Author: Autor

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Term of Patent

The term of a patent shall be 20 years as from the filing date of the application for the invention.

For maintaining the patent in force, the proprietor of the patent shall pay yearly administrative fees under the special regulation. The rights of third persons, which after expiry of the time limit for payment of the fee for maintaining the patent in force, in good faith have begun to use the subject-matter of the invention or have realised serious and effective preparations to use this invention, shall not be affected by the payment of this fee in ulterior date.

Lapse of a patent

A patent shall lapse:

  • – on expiry of its term of validity;
  • – if the corresponding administrative fees have not been paid in good time by the proprietor of the patent;
  • – on relinquishment by the proprietor of the patent; in such case, the patent shall terminate as from the date on which the Office receives a written declaration by the proprietor of the patent.
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Limitation of effects of a Patent

A patent shall not have effect vis-à-vis a person (hereinafter referred to as “the prior user”) who has already exploited the invention independently of the inventor or proprietor of the patent or who has made preparation therefore, that he can prove, before the priority right began.

– In case of failure to reach agreement, the prior user shall be entitled to request a court that his right to be recognised by the proprietor of the patent.

The rights of the proprietor of the patent shall not be infringed by use of the protected invention:

  • – on board vessels of other States party to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (thereinafter “Paris Convention”) to which the Czech Republic is party, in the body of the vessel, in the machinery, tackle, gear and other accessories, when such vessels temporarily or accidentally enter in the Czech Republic, provided that such use is exclusively for the needs of the vessel;
  • – in the construction or operation of aircraft or land vehicles of other Union States when those aircraft or land vehicles temporarily or accidentally enter in the Czech Republic; c) in the individual preparation of a medicament in a pharmacy based on a medical prescription including acts concerning the medicament so prepared;
  • – in acts done for non-commercial purposes;
  • – in acts relating to the subject-matter of the invention done for experimental purposes including experiments and tests required under a special regulativ before the drug is put on the market.
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Assignment of a Patent

Assignment of a patent shall be effected by written contract that shall take effect in respect of third parties as from its entry in the Patent Register.

Joint proprietorship of patent

– Where the rights deriving from one patent belong to more than one person (hereinafter referred to as “the joint proprietors”), the relationship between such persons shall be governed by the general rules of law on shares in joint proprietorship.

– Unless otherwise agreed by the joint proprietors, each of them shall have the right to exploit the invention.

– Unless otherwise agreed, the conclusion of a licence contract shall require, in order to be valid, the consent of all joint proprietor s each of the joint proprietor s may independently take action against infringement of the rights deriving from the patent.

– Assignment of the patent shall require the consent of all joint proprietors. Failing the consent of the other joint proprietors, each joint proprietor may only assign his share to another joint proprietor; assignment to a third party may only be effected if none of the joint proprietors has accepted a written offer of assignment within a period on one month.

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Effect of a Patent

– The proprietor of a patent shall have the exclusive right to use the invention, to authorise others to use the invention or to assign the patent to others.

– The patent shall have effect as from the date of publication of the mention of its grant in the Official Bulletin of the Industrial Property Office (hereinafter referred to as “the Official Bulletin”).

– The applicant shall be entitled to appropriate remuneration from any person who uses the subject-matter of the invention application after the application has been published. The right to appropriate remuneration may be asserted as from the date on which the patent has effect.

– An applicant filing an international application requesting grant of a patent in the Czech Republic and which has been published in compliance with the international treaty shall be entitled to appropriate remuneration only after the translation of the application into the Czech language has been published.

– The extent of the protection conferred by a patent or an invention application shall be determined by the terms of the patent claims. For the interpretation of the patent claims, the description and drawings shall be used.

– For the period up to grant of the patent, the extent of the protection conferred by the invention application shall be determined by the terms of the patent claims contained in the application. However, the patent, as granted or as amended in the revocation procedure, shall determine retroactively the extent of the protection conferred by the invention application, in so far as the protection is not thereby extended.


Prohibition of direct use

Nobody shall be allowed without the consent of the proprietor of the patent,

  • a) to make, offer, put on the market or use a product which is the subject-matter of the patent, or to import or stock the product for this purpose, or to dispose with it by another manner;
  • b) to use a process which is the subject-matter of the patent or to offer the process for use;
  • c) to offer, put on the market, use or import or stock for this purpose the product obtained directly by a process, which is the subject-matter of the patent; identical products shall be held to have been obtained by means of the process, which is the subject-matter of the patent, when it is highly probable that the product was obtained by means of the process, which is the subject-matter of the patent, and in spite of reasonable effort, the proprietor of the patent was not able to determinate the really used process; unless the contrary is proved. In proving the contrary, rights conferred by the trade secret protection shall be respected.


Prohibition of indirect use

 – Nobody shall be allowed without the consent of the proprietor of the patent, to supply or offer to supply a person, other than the person authorised to use the patented invention, with the means relating to an essential element of the invention and serving in this sense to put in into effect, when it is obvious in the circumstances, that these means are suitable and intended for putting the patented invention into effect. When the means are products commonly existing on the market, unless the third person induces the purchaser to commit the act, prohibited by the law.


Exhaustion of rights

The proprietor of the patent shall not be entitled to prohibit third persons to dispose with the product, which is subject-matter of the protected invention, if the product has been put on the market in the Czech Republic by the proprietor of the patent or with his consent, unless there exist the reasons for the extension of patent rights to the mentioned activities.

The authorisation to exploit an invention protected by a patent (licence) shall be given by written contract (hereinafter referred to as “the licence contract”).

The licence contract shall have effect in respect of third parties as from its entry in the Patent Register.

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Right to a Patent

– The right to a patent shall belong to the inventor or his successor in title.

– The inventor is the person who has made the invention by means of his own creative work.

– Joint inventors shall be entitled to a patent in the proportion in which they have participated in the creation of the invention.


Invention belonging to an enterprise

– Where an inventor has made an invention as part of his tasks deriving from an employment relationship, by reason of the fact that he is a member of an organisation or of any other similar employment relationship (hereinafter referred to as “the employment relationship”), the right to the patent shall pass to the employer, unless otherwise laid down by contract. The right of inventorship as such shall remain unaffected.

– An inventor who has made an invention within the framework of an employment relationship shall be required to report the fact without delay, in writing, to his employer and to communicate to him the documents required for assessing the invention.

– Where the employer does not claim the right to the patent within a period of three months as from receipt of the communication; the right shall revert to the inventor. Both the employer and the employee shall be required to maintain the secrecy of the invention with respect to third parties.

– Any inventor who has made an invention under an employment relationship shall be entitled, where the employer claims the right to the patent, to appropriate remuneration from the employer. In order to assess the amount of remuneration, the technical and economic importance of the invention and the benefit obtained from possible exploitation or other use, together with the material contribution by the employer to the making of the invention and the extent of the inventor’s service obligations shall be taken into consideration. Where remuneration that has already been paid is obviously no longer proportionate to the benefit obtained from exploitation or other subsequent use of the invention, the inventor shall be entitled to additional remuneration.

Termination of the employment relationship between the inventor and the employer shall not prejudice the rights and obligations.