INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN SLOVAKIA
Opposition Term |
03 Months |
Registration Term |
10 Years |
First Renewal Term |
10 Years |
Subsequent Renewal Term |
10 Years |
The Trademark Act No. 506/2009 on Trademarks of October 28th, 2009, in force since 1st January 2010 - is the primary law governing the mechanism of trademark registration and protection in Slovakia.
For getting a trademark registered in Slovakia, an application has to be filed with the Industrial Property Office of the Slovak Republic, which administers the entire trademark registration process.
It follows a 'first-to-file’ system, which means that trademark registration is mandatory for protection.
Slovakia follows the 11th edition of Nice Classification. Multi-class trademark applications are possible.
The third parties can file opposition actions against a trademark application within three (03) months from its date of publication in the official gazette.
In Slovakia, 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.
Slovakia is a member of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, the Patent Cooperation Treaty, and the European Patent Convention.
Law No. 435/2001 of October 4, 2001 on Patents, Supplementary Protection Certificates, and on Amendment of other Acts: ‘The Patent Act’ - deals with the mechanism of patent protection in Slovakia.
For seeking patent protection in Slovakia, an application has to be filed with the Federal Office for Inventions, which administers the entire process of patent grant.
In Slovakia, 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.
After the publication, any person may file observations regarding the patentability of the application's object.
The patent of invention lasts for twenty (20) years in Slovakia. Annuities are accumulated and due after the granting decision; subsequent annuities are payable after the anniversary of the filing date.
Law on Inventions, Industrial Designs, and Rationalization Proposals (No. 527 of November 27, 1990) - deals with the mechanism of registration of industrial designs in Slovakia.
For getting an industrial design registered in Slovakia, an application has to be filed with the Federal Office for Inventions, which administers the entire process of registration.
The types of industrial design applications that can be filed in Slovakia include Non-Convention Application and Convention Application.
Opposition against an industrial design application can't be raised in Slovakia.
The industrial design in Slovakia is valid for five (05) years from the date of filing of the application and may be extended four (04) times for successive periods of five (05) years each up to a total term of twenty-five (25) years.
There is a grace period of six (06) months for the late renewal of a registered industrial design.
Slovakia is a signatory to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.
The Act No. 185/2015 Coll. on Copyright and Related Rights (as amended by Act No. 125/2016 Coll.) - is the basic legislation governing copyright protection in Slovakia.
In Slovakia, copyright comes into existence as soon as the work is created. There is no formal procedure for copyright registration.
Economic rights run from the moment of creation of the work for the life of the author and seventy (70) years after his death.
In case of co-authorship, economic rights run for the life of the last surviving among the co-authors and for seventy (70) years after his death.
Where an audiovisual work is created as a work of co-authorship, economic rights run for the life of the last surviving among the director, script author, dialogues author, and author of music created especially for the work in question and seventy (70) years after his death.
Rights to an unpublished work run for twenty-five (25) years after releasing the work.
For pseudonymous and anonymous works, economic rights run for seventy (70) years after its lawful releasing. If it was not released within seventy (70) years after its creation, economic rights expire after elapsing of this period.
Where a work was created for an employer and was released without indication of name of the author, economic rights run for seventy (70) years after its lawful releasing. If it was not released within seventy (70) years after its creation, economic rights expire after elapsing of this period.