Time and cost of filing a patent application in Hungary

Generally speaking, the time required to obtain a patent in Hungary depends on the patent's technical field. For example, patents in the pharmaceutical field may take longer, while patents in the information technology field may be granted more quickly. Generally speaking, it takes 18 months for a patent to be published, and the entire patent grant process takes approximately four years.

Taking the patent grant procedure of the Hungarian Intellectual Property Office (HIPO) as an example, the official fee varies depending on the case, ranging from approximately €500 to €800. Factors such as the filing language and whether an expedited novelty search is requested will affect the fee.

When applying for a patent in Hungary, the patent applicant may request accelerated patent examination and request the HIPO to conduct an expedited novelty search.

Normally, the HIPO will prepare a novelty search report with a written opinion within six months of the applicant submitting a novelty search request. However, upon the applicant's request, the HIPO can prepare a novelty search report within two months of filing the application under expedited procedures. The fee for requesting accelerated examination will be doubled.

Regarding other accelerated examination procedures, for Chinese patent applicants, since March 1, 2016, HIPO and the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) have signed a bilateral agreement on Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH). Therefore, Chinese applicants can submit PPH accelerated examination requests to HIPO based on Chinese patent applications that have been granted or have an intention to be granted.