(214) Regarding Industrial Property Protection in
the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic
The following announcements concerning industrial property protection
in the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic were furnished by the World
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
Announcement on the Protection of Industrial Property in the Czech
Republic
In view of the fact that Czechoslovakia ceased to exist on Dec. 31,
1992, and that the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic became
independent States on Jan. 1, 1993, the situation of industrial property
protection in the Czech Republic is summarized below.
I. Legal Basis
(1) The respective legal acts on the protection of industrial property
of Czechoslovakia remain applicable in the Czech Republic.
II. Applications for Industrial Property Rights Filed with the Federal
Office for Inventions of Czechoslovakia and Industrial Property Rights
Granted by that Office,
(2) Applications for industrial property rights filed with the Federal
Office for Inventions of Czechoslovakia and industrial property rights
granted by that Office maintain their legal effect in both the Czech
Republic and the Slovak Republic, it being understood that the next fees
which are to be paid must be paid, for protection in both the Czech
Republic and the Slovak Republic, to both the Industrial Property Office
of the Czech Republic and the Industrial Property Office of the Slovak
Republic.
III. International Treaties
(3) The Czech Republic has deposited, with effect on Jan. 1, 1993, a
declaration the effect of which is that all those treaties administered
by WIPO to which Czechoslovakia was party continue to be applicable as
far as the Czech Republic is concerned. Those treaties are: the
Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization,
the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, the
Madrid Agreement for the Repression of False or Deceptive Indications of
Source on Goods, the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International
Registration of Marks, the Nice Agreement Concerning the International
Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the
Registration of Marks, the Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of
Appellations of Origin and their International Registration, the Locarno
Agreement Establishing an International Classification for Industrial
Designs, the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), the Strasbourg Agreement
Concerning the International Patent Classification, the Budapest Treaty
on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for
the Purposes of Patent Procedure, the Berne Convention for the
Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, and the Treaty on the
International Registration of Audiovisual Works.
IV. Effects in the Czech Republic of International Applications under
the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
(4)(a) Pursuant to the deposit of the declaration of continuation
referred to in paragraph (3), above, nationals and residents of the
Czech Republic can file international applications, and the Czech
Republic can be designated and elected in international applications
filed, on or after Jan. 1, 1993.
(b) Rules 32.1 and 32.2 of the Regulations under the PCT
permit the extension of international applications to the Czech Republic.
(c) For the purpose of determining the status of international
applications with respect to the Czech Republic, one has to distinguish
between
(i) international applications specifically1 designating
Czechoslovakia which were filed prior to Jan. 1, 1993(see(d), below);
(ii) international applications not specifically1 designating the
Czech Republic--irrespective of the other designations they
contain--filed between Jan. 1, 1993, and Feb. 21, 1993 (see (e) to (g)
below);
(iii) international applications specifically1 designating the
Czech Republic filed on or after Jan. 1, 1993 (see (h) below).
(d) As regards any international application whose
international filing date is prior to Jan. 1, 1993, and in which
Czechoslovakia is specifically designated, the "national filing effect"
of any such application under Article 11(4) of the PCT will, pursuant to
the deposit by the Czech Republic of its declaration of continuation, be
recognized in the Czech Republic (provided that the international
application had not lost its effect in Czechoslovakia by Dec. 31, 1992).
The conditions under which any such international application, or any
patent resulting therefrom and granted by the Federal Office for
Inventions of Czechoslovakia, may continue to have effect in the Czech
Republic are the following:
(i) if a patent has been granted by the Federal Office for
Inventions of Czechoslovakia on the basis of the international
applications, paragraph (2), above, is applicable;
(ii) if the applicant has entered the national phase before the
Federal Office for Inventions of Czechoslovakia but a patent for
invention has not been granted by the Office without the application
having been rejected by it, paragraph (2), above, is applicable;
(iii) if the applicant has not entered the national phase before the
Federal Office for Inventions of Czechoslovakia and the time limit for
entering the national phase had not expired on Dec. 31, 1992, the
applicant must, before the expiration of the applicable time limit under
PCT Article 22 or 39(1), furnish to the Industrial Property Office of
the Czech Republic a translation of the international application into
the Czech language and pay the prescribed fee.
(e) As regards any international application whose
international filing date is later than Dec. 31, 1992, and earlier than
Feb. 22, 1993,2 and in which the Czech Republic is not specifically
designated, its effects may be extended to the Czech Republic
(irrespective of the other designations it contains) through the
performance by the applicant of the following acts:
(i) filing with the International Bureau of the World
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) a request for extension;
(ii) paying to the International Bureau of WIPO an extension fee of
185 Swiss francs, payable in Swiss francs.
(f) The applicant in respect of each and every international
application referred to in (e), above, or his agent or common
representative if there is one, will receive a written notification from
the International Bureau of WIPO calling his attention to the fact that
he can, by filing a written request for extension, extend the effects of
the international application to the Czech Republic. The notification
will, in particular, specify the modes of payment of the extension fee
of 185 Swiss francs. The request for extension must contain the
identification of the international application by its international
application number. A form which may be used for the purpose of
requesting the extension to the Czech Republic will be attached to the
notification. The request for extension must be in English or French,
and may be sent by telefax or telex. The request for extension and the
corresponding payment must reach the International Bureau of WIPO before
the expiration of three months from the date of the notification sent by
the International Bureau of WIPO; if either the request or the fee is
received later, the request will be refused. It is recommended that
applicants await the notification from the International Bureau of WIPO
and use the form attached to it, but requests and payments may be made
without waiting for the notification from the International Bureau of
WIPO.
(g) If the condition described in (e) and (f), above, are fulfilled,
the Czech Republic will be considered as having been designated in the
international application on its international filing date. For entering
the national phase before the Industrial Property Office of the Czech
Republic, the applicant must furnish to that Office a translation of the
international application into the Czech language and pay the prescribed
fee within three months from the date of the request for extension or,
if it expires later, within the following time limit:
(i) before the expiration of 21 months from the priority date
if the Czech Republic is not elected under Chapter II of the PCT within
19 months from the priority date;
(ii) before the expiration of 30 months from the priority date if the
Czech Republic is elected under Chapter II of the PCT within 19 months
from the priority date.
(h) As regards any international application whose
international filing date is later than Dec. 31, 1992, and in which the
Czech Republic is specifically designated, the applicant, in order to
enter the national phase before the Industrial Property Office of the
Czech Republic, must furnish to that Office a translation of the
international application into the Czech language and pay the prescribed
fee to that Office within the following time limit:
(i) before the expiration of 21 months from the priority date
if the Czech Republic is not elected under Chapter II of the PCT within
19 months from the priority date;
(ii) before the expiration of 30 months from the priority date if
the Czech Republic is elected under Chapter II of the PCT within 19
months from the priority date.
V. Effects in the Czech Republic of International Registrations under
the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks.
(5)(a) Pursuant to the deposit of the declaration of continuation
referred to in paragraph (3), above, and pursuant to Rule 38 of the
Regulations under the Madrid Agreement, any international registration
with a territorial extension to Czechoslovakia effective from a date
prior to Jan. 1, 1993, may have effect in the Czech Republic subject to
the following conditions:
(i) the filing with the International Bureau of the World
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) of a request;
(ii) the payment to the International Bureau of WIPO of a fee, the
amount of which is 62 Swiss francs per international registration.
(b) The owner of each and every international registration
concerned, or his representative (if the owner has a representative
whose name appears in the International Register), will receive a
written notice from the International Bureau of WIPO calling his
attention to the fact that he can, by filing a written request, obtain a
continuation of the effect of the international registration in the
Czech Republic. The notice will contain a request form (in French) and
specify the modes of payment of the fee. The request must contain the
identification of the international registration concerned by its
international registration number. The request must be made in English
or French, and may be sent by telefax or telex. The request and the
corresponding payment must reach the International Bureau of WIPO before
the expiration of six months from the date of the notice sent by the
International Bureau of WIPO; if either the request or the fee is
received later, the request will be refused. Requests and payments may
be made without waiting for the notice of the International Bureau of
WIPO.
(c) If the conditions described above are fulfilled, the
international registration concerned will, with respect to the Czech
Republic, have effect as from the effective date of territorial
extension to Czechoslovakia and benefit from any priority validly
claimed in regard to such extension.
(d) For each international registration which has no territorial
extension to Czechoslovakia or whose international registration date is
later than Dec. 31, 1992, protection in the Czech Republic can only be
obtained by filing, through the intermediary of the national Office of
the country of the owner, a request for territorial extension under Rule
20 of the Regulations under the Madrid Agreement. It is to be noted that
requests for territorial extension to the Czech Republic are possible at
present.
VI. New Applications for Industrial Property Rights
(6) Applications for industrial property rights filed from Jan. 1, 1993,
with the Industrial Property Office of the Czech Republic have no effect
in the Slovak Republic. However, unless it is clear that the applicant
does not seek protection in the Slovak Republic, the Industrial Property
Office of the Czech Republic will, during a transitory period of a few
months, invite the applicant to specify, within a time limit which will
be fixed in the invitation, whether he wants to obtain protection in the
Czech Republic only or both in the Czech Republic and in the Slovak
Republic. In the latter case, the Industrial Property Office of the
Czech Republic will transmit a copy of the application to the Industrial
Property Office of the Slovak Republic and the filing date of the
application with the Industrial Property Office of the Czech Republic
will be recognized by the Industrial Property Office of the Slovak
Republic.
(7) Applications requesting protection in the Czech Republic must be
filed in the Czech language.
VII. General Provisions
(8) The fees to be paid to the Industrial Property Office of the Czech
Republic are of the same amount as the fees which were payable to the
Office of Czechoslovakia before Jan. 1, 1993.
(9) If an applicant does not have his ordinary residence or principle
place of business in the Czech Republic, he must authorize a
representative in the Czech Republic, and all applications to be filed
with the Industrial Property Office of the Czech Republic must be filed
through the intermediary of such a representative. The list of persons
who can act as representatives is available at the Industrial Property
Office of the Czech Republic.
VIII. Address of the Industrial Property Office of the Czech Republic
Industrial Property Office of the Czech Republic
Revolucni ulice 7
11346 Prague 1
Czech Republic
Tel.: (2) 28 96 (operator service)
Fax.: (2) 231 92 30
Teleprinter: 123 109 FUV
Announcement on the Protection of Industrial
Property in the Slovak Republic
In view of the fact that Czechoslovakia ceased to exist on Dec. 31,
1992, and that the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic became
independent States on Jan. 1, 1993, the situation of industrial property
protection in the Slovak Republic is summarized below.
I. Legal Basis
(1) Pending the enactment of new legislation, the respective legal acts
on the protection of industrial property of Czechoslovakia remain
applicable in the Slovak Republic.
II. Applications for Industrial Property Rights Filed with the Federal
Office for Inventions of Czechoslovakia and Industrial Property Rights
Granted by that Office
(2) Applications for industrial property rights filed with the Federal
Office for Inventions of Czechoslovakia and industrial property rights
granted by that Office maintain their legal effect in both the Czech
Republic and the Slovak Republic, it being understood that the next fees
which are to be paid must be paid, for protection in both the Czech
Republic and the Slovak Republic, to both the Industrial Property Office
of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic.
III. International Treaties
(3) The Slovak Republic has deposited, with effect on Jan. 1, 1993, a
declaration the effect of which is that all those treaties administered
by WIPO to which Czechoslovakia was party continue to be applicable as
far as the Slovak Republic is concerned. Those treaties are: the
Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization,
the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, the
Madrid Agreement for the Repression of False or Deceptive Indications of
Source on Goods, the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International
Registrations of Marks, the Nice Agreement Concerning the International
Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the
Registration of Marks, the Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of
Appellations of Origin and their International Registration, the Locarno
Agreement Establishing an International Classification for Industrial
Designs, the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), the Strasbourg Agreement
Concerning the International Patent Classification, the Budapest Treaty
on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for
the Purposes of Patent Procedure, the Berne Convention for the
Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, and the Treaty on the
International Registration of Audiovisual Works.
IV. Effects in the Slovak Republic of International Applications under
the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
(4)(a) Pursuant to the deposit of the declaration of continuation
referred to in paragraph (3), above, national and residents of the
Slovak Republic can file international applications, and the Slovak
Republic can be designated and elected in international applications
filed, on or after Jan. 1, 1993.
(b) Rules 32.1 and 32.2 of the Regulations under the PCT
permit the extension of international applications to the Slovak
Republic.
(c) For the purpose of determining the status of international
applications with respect to the Slovak Republic, one has to distinguish
between
(i) international applications specifically1 designating
Czechoslovakia which were filed prior to Jan. 1, 1993 (see (d), below);
(ii) international applications not specifically1designating the
Slovak Republic--irrespective of the other designations they
contain--filed between Jan. 1, 1993 and Mar. 6, 1993 (see (e) to (g),
below);
(iii) international applications specifically1 designating the Slovak
Republic filed on or after Jan. 1, 1993 (see (h), below).
(d) As regards any international application whose
international filing date is prior to Jan. 1, 1993, and in which
Czechoslovakia is specifically designated, the "national filing effect"
of any such application under Article 11(4) of the PCT will, pursuant to
the deposit by the Slovak Republic of its declaration of continuation,
be recognized in the Slovak Republic (provided that the international
application had not lost its effect in Czechoslovakia by Dec. 31, 1992).
The conditions under which any such international application, or any
patent resulting therefrom and granted by the Federal Office for
Inventions of Czechoslovakia, may continue to have effect in the Slovak
Republic are the following:
(i) if a patent has been granted by the Federal Office for
Inventions of Czechoslovakia on the basis of the international
application, paragraph (2), above, is applicable;
(ii) if the applicant has entered the national phase before the
Federal Office for Inventions of Czechoslovakia but a patent for
invention has not been granted by the Office without the application
having been rejected by it, paragraph (2), above, is applicable;
(iii) if the applicant has not entered the national phase before the
Federal Office for Inventions of Czechoslovakia and the time limit for
entering the national phase had not expired on Dec. 31, 1992, the
applicant must, before the expiration of the applicable time limit under
PCT Article 22 or 39(1),furnish to the Industrial Property Office of the
Slovak Republic a translation of the international application into the
Slovak language and pay the proscribed fee.
(e) As regards any international application whose
international filing date is later than Dec. 31, 1992, and earlier than
Mar. 7, 1993, 2 and in which the Slovak Republic is not specifically
designated, its effects may be extended to the Slovak Republic
(irrespective of the other designations it contains) through the
performance of the following acts:
(i) filing with the International Bureau of the World
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) a request for extension;
(ii) paying to the International Bureau of WIPO an extension fee of
185 Swiss francs, payable in Swiss francs.
(f) The applicant in respect of each and every international
application referred to in (e), above, or his agent or common
representative if there is one, will receive a written notification from
the International Bureau of WIPO calling his attention to the fact that
he can, by filing a written request for extension, extend the effects of
the international application to the Slovak Republic. The notification
will, in particular, specify the modes of payment for the extension fee
of 185 Swiss francs. The request for extension must contain the
identification of the international application by its international
application number. A form which may be used for the purpose of
requesting the extension to the Slovak Republic will be attached to the
notification. The request for the extension must be in English or
French, and may be sent by telefax or telex. The request for extension
and the corresponding payment must reach the International Bureau of
WIPO before the expiration of three months from the date of the
notification sent by the International Bureau of WIPO;if either the
request or the fee is received later, the request will be refused. It is
recommended that applicants await the notification from the
International Bureau of WIPO and use the form attached to it, but
requests and payments may be made without waiting for the notification
from the International Bureau of WIPO.
(g) If the condition described in (e) and (f), above, are fulfilled,
the Slovak Republic will be considered as having been designated in the
international application on its international filing date. For entering
the national phase before the Industrial Property Office of the Slovak
Republic, the applicant must furnish to that Office a translation of the
international application into the Slovak language and pay the
proscribed fee within three months from the date of the request for the
extension or, if it expires later, within the following time limit:
(i) before the expiration of 21 months from the priority date
if the Slovak Republic is not elected under Chapter II of the PCT within
19 months from the priority date;
(ii) before the expiration of 30 months from the priority date if the
Slovak Republic is elected under Chapter II of the PCT within 19 months
from the priority date.
(h) As regards any international application whose international
filing date is later than Dec. 31, 1992, and in which the Slovak
Republic is specifically designated, the applicant, in order to
enter the national phase before the Industrial Property Office of the
Slovak Republic, must furnish to that Office a translation of the
international application into the Slovak language and pay the
prescribed fee to that Office within the following time limit:
(i) before the expiration of 21 months from the priority date
if the Slovak Republic is not elected under Chapter II of the PCT within
19 months from the priority date;
(ii) before the expiration of 30 months from the priority date if the
Slovak Republic is elected under Chapter II of the PCT within 19 months
from the priority date.
V. Effects in the Slovak Republic of International Registrations
under the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of
Marks
(5)(a) Pursuant to the deposit of the declaration of continuation
referred to in paragraph (3), above, and pursuant to Rule 38 of the
Regulations under the Madrid Agreement, any international registration
with a territorial extension to Czechoslovakia effective from a date
prior to Jan. 1, 1993, mayhave effect in the Slovak Republic subject to
the following conditions:
(i) the filing with the International Bureau of the World
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) of a request;
(ii) the payment to the International Bureau of WIPO of a fee, the
amount of which is 62 Swiss francs per international registration.
(b) The owner of each and every international registration
concerned, or his representative (if the owner has a representative
whose name appears in the International Register), will receive a
written notice from the International Bureau of WIPO calling his
attention to the fact that he can, by filing a written request, obtain a
continuation of the effect of the international registration in the
Slovak Republic. The notice will contain a request form (in French) and
specify the modes of payment of the fee. The request must contain the
identification of the international registration concerned by its
international registration number. The request must be made in English
or French, and may be sent by telefax or telex. The request and the
corresponding payment must reach the International Bureau of WIPO before
the expiration of six months from the date of the notice sent by the
International Bureau of WIPO; if either the request or the fee is
received later, the request will be refused. Requests and payments may
be made without waiting for the notice of the International Bureau of
WIPO.
(c) If the conditions described above are fulfilled, the
international registration concerned will, with respect to the Slovak
Republic, have effect as from the effective date of the territorial
extension to Czechoslovakia and benefit from any priority validly
claimed in regard to such extension.
(d) For each international registration which has no territorial
extension to Czechoslovakia or whose international registration date is
later than Dec. 31, 1992, protection in the Slovak Republic can only be
obtained by filing, through the intermediary of the national Office of
the country of the owner, a request for territorial extension under Rule
20 of the Regulations under the Madrid Agreement. It is to be noted that
requests for territorial extension to the Slovak Republic are possible
at present.
VI. New Applications for Industrial Property Rights
(6) From Jan. 1, 1993, it is possible to file applications for
industrial property rights with the Industrial Property Office of the
Slovak Republic. Applications filed with the Industrial Property Office
of the Czech Republic have no effect in the Slovak Republic. However,
the following procedure will apply, during a transitory period of a few
months, to applications filed with the Industrial Property Office of the
Czech Republic: unless it is clear that the applicant does not seek
protection in the Slovak Republic, the Industrial Property Office of the
Czech office will invite the applicant to specify, within a time limit
which will be fixed in the invitation, whether he wants to obtain
protection in the Czech Republic only or both in the Czech Republic and
the Slovak Republic. In the latter case, the Industrial Property Office
of the Czech Republic will transmit a copy of the application to the
Industrial Property Office of the Slovak Republic and the filing date of
the application with the Industrial Property Office of the Czech
Republic will be recognized by the Industrial Property Office of the
Slovak Republic.
(7) Applications requesting protection in the Slovak Republic must be
filed in the Slovak language.
VII. General Provisions
(8) The fees to be paid to the Industrial Property Office of the Slovak
Republic are of the same amount as the fees whichwere payable to the
Office of Czechoslovakia before Jan. 1, 1993.
(9) If an applicant does not have his ordinary residence or principal
place of business in the Slovak Republic, he must authorize a
representative in the Slovak Republic, and all applications to be filed
with the Industrial Property Office of the Slovak Republic must be filed
through the intermediary of such a representative. The list of persons
who can act as representatives is available at the Industrial Property
Office of the Slovak Republic.
VIII. Address of the Industrial Property Office of the Slovak Republic
Industrial Property Office of the Slovak Republic
Nam. Slobody 29
81312 Bratislava
Slovakia
Tel: (7) 33 00 57
Fax.: (7) 31 44 61
Jan. 28, 1993 DOUGLAS B. COMER
Acting Assistant Secretary
and Acting Commissioner of
Patents and Trademarks
[1147 TMOG 72]
1In this announcement, an international application is regarded as
"specifically" designating a State either if that State has been
designated under Rule 4.9(a) of the Regulations under the PCT or if the
designation of that State has been confirmed under Rule 4.9(c) of those
Regulations.
2With the exception of any international application whose
international filing date is later than Dec. 31, 1992, and in which the
Czech Republic is specifically designated: in such a case, the procedure
described in (e) to (g) is not applicable, and the procedure described
in (h) is applicable.