Patent Application Encyclopedia

The initial protection period is 4 years, which can be extended for two consecutive three years, and the maximum protection period is 10 years.

• via Paris Convention : 6 months from earliest priority date.
• Hague Agreement route: 6 months from earliest priority date.

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• via Paris Convention : 12 months from earliest priority date.
• Validation of European Patent in EPO member states: 3 months from the date of European patent grant.

ICPR conducts formality examination and substantive examination of invention patents. Once the application for an invention patent is submitted, if the application documents are complete, ICPR will issue a notice of formal and legal review to formally accept the application. After passing the formality examination, ICPR will issue a payment notice for substantive examination within 90 days. According to the agreement between ICPR and the Korean Patent Office, the Korean Patent Office will conduct substantive examination of the application submitted through the UAE Patent Office.

IPOS only conducts formality examination of design patent applications, and the examination content includes: novelty statement, classification and article/non-physical product name, and whether the picture is suitable for reproduction.

• via Paris Convention : 6 months from earliest priority date.
• Hague Agreement route: 6 months from earliest priority date.

20 years

20 years

• Grant fee: Pay the granted fee within 60 days after granted.
• Annuity: The starting date of the annual fee is the granted date, and the first annual fee is the annual fee for the first to fifth years.

The JPO conducts formality examination and substantive examination of the design patent application, and the substantive examination starts automatically, and the applicant does not need to submit a separate substantive examination request. JPO mainly examines the novelty and inventiveness of designs.

• (*Secret design: applicants can request that their design remain secret for 3 years from the filing date).

The novelty grace period is 6 months before the filing date/priority date.

20 years

1-2 years

20 years

Bulgarian Patent and Trademark Office

English: Bulgarian Patent Office, abbreviation: BPO

Website: Патентното ведомство на Република България (bpo.bg)

Bulgarian Utility Model Patent Search: BPO Online - portal.bpo.bg

3-4 years