Tag: patent

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Patents

The patent-related services we provide to our clients include:

  • Developing and executing prosecution strategies not only to protect a client’s products, but also to analyse those of its competitors to help ensure that the client realizes value from its intellectual property assets;
  • Patent, Europatent, PCT and SPC Application Preparation and Prosecution;
  • Advise on whether a patent can be granted;
  • International patent protection and national phases;
  • Civil litigation at both the trial and appellate levels, including infringement and dilution cases, counterfeiting, grey-market goods, false advertising, and cyber squatting;
  • Industrial Property Office and European Patent Office litigation, including oppositions and cancellation proceedings;
  • Preparing and negotiating licenses, assessing the licensing value of competitors’ patents, and guiding the client in the decision to license;
  • Monitoring the field to know when a client needs a clearance opinion or has a potential interference issue. These efforts can help direct the client in research and development areas that minimize patent obstacles;
  • Providing counsel on business-related matters, including antitrust and competition issues;
  • Advising on potential litigation strategies, and, when necessary, deploying experienced trial and appellate teams;

Our major area of endeavor is patent application work, including patent searching, preparation and filing of patent applications in the Czech Republic Industrial Property Office in the European Patent Office and through Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture or composition of matter or any new and useful improvement thereof may obtain a patent.
Inventions which are new, involve an inventive step, and are suitable for industrial application” may constitute the object matter of a patent.

It is generally only through patent protection that others can be prevented from copying one’s inventions. Our goal is to obtain the best possible patent protection for our clients at a reasonable cost.
Our firm have the technical expertise in many diverse areas of today and tomorrow to help our clients protect their intellectual property.
We can file for patents abroad. We also do a significant amount of work for patent firms and other clients in foreign countries who need patent representation in the Czech Republic or in the European Community

We will work with you to determine the optimum strategy for obtaining protection. This includes advice concerning the use of the European Patent Convention (EPC) and the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) in order to defer costs and maintain the maximum flexibility in selecting the countries where protection is to be sought. We also offer a full “national phase” service in all member states of the EPC for clients seeking patent protection through that Convention.
We have technical specialists in virtually every field where patents may be obtained. We can also advise on analogous rights and know-how in such areas as computer software, bio-tech, plant patent, utility model, copyright and design right issues.

Small Improvements Can Have a Large Impact!

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Revocation of the Patent

– The Office shall revoke the patent, if it is ascertained subsequently:

  • a) that the invention did not meet the conditions of patentability;
  • b) that the invention is not disclosed in the patent so clearly and completely, to be carried out by a person skilled in the art;
  • c) that the subject-matter of the patent extends beyond the content of the invention application as filed or the subject-matter of the patents granted on the divisional application extend beyond the content of the invention application as filed, or the extent of the protection arising from the patent was extended;
  • d) revocation upon the request of the authorised person;

If the grounds for revocation concern only a part of the patent, the patent shall be revoked in part. The partial revocation of the patent shall be carried out by the amendment of claims, description or drawings. Revocation of a patent shall have retroactive effect to the date on which the patent became valid. The request for revocation of a patent may be filed even after lapse of the patent if the person filing the request can prove a legal interest.

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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.