Global Patent GO - Czech Chapter – Introduction to Czech Patent Applications

Submitted by song on
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页之码IP

The Czech Republic in central Europe was formerly the Kingdom of Bohemia. Its territory can be summarized by an old Chinese saying: The general trend of the world is that if it is divided for a long time, it must unite, and if it unites for a long time, it must divide. Because it once had two major religious sects, Catholicism and Protestant Hussites, it once became the birthplace of the 30-year religious war. After World War I, World War II, and the changes in 1989 and 1993, the Czech Republic is now a unitary-parliamentary republic with an advanced, high-income market economy, both socialism and liberalism, and is the safest and most secure country in the world. Ranked 29th among the most peaceful countries, it is considered the safest country in Europe.

The Czech Republic has a long history of industrial development and has a very solid industrial foundation in chemical industry, machinery, metallurgy, food, electricity, building materials, consumables manufacturing, military industry and glass manufacturing. Skoda Auto, the largest car company, acquired the German Volkswagen Group in 2010. Czech Telecom, the largest domestic telecom operator, merged with Telefonica to form Telefónica O2 Czech Republic. Together with several other telecom companies T-mobile, Vodafone and U:fon, This makes the Czech Republic the country with the largest number of prepaid wireless connection users among EU countries. The Czech Republic mainly imports oil, natural gas, computers, cars and accessories, telecommunications equipment, machinery and equipment, pharmaceutical products and equipment, chemical products, iron ore, and loads from Germany, Slovakia, Poland, China, Italy, France, Austria, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands. Automobiles and household appliances, etc. As the most industrialized country in Europe, the Czech Republic is becoming an important trading partner of China in the Belt and Road Initiative with its excellent infrastructure, high-level education, and well-trained technical workers. In 2021, China-Czech bilateral trade It has reached US$21.16 billion, and China’s direct investment in the Czech Republic is US$1.22 billion, involving manufacturing, information communications, finance, transportation and warehousing, sports, business services, scientific research, wholesale and retail and other industries. In addition, China-Europe freight trains connect from China to the Czech Republic, and overseas warehouses and logistics centers have driven strong development momentum in cross-border e-commerce. Now, in the National Recovery Plan approved by the Czech government in 2021, investments including green transformation, environmental protection projects and digital transformation are in the ascendant.

Patent protection in the Czech Republic has always been an important factor and means to promote the development of its industry and manufacturing industry. Today we will take a look at the Czech patent system.

Introduction to the Czech Patent System

1. Czech patent application submission language:
Czech

2. Types of patent protection:
Inventions, utility models, designs

3. Ways for Chinese applicants to apply for patents in the Czech Republic:
The Paris Convention and the PCT international application entered the Czech national phase, and the European patent authorization came into effect in the Czech Republic.

4. Review unit:
Industrial Property Office of the Czech Republic, IPO CZ

5. Submit application:
Paper submission; electronic submission

6. Review process
After receiving a patent application, IPO CZ first conducts a formal review to exclude those that contain obviously unpatentable subject matter. If there are formal defects, the applicant will be notified. The applicant must submit a substantive examination within 36 months from the date of application and pay the substantive examination fee. The patent application will be granted only if the conditions for patentability are met.

Features of Czech patents

1. The Czech Republic has signed PPH agreements with many countries, including the United States, Finland and Japan, and can speed up the patent application examination process by submitting PPH accelerated examination requests.

2. The Czech Republic has also signed bilateral agreements with Croatia, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Spain and other countries to further develop a high-quality, efficient and market-oriented industrial property rights protection system.

3. Under Czech law, one party is not obliged to engage in out-of-court negotiations with the other party before formal proceedings begin. However, the court will still use mediation and arbitration to facilitate a settlement between the parties.

4. Czech patent litigation relies more on factual documents rather than witness testimony, and the use of expert witnesses is allowed.

5. Czech courts use the principle of equivalents to interpret the scope of patent protection.

6. Transfera is the most important technology transfer association in the Czech Republic. It was established in 2008. It mainly provides consulting and services in the fields of technology transfer, intellectual property protection, proof of concept and commercialization of academic achievements. Currently, it has established 17 universities and 11 research institutes in the Czech Republic. Technology transfer network including the institute and many enterprises.


Friendliness towards Chinese applicants:
★★★★
The value of patent rights:
★★★
Completeness of rights protection mechanism:
★★★