the determination request shall be a  participant in the determination proce edings . 
 (3) Upon initiation of patent revocation request proceedings or initiation of patent revocation proceedings ex officio or 
upon delivery of a request of a court for an expert opinion ( section 33 (5)), if the requester  is a party to a litigation, the 
determination proceedings shall be suspended. The Office will notify the requester of the suspension of the determination 
proce edings . After the decision to revoke  the patent becomes final, the Office shall  discontin ue the determination proce edings . 
 (4) If the description of the subject -matter  of de termination  or the determination request  does not meet the 
requirements pursuant to subsection  1, the Office shall  call upon the requester t to eliminate the identified deficiencies within the 
specified period. If the requester does not comply with the Office 's call within the specified period, the Office shall  discontinue  
the determination procedure; the Office shall  notify the requester of this consequence in the call. 
 (5) The requester is obliged to pay an administrative fee ( section 79 (13)) together with the determination request . 
§ 50 
 
Entry  of a license, right of pledge , patent  assignment , patent transfer, execution  or litigation in the Register  
 
 (1) If a request for the entry  of a license, right of pledge , patent  assignment , patent  transfer , execution or litigation in 
the Register does not contain the requirements established by a generally binding piece o f legislation issued pursuant to section  
80, the Office  shall call upon the requester  to remove the identified deficiencies within the specified period. If the requester fails 
to eliminate the identified deficiencies within the specified period, the Office shall  discontinue  the request proceedings . The 
Office will notify the requester of  this consequence in the call. 
 (2) Subsection 1 shall not apply to a compulsory license that t he Office  enters into the Register ex officio after delivery 
of a valid court decision on its granting.  
 (3) On the basis of a writ of execution15c) supported by a notification of the initiation of an execution  and a list of rights 
which also includes the specific application or the specific patent, the Office  shall enter in the Register the fact that this 
application or patent is affected by an execution with effect from the date of delivery of the writ of exec ution to the Office . The 
grant of a patent does not affect the entry  of the execution by affecting the rights resulting from the application and is considered 
to be an entry of execution by affecting the  rights resulting from the patent, unless the writ of execution states otherwise. A 
modification or division of the application ( section  45) does not affect the entry  of the e xecution  of rights resulting from the 
application; i n the case of a division of the application ( section 45 (2)), the Office shall  also enter in the Register an execution by 
affecting the rights resulting from divisional  applications.  
 (4) If there is a court proceeding, the subject -matter  of which is a dispute over the right to a solution, the Office , at the 
request  of one of the parties to the litigation , shall enter in the Register the fact that the litigation i s ongoing, as well as the 
subject -matter  of the proceeding, with the entry  being effective on the day the request is delivered to the Office . The requester  
shall attach a copy of the court action  certified by the court to the request for entry  of the litigation . The grant of a patent does 
not affect the entry  of a litigation  in relation to the application and it is considered to be an entry  of a litigation  in relation to the patent. A modification or divi sion of the application ( section  45) does not affect the entry  of the litigation  in relation to the 
application; in the case of a division of the application ( section  45(2)), the Office shall  enter a litigation i n the Register also in 
relation to divisional  applications.  
 (5) The requester  is obliged to pay an administrative fee ( section 79 (13)) together with the filing of the request pursuant 
to subsections 1 and 4 . 
§ 51 
 
Extension of the time limit and continuation of proceedings  
 
 (1) On the basis of a request of a party in the proce edings  for an extension of the time limit, determined by the Office,  
for the performance of an act, filed before the expiration of this time limit , the Office  may extend the time limit . 
 (2) If the party in the proceedings has missed the time limit,  set by the Office,  for the performance of an act, after the 
expiration of this time limit , it may request the Office  to continue the proceedings and perform the missed act, no later than two 
months from the date of delivery of the decision of the Office  issued as  a result of the missed time limit . 
 (3) T he request pursuant to subsection  1 cannot be granted i n the case of a time limit  pursuant to section  47(4)(b), 
and the request pursuant to subsection  2 cannot be granted i n the case of a missed time limit pursuant to section  47(1), (2), (4) 
and (6). 
 (4) The Office shall refuse  a request for an extension of the time limit or a request for the continuation of proceedings 
that does not meet the conditions pursuant to subsection  1 or subsection  2, or cannot be granted pursuant to subsection  3; 
before the decision to refuse  the request , the Office shall  allow the requester to comment on the detected reasons on the basis 
of which the request is supposed to be refused . 
 (5) If the Office  grants the request for the continuation of the proceedings, the legal ef fects of the decision issued as 
a result of missing the time limit  shall cease or not occur.  
 (6) If the Office  does not decide to refuse  a request for an extension of the time limit  that meets the conditions pursuant 
to subsection  1, within two months of its delivery, the request is deemed to have been granted.  
§ 52 
 
Rest itutio in integrum  
 
 (1) If, despite the due care required by the circumstances, a participant in  the proceedings missed a legal time limit  
or a time limit set by the Office for performing an act, and the consequence of the failure to perform this act  is a stopping of the 
proceedings  or the loss of another right, he may request from the Office  a restitutio in integrum  and perform th e missed act 
within two months from the disappearance of the obstacle for which he could not perform the act , but no later than 12 months 
from the expiry of the missed time limit . 
 (2) A participant in  the proceedings is obliged to justify the request for a restitutio in integrum and to state the facts 
that have prevented the performance of the act, as well as the date of the disappearance  of the obstacle, due to which he could 
not perform the act. Allegations submitted after the expiry of any of the time limits pursuant to subsection  1 shall not be taken 
into account by the Office  when deciding on a request for a restitutio in integrum . 
 (3) If there are  justified doubts about the truth of the justification pursuant to subsection  2, the Office  may call on the 
requester to prove his alleg ations . 
 (4) Requests for a restitutio in integrum  cannot be granted i n cases of a missed time limit  for 
(a) the filing of a request for continuation of proceedings pursuant to section  51(2) and a request for a restitutio in integrum  
pursuant to subsection  1, 
(b) subsequent granting and proof of the priority right pursuant to section  36(4), (5) and (7), 
(c) the filing of a remonstrance in the proceedings before the Office  pursuant to section  55(1) and the filing of the reasoning  for 
the remonstrance pursuant to section  55(3), 
(d) the performance of acts pursuant to section  47(1), (2), (4) and (6). 
 (5) The Office shall refuse  a request for a restitutio in integrum  which  does not meet the conditions pursuant to 
subsection s 1 and 2 , or the applicant does not prove his allegations  pursuant to subsection  3, or it cannot be granted pursuant 
to subsection  4; before deciding on the refusal  of the request , the Office  will enable the requester to comment on the facts found, 
which justify th e refusal  of the request . 
 (6) If the Office  complies with the request for a restitutio in integrum , the legal effects of the decision issued as a result 
of the missed time limit  shall cease or not occur.  
 (7) A third person who, in the territory of the Slovak Republic, in good faith , from the finality  of the decision issued as 
a result of missing the time limit  until the expiry of the legal effects of this decision pursuant to subsection  6, exploited  the 
invention that was the subject -matter  of an application or patent, or made demonstrable preparations directly aimed at the 
exploitation  of this  invention, can use the invention within its business activit ies without the obligation to pay for the exploitation  
of the invention.  
 (8) The assignment and transfer of the right of the authorized user pursuant to subsection  7 is possi ble exclusively as 
part of the assignment  or transfer of the business enterprise or its part in which the invention is being exploited . 
§ 53 
 
Source documents for a  decision  
 
 (1) The participant in the proceedings is obliged to present or propose evidence to prove his allegations . 
 (2) The Office shall produce evidence and evaluate evidence at its discretion , each evidence individually and all 
evidence in their mutual relations . 
 (3) The Office shall make decision s on the basis of facts  ascertained from the produced  evidence presented or 
proposed by the participants.  
§ 54 
 
Repealed  as of  January 1, 2018  
 
§ 55  
Remonstrance  
 
 (1) A remonstrance against a decision of the Office may  be filed within 30 days from the delivery of the decision, 
unless otherwise stated in subsection s 4 and 5. A remo nstrance  filed in time has a suspensory effect.  
 (2) When deciding on a remonstrance , the Office  is bound by its scope; this does not apply to matters  
(a) in which proceedings can be initiated ex officio,  
(b) of joint rights or obligations concerning several participants in the proceedings on one side.  
 (3) The reasoning for the remonstrance must be filed within two months from the date of filing the remonstrance , 
otherwise the Office  will discontinue  the remonstrance  proceedings. The Office  shall discontinue  the proceedings even if the 
remonstrance has been filed  with a delay  or if the filing of the remonstrance is not permissible pursuant to subsection  4 or 5.  
 (4) It is not allowed to f ile a remonstrance against the decision by which the Office  
(a) granted a request for the continuation of the proceedings or a request for a restitutio in integrum , 
(b) discontinued  the proceedings pursuant to section  46(6) or section  79(10), or suspended  the proceedings pursuant to section  
39(1) or section  79(11), 
(c) discontinued  the proceedings pursuant to subsection  3, 
(d) decided in the determination proce edings  pursuant to section  49. 
 (5) It is not allowed to file a remonstrance  only against the reasoning  of a decision.  
§ 56 
 
Making data accessible  
 
 (1) Unless otherwise stated below, before publication of the application, the Office shall  be authorized, without the 
consent of the applicant, to notify third parties only of the piece of data  saying  who is the inventor  of the invention, who is the 
applic ant, the name and file number  of the application, and data on the priority right.  
 (2) Notwithstanding subsection  1, the Office shall , upon request, enable the patent owner or applicant to inspect the 
file relating to the unpublished application, if the unpublished application refers to the patent or application of th at owner or 
applicant, or to the person against wh ich the rights resulting from the unpublished application have been asserted.  
 (3) Unless otherwise stated below, after t he publication of the application, the Office shall , upon request, allow anyone 
to inspect the file relat ing to the application or patent.  
 (4) The right to inspect the file also includes the right to make copies for a fee.  
 (5) Based on a written request of the inventor  mentioned in the application pursuant to section  37(5), the Office shall  
not make his identification data a ccessible  to third parties, in particular  when the  publication of an application, notice of the grant 
of a patent, issu ance  of a patent document, issu ance of  an extract from the Register and inspecti on of  the file  occurs . 
 (6) Upon a written request, provided that an urgent legal interest is proven, the Office  is authorized to notify the 
requester whether the person designated by hi m is or is not listed as the inventor  of the invention stated in the application.  
 (7) Upon a written request of the applicant or patent owner, parts of the file containing a trade secret or other 
information of a confidential nature, the disclosure of whi ch is not indispensable  to ensure the right to information of third parties, 
including participants in the proceedings, shall be  excluded from the right of inspection.  
 (8) The rights pursuant to subsection s 1 to 3 cannot be exercised with respect  to applications and patents classified 
pursuant to  a special piece of legislation ,20) the voting minutes and parts of the file containing auxiliary notes or working versions 
of decisions, assessments or opinions.  
§ 57 
 
Register and Official Gazette  
 
 (1) The Office shall keep  
(a) a register in which it enters decisive data regarding applications and granted patents,  
(b) a European Patents  Register , in which it enters decisive data regarding granted European patents with designation for the 
Slovak Republic,  
(c) a register in which decisive data regarding  requests for the granting of supplementary  protection certificates for medicinal 
products or for plant protection pro ducts and granted supplementary  protection certificates for medicinal products or for plant 
protection products  are entered . 
 (2) The data entered in the registers pursuant to subsection  1 are considered valid until a decision of the competent 
authority de termines otherwise.  
 (3) A change of data entered in the Register, resulting from a final and enforceable decision of a competent authority, 
shall be entered  in the Register by the Office  after delivery of the decision provided with a finality clause without unnecessary 
delay.  
 (4) Entering data and facts resulting from a law or a decision of a competent authority is not considered a decision 
issued in proceedings pursuant to  a general piece of legislation  on administrative proceedings. 21)  
 (5) Everyone has the right to inspect the registers referred to in subsection  1. 
 (6) The Office publishes the Official Gazette  in which it publishes facts related to published applications, European 
patent applications, as well as patents, European patents, supplementary protection certificates and their protection, as wel l as 
official  notices and decisions of a fundamental nature.  
§ 58 
 
International application  
 
  (1) The Office is the place where an international application1) can be filed by  
(a) natural persons who are citizens of the Slovak Republic,  
(b) natural persons or legal entities which  have their residence, registered office, business enterprise or organizational unit in 
the territory of the Slovak Republic.  
 (2) The applicant is obliged to pay an administrative fee ( section 79 (13)) for acts connec ted with the filing of an 
international application and, through the Office , pay the fees established by the Patent Cooperation Treaty . 1) 
 (3) The applicant of an international application,1) which requests the grant of a patent in the Slovak Republic, is obliged to submit this international application to the Office  within 31 months from the creation of the priority  right, pay the 
administrative fee for filing the application ( section  79(13)) and submit its translation into the state language.  
 (4) If the applicant of an international application,1) by which the granting of a patent is requested in the Slovak 
Republic, does not submit this international application to the Office  within the dead line under subsection  3, the Office shall  
grant this international application the priority right pursuant to section  36(1)(a). 
 (5) At the request  of the applicant, provided that the conditions pursuant to subsection  3 are met, the Office  may start 
the international application proceedings even before the expiration of the deadlines specified in subsection  3. 
Protection of classified information  
 
§ 59 
 
 (1) If the domestic applicant knows or, depending on the circumstances, should know that the application contains 
information classified pursuant to  a special piece of legislation ,20) he is obliged to request in the application that the application 
be classified . 
 (2) The applicant is obliged to file an application pursuant to subsection  1, which is an international application or a 
European patent application, at the Office . 
 (3) After granting the date of filing (section  35), the Office shall deliver one copy of the application to the National 
Security Office20) (hereinafter referred to as the " Security Office ") together with a request for a decision on security classification  
of the application pursuant to  a special piece of legislation ,20) possibly together with a request for permission to file the application 
abroad.  
 (4) The Office may proceed p ursuant to subsection  3 even if the applicant has not requested a security classification  
of the application pursuant to subsection  1. 
 (5) The Security Office shall decide on the request pursuant to subsection  3 and shall deliver the decision to the 
Office . If this is permitted by an international convention, contract or agreement to which the Slovak Republic is bound, the 
Security Office shall  also attach to the decision a request for a security classification  of the subject -matter  of the application by 
the contracting party in which the application is to be filed. The decision of the Security Office shall  be notified to the applicant  
by the Office . 
 (6) An application pursuant to subsection  1, which is not a European patent application or an international application, 
can be filed by the applicant directly abroad only on the basis of a permission of the Security Office  pursuant to subsection  3, 
issued upon  the applicant's request.  
 (7) If as  a result of the sec urity classification  of the application or as a result of a refusal  of the request  for permission 
to file the application abroad, the patent owner incurs a property loss, consisting in the prevention or limitation of the commercial 
exploitation  of the patent [ section  3(h)], the owner shall be entitled to compensation for the property loss against the Slovak 
Republic represented by the central body of the state administrat ion, to whose jurisdiction the subject -matter  of the classified 
application belongs.  
 (8) Section  11(6) shall be applied mutatis mutandis to the determination of the amount of the property loss under 
subsection 7 . 
 (9) Applications, European patent applica tions or international applications, the security classification  of which has 
been requested by a contracting party or a foreign applicant pursuant to an international convention, contract or agreement , to 
which the Slovak Republic is bound, shall be considered c lassified in accordance with a separate piece of legislation .20) A foreign 
applicant, who does not act on behalf of a contracting party, is obliged to prove th e security classification of the subject-matter  
of the application by the contracting party, document the permission of the contracting party to file an application in the Slovak 
Republic and attach a statement waiving any claims for damages or other property loss that could arise as a resul t of the security 
classification  of the application on the territory of the Slovak Republic.  
 (10) The provisions of this Act, with the exception of publi shing  (section 41) and making  accessible (section 56) the 
data relating to a classified application or patent, apply to application and patent  proceedings  that are classified, or are deemed 
classified pursuant to  a special piece of legislation ,20). 
 (11) If the Security Office  does not consider the facts contained in the application classified pursuant to a special 
piece of legislation ,20) the Office  shall notify the applicant of this fact and shall proceed with the application without applying the 
secrecy regime.  
PART FOUR  
 
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EUROPEAN PATENT CONVENTION  
 
§ 60 
 
Effects of a European patent application  
 
 (1) The European patent application with designation for the Slovak Republic (hereinafter referred to as the "European 
Patent Application") has the same effects from the granted  date of filing or from the date of the creation of the priority right 
exercised by the applicant of the European Patent Application as the application that has been  filed pursuant to section  35 on 
the same  day, or an application with the same date of creation of the priority right pursuant to section  36. 
 (2) After the publication of a European Patent Application by the European Patent Office and the subsequent 
submission of a translation of the patent claims into Slovak and payment of the fee for publication ( section  79(13)) on the part 
of the applicant of the European Patent Application, the Office  shall make the translation of the patent claims a ccessible to the 
public and announce this fact in  Official Gazette . 
 (3) On the day the translation of the patent claims is made a ccessible  to the public pursuant to subsection  2, the 
applicant of the European Patent Application has the same rights as the applicant under this Act, provided that a European 
patent with effects in the Slovak Republic has been  granted.  
 (4) If a European Patent Application or a designation for the Slovak Republic was withdrawn in proceeding s before 
the European Patent Office, or is considered withdrawn, it holds that the application proceedings have been discontinued  
pursuant to section  40(3). The refusal  of a European Patent Application has the same effects as the refusal  of an application 
pursuant to section  40(4). 
 (5) A decision of the European Patent Office on a continu ation of  the proceedings or on a restitutio in integrum  has the same effects as a decision of the Office  pursuant to section  51(5) or pursuant to section  52(6) and (7). 
§ 61 
 
Conversion of  a European Patent Application  
 
 (1) Based on a request of an applicant of a European Patent Application for conversion of a  European Patent 
Application to an application (hereinafter referred to as " conversion ") filed pursuant to Art. 135 of the European Patent 
Convention, the Office shall  start proceedings on the application pursuant to  part three of this Act, or shall proceed pursuant to  
Art. 135 (2) of the E uropean Patent Convention.  
 (2) The applicant is obliged to submit a translation of the European Patent Application into the Slovak language within 
three months upon a call of the Office  and to pay an administrative fee for filing the application ( section  79(13)). 
 (3) If the request for conversion is not filed within three months from the day when the European Patent Application 
was withdrawn or when a notification that the European Patent Application  is considered withdrawn, or a decision on the refusal  
of the European Patent Application or on revocation of a European patent  was delivered , the applicant shall lose the priority 
right resulting from the originally filed European Patent Application.  
 (4) If the request for conversion has been filed in violation of Art. 135 and 137 of the European Patent Convention, 
the Office shall  refuse  the request . 
 (5) repealed  as of  January 1, 2008.  
§ 62 
 
Binding wording of the European Patent Application and the European patent  
 
 (1) Decisive in the determin ation of  the scope of protection resulting from a European Patent Application and a 
European patent  shall the content of the European Patent Applicatio n governed by the wording of the European patent in the 
language in which the European Patent Application proceedings were conducted before the European Patent Office.  
 (2) If the translation of the patent  specification  into the Slovak language submitted to the Office  pursuant to section  
63(2), as well as the translation of patent claims submitted to the Office  pursuant to section  60(2), results in a narrower protection 
than the wording of the European Patent Application and the European patent in the language in which the proceedings before 
the European Patent Office took place, the translation into the Slovak language s hall be  considered to be the binding wording, 
with the exception of proceedings for the revocation of the European patent.  
 (3) The applicant of a European Patent Application or the owner of a European patent may file a corrected translation 
of the patent claims pursuant to section  60(2) or a corrected translation of the European patent specification  pursuant to section  
63(2) into the Slovak language at any time. After delivery of the corrected translation and payment of the administrative fee 
(section  79(13)), the Office shall  make the corrected translation a ccessible to the public and shall announce this fact in the 
Official  Gazette . 
 (4) The corrected translation shall apply instead of the original translation from the date of the notification of making  
the corrected translation accessible in the Official Gazette . 
 (5) The right of third parties to use the subject -matter  of the invention, which, pursuant to  the translation into the 
Slovak language valid in the decisive period, did not fall within the scope of a European patent, shall not be affected by the 
effects of the corrected translation, provided that they used the subject -matter  of the invention in the territory of the Slovak 
Republic in good faith or made demonstrable preparations for exploiting the subject -matter  of the invention.  
§ 63 
 
Effects of a European patent  
 
 (1) A European patent granted by the European Patent Office with designation for  the Slovak Republic has the same 
effects as a patent granted pursuant to section  44(4) from the date of the announcement of the grant of the European patent in 
the European Patent Bulletin . 
 (2) The owner of a European patent is obliged to file at the Office a translation of the patent specification  into the 
Slovak language within three months of the notification of the grant of the European patent , to pay a publication fee (section  
79(13)) and to notify the Office  of the address for delivery in the territ ory of the Slovak Republic.  
 (3) If the owner of a European patent does not submit a translation of the European patent specification  to the Office  
within the period specified in subsection  2, he may submit th e translation within an additional period of three months, provided 
that he pays an increased fee pursuant to subsection  2 simultaneously with submission of the translation.  
 (4) If the translation of the European patent specification  into the Slovak langua ge is not submitted to the Office  within 
the additional period under the conditions under subsection  3, the European patent shall be considered ineffective on the territory 
of the Slovak Republic ab initio . 
 (5) If the owner of a European patent does not n otify the Office  of the address for deliver ies on the territory of the 
Slovak Republic, official reports regarding his patent shall be filed with the Office , and they shall be considered delivered within 
30 days from the date of filing. The Office  must notify the owner of the European patent of this consequence.  
 (6) Based on the fulfillment of the conditions pursuant to subsection  2 or 3, the Office  shall make the translati on of a 
European patent specification  accessible and shall announce this accessibility  as well as the grant of the European patent in 
the Official Gazette  (section  57). 
 (7) After notification of the grant of a European patent in the European Patent Bulletin  and provided that the conditions 
under subsection  2 or 3 are met, the Office  shall enter the European patent in the European Patent Register with the data 
entered in t he European Patent Register.  
§ 64 
 
Inadmissibility of double protection  
 
 If a patent is granted for an invention for which a European patent with the same priority  right has been granted to the 
same owner or its legal successor, the patent becomes ineffec tive to the extent that it coincides with the European patent from 
the date of expiry of the period for filing oppositions  to the European patent, if no o ppositions  were filed, or from the date of the 
finality of the decision of the European Patent Office by which the European patent has been  maintained  in the oppositions  proceedings . 
§ 65 
 
Revocation or maintenance of the European patent as amended  
 
 (1) A decision of the European Patent Office on a partial or full revocation  of a European patent or on the maintenance  
of a European patent in an amended  version  has the same effects in the Slovak Republic as a decision of the Office  pursuant 
to section 46.  
 (2) Revocation of a European patent or its maintenance  in an amended  version shall be announced by the Office  in 
the Official Gazette . 
 (3) If a European patent has been maintained  in an amended  version in opposition proceedings under Art. 101 of the 
European Patent Convention by a decision of the European Patent Office or limited in proceedings under Art. 105b of the 
European Patent Convention, a European patent owner is obliged to submit to the Office  a translation of the amended version  
of the patent specification  into Slovak within three months from the date of notification of the amendment  in the European Patent 
Bulletin  and to pay a publication fee (section  79(13)). 
 (4) If the European patent  owner  fails to submit a translation of the amended version  of the European patent 
specification  into the Slovak language or does not pay the publication fee within the deadline pursuant to subsection  3, the 
European patent is ineffective in the Slovak Rep ublic ab initio . 
 (5) The Office shall revoke a European patent  with designat ion for the Slovak Republic under the conditions pursuant 
to section  46 and the procedure pursuant to section  47, if the reason for the revocation of the patent pursuant to  Art. 138  in 
conjunction with Art. 139 of the European Patent Convention , provided that  
(a) the time limit for filing o ppositions  pursuant to  the European Patent Convention has lapsed to no effect , or 
(b) the European patent has not been revoked during  the opposition proceedings before the European Patent Office.  
 (6) If, at the time of the revocation proceedings for a  European patent, opposition proceedings against the same 
European patent before the European Patent Office begin or have been pend ing before the Office , the Office  shall suspend the 
revocation proceedings. After the end of the proceedings before the European Patent Office, in which the European patent has 
not been revoked, the Office , at the request of one of the participants, continues the European patent revocation proceedings. 
If the request for continuation of the European patent revocation proceedings is not submitted within six months from the validity 
of a decision of the European Patent Office, the Office shall  discontinue  the European patent revocation proceedings.  
§ 66 
 
European patent application  filing  
 
 (1) The Office s hall be  the place where legal entities or natural persons may file a European patent application.  
 (2) Subsection 1 does not apply to the  filing of a divisional European patent application pursuant to Art. 76 of the 
European Patent Convention.  
§ 67 
 
Fees  
 
 To maintain the validity of a European patent in the Slovak Republic, its owner is obliged to pay annual ly a 
maintenance fee.  
§ 67a  
 
Special provision on the period of validity of the supplementary protection certif icate  
 
 At the proposal of the owner of the supplementary protection certificate or at the proposal of a third party, the Office 
shall change the period of validity of the supplementary protection certificate for medicinal products or the supplementary 
protection certificate for plant protection products, if the date of the first authorization to place the product on the mark et in the 
European Union stated in the application for the granting of the supplementary protection certificate is incorrect.21 (a) 
PART FIVE  
Repealed as of March 1, 2007  
Heading repealed as of March 1, 2007  
§ 68 
Repealed as of March 1, 2007  
§ 69 
Repealed as of March 1, 2007  
Heading repealed as of March 1, 2007  
§ 70 
Repealed as of March 1, 2007  
§ 71 
Repealed as of March 1, 2007  
Heading repealed as of March 1, 2007  
§ 72 
Repealed as of March 1, 2007  
§ 73 
Repealed as of March 1, 2007  
Heading repealed as of March 1, 2007  
§ 74 
Repealed as of March 1, 2007  
§ 75 
Repealed as of March 1, 2007  
§ 76 
Repealed as of March 1, 2007  § 77 
Repealed as of March 1, 2007  
§ 78 
Repealed as of March 1, 2007  
 
PART SIX  
 
COMMON, AUTHORI ZING, TRANSITIONAL AND REPEALING  PROVISIONS  
 
§ 79 
 
Common provisions  
 
 (1) Persons who have a permanent residence, registered office  or business enterprise in the territory of a state that 
is a party to an international convention,6) or in the territory of a state that is a member of the World Trade Organization,7) or are 
nationals of th at state, have the same rights and obligations as citizens of the Slovak Republic without prejudice to the provision 
of subsection  2. If the state of which the p erson is a national, or the state in whose territory the person has a permanent 
residence, registered office  or business  enterprise , is not a state that is a party to an international convention6) or a member of 
the World Trade Organization,7) rights pursu ant to  this Act may be granted only under the condition of reciprocity.  
(2) Persons not hav ing a permanent residence or registered office  in the territory of the Slovak Republic must be 
represented by a lawyer26) or a patent attorney26a) in proceedings before the Office, including the submission of translations 
according to part four of this Act . The m andatory representation according to the previous sentence does not apply to 
participants in the proceedings, who are citizens of a contracting state of the Agreement on the European Economic Area, have  
a registered office or business enterprise in the ter ritory of a contracting state of the Agreement on the European Economic 
Area; such participants in the proceedings are obliged to notify the Office of the address for delivery in the territory of the Slovak 
Republic.  
 (3) The provision of subsection  2 on m andatory representation does not apply to acts  
(a) preceding and connected with the determination of the filing date pursuant to section  35, 
(b) associated with the payment of fees,  
(c) associated with proving the priority right pursuant to section  36. 
 (4) A representative of a participant  in the proceedings is obliged to notify the Office  of the address for delivery on the 
territory of the Slovak Republic.  
 (5) A participant in the proceedings who performs acts pursuant to subsection  3 is obliged to not ify the Office  of the 
address for delivery on the territory of the Slovak Republic. If the part icipant in  the proceedings fails to  notify the Office  of the 
address for delivery on the territory of the Slovak Republic, the Office 's written documents relating to the proceedings shall be 
deposited at the Office , and they shall be considered delivered 30 days after the date of their deposit. The Office will notify the 
participant about  this consequence.  
 (6) Proceedings before the Office  pursua nt to this Act are subject  to a general piece of legislation  on administrative 
proceedings21) except section  19, section  23, section  28, section  29, section  30(1)(b) and (d), section  32 to 34, section  39, 
section  49, section  50, section  59(1) and section  60. 
 (7) The provisions of this Act shall be applied mutatis mutandis  to the creation, change and termination of legal 
relationships, the subject -matter  of which is a certificate pursuant to  special pieces of legislation ,22a) as well as to proceedings 
on certificates pursuant to  special pieces of legislation22a) unless a special piece of legislation 22a) provides otherwise.  
 (8) If the attachment to the filing is a copy of a document, about the authenticity of which the Office  has doubts, it may 
request the submission  of the original document or its certified copy.  
 (9) If a party in the proceedings fails to comply with a call of the Office  within the specified period, the Office  may 
discontinue  the proceedings. The Office shall notify the participant in  the proceedings of this consequence in the call. 
 (10) The Office shall also discontinue  the proceedings at the request  of the person who filed the request  for its 
initiation; the Office  is not obliged to do so, i n the case of proceedings that the Office  can initiate ex officio . A request  to 
discontinue  proceedings cannot be withdrawn. I n the case of a request  to discontinue  the proceedings on an application  or a 
request  to discontinue  the proceedings on an application for the granting of a certificate, to which a litigation entered in the 
Register  is related , the Office  can discontinue  the proceedings only after the submi ssion of  the written consent of the p erson 
who has filed the  request to enter the litigation in the Register.  
 (11) If proceedings have been initiated on a preliminary issue that the Office  is not authorized to resolve, the Office 
shall suspend the proceedings; this does not affect section  39. As soon as the obstacle for which the proceedings have been 
suspended  disappears, the Office shall  continue the proceedings even without a motion . During the suspension of the 
proceedings, the time  limits pursuant to  this Act do not expire.  
 (12) The filing at  the Office  shall be  in writing, in paper form or in electronic form, and in the state language,27) unless 
otherwise provided for in the third or fourth part of this Act. The filing shall be  judged  by its content. It must be clear from the 
filing who is filing  it, what matter it concerns and what it proposes. Each filing must be signed by the person filing it. A filing  in 
electronic form authorized pursuant to  a special piece of legislation29) must contain an identifier of the person of the participant  
in the proceedings and an identifier of the person of the representative pursuant to  a special piece of legislation ,27a) if the 
participant in  the proceedings is represented.  
 (13) Administrative fees under a special piece of legislation  shall be  paid for acts pursuant to this Act and for ac ts 
pursuant to special piece of legislation22a). 28) 
 (14) Unless otherwise provided  for in subsection  15, a filing at the Office  made in electronic form without authorization 
pursuant to  a special piece of legislation29) must be additionally delivered in paper form or in electronic form , authorized pursuant 
to a special piece of legislation ;29) if it is not additionally delivered to the Office  within one month, the filing shall not be taken into 
account.  The Office shall n ot call for additional delivery of the filing.  
 (15) Subsection  14 does not apply to a filing made through closed information systems.30)  
§ 80 
 
Authorizing  provision  
 
 A generally binding piece of legislation issued by the Office  shall stipulate  (a) the details of the method and requirements for exercising and proving the priority  right, 
(b) the details o f the method of filing and the requirements, form and standards of an application,  
(c) the conditions for re -depositing biological material in a recognized deposition  institution15) and conditions for making the 
deposited material available to the public,  
(d) the details o f a divisional application, permissible alterations  of the application and corrections of obvious errors,  
(e) the details of the requirements for a patent  revocation request , request for registration in another person's name , request for 
determination, request for continuation of proceedings and request for a restitutio in integrum , 
(f) the details  of the method and requirements for filing an international application, its translation and languages of filing, 
(g) the details of the method and requirements for filing a European patent application,  
(h) the details of the filing method and requirements for a request  for revocation  of a certificate pursuant to  a special piece of 
legislation22a) and alteration of a certificate pursuant to  a special piece of legislation ,22a) as well as details of the proce edings  on 
the cancellation and alteration  of a certificate pursuant to  a special piece of legislation ,22a) 
(i) the details of the filing method and details of the request to conduct an international -type search,  
(j) the details of the method and requirements for filing a request  for the entry  of a right in the Register,  
(k) the details of the method and requirements of the offer of a  license and its acceptance,  
(l) the details of data to be entered in the Register and announced in the Official Gazette , 
(m) the details of the regime of proce edings in matters of classified applications, patents and certificates pursuant to  a special 
piece of legislation , 22(a) 
(n) the details  of the filing method and the requirements of a request  for the conversion of an inventor's certificate  to a patent,  
(o) the length of the time limits determined by the Office  for the acts of the participants in  proceedings pursuant to this Act,  
(p) further details o f the form of filing, the number of copies of the filing with attachments and delivery to the Office . 
Transitional provisions  
 
§ 81 
 
 (1) The creation, alteration and termination of legal relationships that occurred before th is Act comes into effect  are 
assessed  pursuant to  hitherto existing  legislation . 
 (2) Invention application p roceedings and patent proceedings which were not finally  terminated before this Act  comes 
into effect , shall be terminated pursuant to this Act, provided that in the case of applications for inventions filed pursuant to Act 
No. 84/1972 Coll. of Laws  on dis coveries, inventions, rationalization  proposals and industrial designs, the Office shall  perform 
a full investigation ex officio.  
 (3) Applications for inventions filed pursuant to  current legislation are considered applications pursuant to  this Act.  
 (4) If the use of the subject -matter  of the invention applications referred to in subsection s 1 and 2 took place before 
this Act comes into effect and under the conditions established by hitherto existing  legislation , the rights of third parties shall 
remain unaffected. The right of an inventor  to remuneration  for the exploitation  of the subject -matter  of the invention application 
with a request for the granting of a n inventor's certificate  pursuant to  hitherto existing legislation  shall remain  unaffected.  
§ 82 
 
 (1) An inventor's certificate  for an invention granted pursuant to the Act No. 84/1972 Coll. of Laws  shall be valid for 
15 years from the date of application  filing. 
 (2) An organizati on that, pursuant to hitherto existing legislation , has the right to manage an invention or has been 
entrusted with such  right, has the same rights as the patent owner.  
 (3) In the case of an invention created otherwise than under the conditions pursuant to section 28(a) of the Act No. 
84/1972 Coll. of Laws , protected by an inventor's certificate  granted pursuant to hitherto existing  legislation , which has not 
been exploited by the organization that has the right to manage the invention or has been entrusted with this right, the 
inventor has the right at any time during the validity of the inventor's  certificate to request from the Office its conver sion into a 
patent (hereinafter  referred to as " request  for conversion").  The requester is obliged to pay an administ rative fee (s ection 
79(13)) for the request for conversion . 
 (4) The Office shall publish a request for conversion  as well as a decision on the conversion in the Official Gazette. 
Anyone can file o ppositions  to the request for conversion  within three months from the publication of the request.  
 (5) A patent granted upon a request for conversion is valid for 15 years from the date of filing the invention 
application ; rights resulting from a patent granted upon a  request for conversion  shall arise from the date of publication of the 
request for conversion  in the Official Gazette.  
 (6) If the invention protected by a copyright certificate has not been created under con ditions pursuant to section 
28(a) of the Act No. 84/1972 Coll. of Laws , the inventor has the right to exploit  the invention in his business activit ies. 
§ 83 
 
 (1) The exploitation  of an invention protected by a n inventor's  certificate, which in accordance with hitherto existing 
legislation began before January 1, 1991, or to which the right was granted before that date by virtue of a contract, does not 
constitute a violation of the rights of the patent owner. The inventor's  right to remuneration for the exploitation  of the invention 
pursuant to  hitherto existing legislation  shall not be affected by this.  
 (2) Claims for remuneration for the exploitation  of an invention, as well as claims for reimbursement of reasonable 
costs associated with the drawing up of drawings, models or prototypes, remuneration for initiative  participation in the 
development, testing or introduction of an invention and claims for remun eration for warnings about the possibility of using the 
invention arising before this Act comes into effect shall  be settled  in accordance with hitherto existing legislation . 
 (3) If, after the entry into effect  of this Act, an invention protected by a n inventor's  certificate is exploited , to which an 
organization has a right corresponding to the right of the patent owner pursuant to section  82(2), the organization is obliged to 
pay the inventor remuneration  pursuant to section  11. 
§ 84 
 
 (1) The applicant of the invention pursuant to section 82(1 ) and (2) of the Act No. 527/1990 Coll. of Laws  is obliged 
to submit to the Office  
(a) a document confirming the granting of consent for the sale or production of the subject -matter  of a patent granted abroad in 
any country and  (b) the decision on registration  pursuant to  special pieces of legislation ,25) issued on the basis of an application filed within six 
months of the granting of consent for the sale or production of the subject -matter  of the patent in any country . 
 (2) The applicant of the invention is obliged to submit the document and decision pursuant to subsection  1 to the 
Office  within three months of their delivery, no later than 16 years after the date of the priority right.  
 (3) A failure to comply with the time limits specified in subsection s 1 and 2 cannot be excused.  
 (4) The Office  shall refuse  the invention application pursuant to subsection  1 if 
(a) the applicant fails to meet  the conditions pursuant to subsection s 1 and 2,  
(b) the subject -matter  of the patent granted abroad was placed on the market in the Czech and Slovak Federative Republic 
before filing the application pursuant to subsection  1. 
(5) A patent granted pursuant to section 82(1 ) and (2) of the Act No. 527/1990 Coll. of Laws  is valid for 16 years 
from the date of the creation of the priority  right. 
§ 85 
 
 If the time limits under section  74(3) expire before July 1, 2002, an application for the granting of a certificate pursuant 
to section  74 can be filed until December 31, 2002, if the decision on the registration  of a medicine or the decision on the 
registration  of a preparation for plant protection  pursuant to  special pieces of legislation25) became final after January 1 ,2000.  
§ 85a  
 
Transitional provisions for adjustments effective from January 1, 2018  
 
 (1) Proceedings initiated  and not finally completed by December 31, 2017, shall be completed  pursuant to  this Act in 
the version effective from January 1, 2018, unless otherwise provi ded in subsection  2. 
 (2) Determination proce edings  initiated  and not finally comp leted by December 31, 2017, shall be completed  pursuant 
to this Act, in the version effective until  December 31, 2017.  
 (3) The periods that began to run until December 31, 2017, shall run pursuant to  this Act in the version effective until 
December 31, 2017, and their legal effects shall remain preserved.  
 (4) Rights and legal relationship s resulting from patents granted until December 31, 2017 shall be assessed  in 
accordance with this Act in the version effective as from  January 1, 2018. The c reation, change and termination  of rights and 
legal relationship s, as well as claims arising from them until December 31, 2017 shall be  assessed  in accordance wi th the 
legislation  effective at the time of their creation.  
§ 85aa  
 
Transitional provisions for adjustments effective from January 14, 2019  
 
 (1) Proceedings initiated  and not finally completed  by January 13, 2019 shall be completed  pursuant to  this Act in the 
version effective as from January 14, 2019.  
 (2) Rights and legal relationship s resulting from patents granted until January 13, 2019 shall be  assessed  pursuant 
to this Act in the version effective  as from January 14, 2019. The c reation, change and termination  of rights and legal 
relationship s, as well as claims arising from them until January 13, 2019 shall be  assessed  in accordance with t he legislation  
effective at the time of the ir creation.  
§ 85b  
 
 The legally binding acts of the European Union listed in the annex  are being transposed by this Act . 
§ 86 
 
Repealing  provision  
 
 The following shall be repealed : 
 
 1. section 2 to 35, section s 78 to 82, section 84 of the Act No. 527/1990 Coll. of Laws  on inventions, industrial 
designs and rationalization  proposals as amended by Art. III of the Act No. 90/1993 Coll. of Laws of the Slovak Rep.  and the 
Act No. 185/1994 Coll. of Laws of the Slovak Rep.  
 
 2. section 65(2 ) , section s 66 to 71, section 75(2 ) and section 86 of the Act No. 527/1990 Coll. of Laws  on 
inventions, industrial designs and rationalization  proposals as amended to the extent regulating legal relationship s and 
proceedings r egarding inventions, patents and inventor's  certificates;  
 
 3. title one of the Regulations  of the Federal Inventions Office No. 550/1990 Coll. of Laws  on proceedings in matters 
of inventions and industrial designs.  
 
Art. II 
 
Repealed as of  June 1, 2009  
 
Art. III 
 
Repealed as of  January 1, 2008  
 
Art. IV 
 
 This Act shall take effect  on November 1, 2001, with the exception of Part Four and Part Five, which shall take effect  
on July 1, 2002.   
 The Act No. 402/2002 Coll. of Laws of the Slovak Rep.  took effect on  August 1, 2002.  
 
 The Act No. 84/2007 Coll. of Laws of the Slovak Rep.  took effect on  March 1, 2007.  
 
 The Act No. 517/2007 Coll. of Laws of the Slovak Rep.  took effect on  January 1, 2007.  
 
 The Act No. 495/2008 Coll. of Laws of the Slovak Rep.  took effect on February 1, 2009.  
 
 The Act No. 202/2009 Coll. of Laws of the Slovak Rep.  took effect on June 1, 2009.  
 
 The Act No. 125/2016 Coll. of Laws of the Slovak Rep.  took effect on July 1, 2016.  
 
 The Act No. 242/2017 Coll. of Laws of the Slovak Rep.  took effect on  January 1, 2018, except for Art. I point  12 
section 23(4 ) and section 24(9 ), point  59 section 50, which took effect on January 1, 2019.  
 
 The Act No. 291/2018 Coll. of Laws of the Slovak Rep.  took effect on  January 14, 2019 . 
 
Rudolf Schuster m. p.  
 
Jozef Migaš m. p.  
 
Mikuláš  Dzurinda m. p.  
 
ANNEX  
LIST OF TRANSPOSED LEGALLY BINDING ACTS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION  
 
 1. Directive 98/44/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 6 July 1998 on the legal protection of 
biotechnological inventions  (Special edition of the Official Journal of the European Union, chap. 13/vol. 20, Official Journal of 
the European Communities  L 213, 30.7.1998).  
 2. Directive 2004/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the enfo rcement of 
intellectual property rights (Special edition of the Official Journal of the European Union, ch ap. 17/vol. 2, Official Journal of the 
European Communities  L 157, 30.4.2004).  
 3. Directive 2004/27/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 amending Directive 
2001/83/EC on Community legislation relating to medicinal products for human use (Special edition of the Official Journal of the 
European Union, ch ap. 13/vol. 34; O fficial Journal of the European Communities  L 136, 30.4.2004).  
 
 
____________________  
1) Patent Cooperation Treaty adopted in Washington on June 17, 1970, amended in 1979 and 1984 (Notice of the Federal Ministry  of Foreign 
Affairs No. 296/1991 Coll. of Laws ). 
2) Act No. 202/2009 Coll. of Laws of the Slovak Rep.  on the legal protection of plant varieties.  
3) Convention relating to  International Exhibitions, concluded in Paris on November 22, 1928 (published as No. 46/1932 Coll. of Laws and 
Regulations  of the Czechoslovak state ). 
4) For example section  69, 479 and  487 of the Commercial Code, section  460 and 469 of the Civil Code , section  12 to 17 of Act No. 111/1990 
Coll. of Laws  on the state -owned enterprise, as amended.  
5) Section 2(1 ) of the Commercial Code.  
6) Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property of March 20, 1883, as revised at Brussels on December 14, 1900, at Washington on 
June 2, 1911, at The Hague on November 6, 1925, at London on June 2, 1934, at Lisbon on October 31, 1958, and at Stockholm on July 14, 
1967  (Regulations  of the Minister of Foreign Affairs No. 64/1975 Coll. of Laws  as amended by Regulations o f the Minister of Foreign Affairs No. 
81/1985 Coll. of Laws ). 
6a) Article 14 of Council Regulation (EC) No 2100/94 of 27 July 19 94 on Community plant variety rights  (Special edition of the O fficial Journal of 
the European Union , 03/ vol. 16 Official Journal of the European Communities  L 227, 1.9.1994 .). 
7) Agreement establishing the World Trade Organization ( notice of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic No. 152/2000 Coll. of 
Laws of the Slovak Rep. ). 
8) Article 27 of the Convention o n International Civil Aviation of December 7, 1944 ( Regulations No. 147/1947 Coll. of Laws and Regulations of 
the Cze choslovak Rep .). 
8a) Act No. 362/2011 Coll. of Laws of the Slovak Rep.  on medicines and medical devices and on alterations of and additions to certain laws, as 
amended.  
8b) Act No. 307/2016 Coll. of Laws of the Slovak Rep.  on reminder proceedings and on addition s to certain laws.  
9) Section s 137 to 142 of the Civil Code.  
9a) Act No. 495/2008 Coll. of Laws of the Slovak Rep.  on the maintenance fee for a  patent, on the maintenance  fee for the European patent 
with effects for the Slovak Republic and on the maint enance fee for a  supplementary  protection certificate for medicinal products  and plant 
protection products and on alterations of and additions to certain laws as amended.  
10) Section 151d(4 ) of the Civil Code . 
11) Section s 151a to 151md and section 552 of the Civil Code.  
12) For example section 514 of the Commercial Code.  
12a) Section 508 to 515 of the Commercial Code.  
13) Act No. 136/2001 Coll. of Laws of the Slovak Rep.  on the protection of economic competition and on a lterations of and additions to the Act 
of the Slovak National Council No. 347/1990 Coll. of Laws  on the organization of ministries and other central bodies of the state administration 
of the Slovak Republi c, as amended.  
13a) Art. 29 of Council Regulation (EC) No. 2100/94.  
13b) Section 442a of the Civil Code .  
13c) Section 25 of the Code of Contentious Civil Procedure.  
13d) Section 206 of the Code of Contentious Civil Procedure.  
14) Section s 324 to 345 of the Code of Contentious Civil Procedure.  
14a) Section 340 of the Code of Contentious Civil Procedure.  
14b) Art. 4 of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.  
15) Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purpose of Patent Procedure and the 
Regulations under it (Regulations  of the Minister of Foreign Affairs No. 212/1989 Coll. of Laws ). 
15a) Art. 15(5 )(c) the first sen tence of the Patent Cooperation Treaty . 
15b) Agreement on the V isegrad  Patent Institute ( Notice  of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic No. 369/2015  Coll. of Laws of the Slovak Rep. ). 
15c) Section 52 and 113a of the Rules of Execution . 
20) Act No. 215/2004 Coll. of Laws of the Slovak Rep.  on the protection of classified information and on alterations of and additions to certain 
laws, as amended.  
21) Act No. 71/1967 Coll. of Laws of the Slovak  Rep.  on administrative proce edings  (Rules of Administrative Procedure ). 
21a) Art. 8(1 )(a) subparagraph  iv) and Art. 17(2 ) of the Regulation (EC) No 1610/96 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 
1996 concerning the creation of a suppleme ntary protection certificate for plant protection products (O fficial Journal of the European 
Communities L 198, 8 .8.1996) as amended, Art. 8(1 ) of the  Regulation (EC) No. 469/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 
May 2009 concerning the supplementary protection certificate for medicinal products (C odified version) (O fficial Journal of the European Union  
L 152, 16.6.2009) as amended.  
22a) Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council No. 1610/96 as amended.  
Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council No. 469/2009 as amended.  
26) Act No. 586/2003 Coll. of Laws of the Slovak Rep.  on the Bar  and on alterations of Act No. 455/1991 Coll. of Laws of the Slovak Rep.  on 
trade entrepreneurship (Trade Act), as amended, as amended.  
26a) Act No. 344/2004 Coll. of Laws of the Slovak Rep.  on patent attorneys, on alterations of Act No. 444/2002 Coll. of Laws of the Slovak Rep.  
on designs and of Act No. 55/1997 Coll. of Laws of the Slovak Rep.  on trademarks as amended by Act No. 577/2001 Coll. of Laws of the Slovak 
Rep.  and Act No. 14/2004 Coll. of Laws of the Slovak Rep. , as amended.  
27) Act of the National Council of the S lovak Republic No. 270/1995 Coll. of Laws of the Slovak Rep.  on the state language of the Slovak 
Republic, as amended.  
27a) Section 3(n) of the Act No. 305/2013 Coll. of Laws of the Slovak Rep.  on the electronic form of the exercise of the powers of public  
authorities and on alterations of and additions to certain laws ( the e-Government Act) as  amended by Act No. 273/2015 Coll. of Laws of the 
Slovak Rep.  
28) Act of the National Council of the Slovak Republic No. 145/1995 Coll. of Laws of the Slovak Rep.  on administrative fees, as amended.  
29) Act No. 305/2013 Coll. of Laws of the Slovak Rep. , as amended.  
30) Art. 2(2 ) of the Regulation (EU) No. 910/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 2014 on electronic identification and 
trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market and repealing Directive 1999/93/EC  (Official Journal of the European Union L 
257, 28.8.2014) as amended.