INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN CZECH REPUBLIC
Opposition Term |
03 Months |
Registration Term |
10 Years |
First Renewal Term |
10 Years |
Subsequent Renewal Term |
10 Years |
The new Trademark Act no. 441/2003 is the primary law governing the mechanism of trademark registration and protection in Czech Republic.
For getting a trademark registered in Czech Republic, an application has to be filed with the Industrial Property Office of Czech Republic, which administers the entire trademark registration process.
It follows a 'first-to-file' system, which means that registration is mandatory for protection.
Czech Republic follows the 11th edition of Nice Classification. Multi-class trademark applications are not acceptable.
The third parties can file opposition actions against a trademark application within three (03) months following its publication date in the official gazette.
In Czech Republic, registered trademarks have a validity of ten (10) years from the date of application, which can be further renewed indefinitely for successive periods of ten (10) years each.
The grace period to renew a trademark after the date of expiry is six (06) months.
The term for cancellation of a registered trademark based on non-use is five (05) years from the date of registration.
Czech Republic is a member of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), and the European Patent Convention.
The Patent Act No. 527 of November 27, 1990 - forms the legal basis for patent protection in Czech Republic.
For seeking patent protection, an application has to be filed with the Industrial Property Office, which administers the entire process of patent grant.
In Czech Republic, an invention that satisfies the conditions of novelty, inventive step, and industrial applicability, subjects to patentability. Process patent and product patent are the two types of patents that can be protected.
The types of patent applications that can be filed include Non-Convention Application and Convention Application.
In Czech Republic, no formal pre-grant opposition is available.
The patent of invention lasts for twenty (20) years. The first maintenance fee must be paid within three (03) months from the patent grant. Maintenance fees for a patent relating to following years must be paid no later than the day on which the previous annual period expires.
The Industrial Design Act No. 207 of June 21, 2000 - governs and deals with the mechanism of Industrial Design Registration in Czech Republic.
For getting an industrial design registered in Czech Republic, an application has to be filed with the Industrial Property Office, which administers the entire process of registration.
The types of industrial design applications that can be filed in Czech Republic include Non-Convention Application and Convention Application.
Opposition against an industrial design application cannot be raised in Czech Republic.
The validity term of an industrial design in the Czech Republic is five (05) years from the filing date, extendable up to four (04) times of five (05) years each (twenty-five (25) years in total).
For renewal, the registration holder must file a request for renewal during the last year of each five-year protection period.
There is a grace period of six (06) months to renew an industrial design.
Czech Republic is a signatory to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.
The Act No. 121/2000 Coll. on Copyright and Related Rights and on Amendment to Certain Acts (the Copyright Act) forms the legal basis for copyright protection in Czech Republic.
In Czech Republic, copyright comes into existence as soon as the work is created. There is no formal procedure for copyright registration.
Unless stipulated otherwise, economic rights run for the lifetime of the author and seventy (70) years after his death.
Economic rights to an anonymous and pseudonymous work run for seventy (70) years from the time when the work was lawfully made public, unless the identity of the author becomes known.
Economic rights to a collective work run for seventy (70) years from the time when the work was lawfully made public except where the authors are identified when the work is made accessible to the public; in such cases, the economic rights run for the lifetime of the author and seventy (70) years after his death.
The duration of economic rights to an audiovisual work is calculated from the death of the last surviving among the director, author of screenplay, author of the dialogues, and composer of the music specifically created for use in the audiovisual work.
The economic rights of a performer run for fifty (50) years from the creation of the performance. However, where a fixation of a performance is made public during this period, the rights of the performer shall not expire until fifty (50) years from the time when such a fixation was made public.