What is Act No. 116 / 2000 Coll.?

Act No. 116 / 2000 Coll. — Law amending certain laws on the protection of industrial property.

When it became Act No. 116 / 2000 Coll. effectiveness?

Act No. 116 / 2000 Coll. became effective 10.05.2000.

Is Act No. 116 / 2000 Coll. still valid?

Yes, Act No. 116 / 2000 Coll. is still valid and effective.

How many times was it Act No. 116 / 2000 Coll. amended?

Act No. 116 / 2000 Coll. has 3 time versions of the text.

Act No. 116 / 2000 Coll. - Law amending certain laws on the protect...

116

THE LAW

of 6 April 2000

amending certain laws on the protection of industrial property

Parliament has decided on this law of the Czech Republic:

ČÁST PRVNÍ

Amendment of the Act on inventions, designs and improvements

Čl. I

Act No. 527 / 1990 Coll., on inventions, designs and improvements, as amended by Act No. 519 / 1991 Coll., is amended as follows:

1. Paragraph 3 (2) reads as follows:

"(2) In particular, inventions shall not be considered as inventions:

(a) discoveries, scientific theory and mathematical methods;

(b) aesthetic creations;

(c) plans, rules and methods for carrying out mental activities, playing games or performing business activities, as well as computer programmes;

(d) reporting. ';

2. In Article 3, paragraphs 3 and 4 are added:

"(3) The patentability of the articles or activities referred to in paragraph 2 shall be excluded provided that the application for an invention or patent relates only to such articles or activities.

(4) The methods of surgical or therapeutic treatment of the human or animal body and diagnostic methods used on the human or animal body are not considered to be industrially usable inventions within the meaning of paragraph 1. This provision shall not apply to products, in particular substances or mixtures, intended for use in these treatments and in such diagnostic methods. ';

3. in Article 4 (a):

"(a) inventions whose use would be contrary to public policy or good manners; This cannot be inferred from the fact that the use of the invention is prohibited by law; '

4. in Article 4, point (b) is deleted;

Point (c) shall be renumbered (b).

5. in Paragraph 4 (b):

"(b) plant varieties and breeds of animals or, in principle, biological methods of growing plants or keeping animals; This provision shall not apply to microbiological methods and products obtained by such methods; ';

6. Paragraph 5 (2) reads as follows:

"(2) The state of the technique is everything from which the applicant's right of priority (§ 27) was granted access to the public in writing, orally, using or otherwise. '

7. In Article 5 (3), the second sentence is replaced by the following sentence: "This also applies to international applications for inventions with the former priority right, in which the Office is designated by the Office, 1a) and European patent applications (§ 35a) with the former priority right, for which the Czech Republic is a valid State."

8. footnote (1a) shall read:

"(1a) Article 2 (xiii) of the Patent Cooperation Treaty published in the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs Notice No. 296 / 1991 Coll., on the Patent Cooperation Treaty and on the Implementation Code."

9. in Article 5, the following paragraph 4 is inserted after paragraph 3:

"(4) The provisions of paragraphs 1 to 3 shall not preclude the patentability of the use of a substance or mixture in the ways referred to in Article 3 (4), provided that its use in those methods is not part of the state of the art. ';

Paragraph 4 shall become paragraph 5.

10.

„§ 7

Industrial usability

The invention shall be considered to be industrially usable if its object can be produced or otherwise used in industry, agriculture or other areas of the economy. '

11. in Article 11 (4), the words "or Slovak" shall be deleted;

12.

„§ 12

(1) The scope of the protection resulting from the patent or the patent application is defined by the wording of the patent claims. The description and drawings shall also be used for the interpretation of patent claims.

(2) For the period until the grant of the patent, the scope of protection resulting from the patent application is defined by the wording of the patent claims contained in the application published in accordance with § 31. However, the patent, as awarded or amended in the cancellation procedure under Paragraph 23, shall determine retroactively the scope of the protection resulting from the patent application, unless the protection is extended. '

13.

„§ 13

Prohibition of direct use

No one can without the consent of the patent owner

(a) produce, offer, place on the market or use a product which is the subject of a patent or import, store or otherwise dispose of the product;

(b) make use of the method which is the subject of the patent and, where appropriate, offer it for use;

(c) offer, place on the market, use or import or store the product directly obtained by means of a patent; However, identical products are considered to be obtained in a way which is the subject of a patent, if it is most likely that the product was manufactured in a manner that is the subject of a patent and the holder of the patent has failed, despite reasonable efforts, to determine the production method actually used until proven otherwise. The rights arising from the protection of business secrets must be investigated when proving otherwise. (1b)

(1b) § 124 of the Civil Code. '

14. The following Sections 13a and 13b are inserted after Section 13, including the headings:

„§ 13a

Prohibition of indirect exploitation

(1) No person may, without the consent of the holder of the patent, supply or supply to a person other than the person entitled to use the patented invention, funds relating to the essential element of that invention and serving in that respect for its execution, provided that it is clear, in the circumstances, that such funds are eligible for and intended for the execution of the patented invention.

(2) Paragraph 1 shall not apply where such means are products normally present on the market, unless a third party has influenced the customer to commit the prohibited act of Paragraph 13.

(3) Persons carrying out activities referred to in points (c) to (e) of Paragraph 18 shall not be considered to be entitled to exploit an invention within the meaning of paragraph 1.

§ 13b

Exhaust of rights

The holder of the patent shall not be entitled to prohibit third parties from dealing with a product which is the subject of a protected invention if the product has been placed on the market in the Czech Republic by the owner of the patent or with his consent, unless there are grounds for extending the patent rights to those activities. '

15. in Article 18 (1) (a), after the words "are members," the words "international conventions" shall be replaced by the words, including footnote (3): "Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (" the Paris Convention ") 3);

3) The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property of 20 March 1883 revised in Brussels on 14 December 1900, in Washington on 2 June 1911, in The Hague on 6 November 1925, in London on 2 June 1934, in Lisbon on 31 October 1958 and in Stockholm on 14 July 1967, published under No 64 / 1975 Coll. '

16. Paragraph 18 (2) is deleted and paragraph 1 is deleted.

17. In Paragraph 18, points (c) to (e) are replaced by the following:

"(c) in the individual preparation of a medicine at a pharmacy on the basis of a prescription, including the treatment of a medicine so prepared;

(d) in a non-commercial activity;

(e) in an activity carried out with the object of invention for experimental purposes. ';

18. footnote 4 shall read:

"4) Act No. 368 / 1992 Coll., on Administrative Charges, as amended."

19. Paragraph 20, including the title, reads:

„§ 20

Forced licence

(1) If the holder of the patent does not use the invention at all for no reason, or uses it inadequately and has not accepted a proper offer within a reasonable period of time for the conclusion of a licence contract, the Office may, upon reasoned request, grant an unexclusive right to exploit the invention (compulsory licence); Such compulsory licence may not be granted before the expiry of 4 years after the filing of the patent application or 3 years after the grant of the patent, whichever is the later.

(2) A compulsory licence may also be granted where there are grounds for endangering an important public interest.

(3) The decision granting the compulsory licence shall specify the conditions, scope and duration of the compulsory licence, taking into account the circumstances of the case. The compulsory licence may be granted mainly for domestic supplies.

(4) The compulsory licence may not be transferred other than in the context of the transfer of an undertaking or part thereof in which the entrepreneur makes use of the invention on the basis of the compulsory licence (the "holder of the compulsory licence").

(5) The holder of the compulsory licence may, during the period of its duration, waive the right to use the invention by filing it with the Office; the date on which such submission is received shall cease to be effective in the decision granting the compulsory licence.

(6) At the request of the holder of the patent, in which he proves that the conditions for the grant of the compulsory licence have changed without being expected to be amended again, or that his holder does not use the compulsory licence for a period of one year or does not fulfil the conditions laid down in the grant of the compulsory licence, the Office shall revoke or amend the conditions, scope or duration of the compulsory licence.

(7) The grant of a compulsory licence shall be without prejudice to the right of the holder of the patent to pay the price of the licence. Where the price of the licence is not agreed by the parties concerned, it shall be determined at the request of the court, taking into account the importance of the invention and the normal prices of the contract licences in the field of technology.

(8) The compulsory licence is entered in the patent register (§ 69). "

20. In Paragraph 21, the current text becomes paragraph 1 and the following paragraphs 2 and 3 are added:

"(2) In order to keep the patent in force, the holder shall be obliged to pay annual administrative fees under a special legislature.4)

(3) The rights of third parties who, after a futile expiry of the period for payment of the patent maintenance fee in good faith, have started or made serious and effective preparations for the use of the invention, are not affected by the payment of the patent fee within a further period. "

21. Paragraph 23 (1) reads:

"(1) The Office shall revoke the patent if it is ascertained retrospectively,

(a) that the invention did not meet the conditions of patentability;

(b) that the invention is not described in the patent in such a clear and complete manner that the expert can carry it out;

(c) that the subject matter of the patent exceeds the content of the original filing of the patent application or that the subject matter of the patent awarded on the basis of the apportioning of the patent exceeds the content of its original submission or that the scope of the protection resulting from the patent has been extended;

(d) that the holder of the patent does not have the right to the patent pursuant to Article 8; the revocation in this case shall be effected by the Office on the application of the authorised person (Article 29). "

22. In Article 23, the following sentence is added at the end of paragraph 2: "Partial cancellation of the patent shall be carried out by changing its claims, description or drawings. '.

23. in Article 24, the following paragraphs 3 and 4 are inserted after paragraph 2, including footnote 4a:

"(3) The Office is the place where a European patent application can be filed under the Convention on the Grant of European Patents concluded in Munich on 5 October 1973 (hereinafter referred to as the European Patent Convention); This does not apply to the split European patent application.

(4) If the European patent application and the international application contain a fact classified under a special law, 4a) the applicant is obliged to file it with the Office and at the same time attach the consent of the National Security Office to the application.

4a) Act No. 148 / 1998 Coll., on the protection of classified information and on the amendment of certain laws, as amended. '

Paragraph 3 shall become paragraph 5.

24. in Paragraph 26 (1):

"(1) The application for an invention may cover only one invention or group of inventions linked together in such a way that it constitutes a single general inventive idea. Where protection for a group of inventions is requested in one application, the requirement of uniformity of the invention shall be fulfilled if there is a technical relationship between such inventions which concerns one or more identical or corresponding specific technical characteristics. Specific technical characteristics shall be those which determine the contribution of each invention considered as a whole to the state of the technique. ';

25. in Article 27, the following paragraph 3 is added:

"(3) The right of priority referred to in paragraph 2 may be exercised if the application for an invention is filed in a State or for a State Party to the Paris Convention3) or is a member of the World Trade Organisation; (b) where the State in which the first filing of the application is made is not a party to the Paris Convention (3) or a member of the World Trade Organisation (4b), the right of priority may be granted only on reciprocal terms.

4b) Agreement establishing the World Trade Organisation (WTO), published under No 191 / 1995 Coll. '

26. The following Sections 35a to 35g are inserted after Section 35, including the title of the third, headings and footnotes No 4c:

„HLAVA TŘETÍ

EUROPEAN PATTENT ACCESS AND EUROPEAN PATENT

§ 35a

(1) A European patent application with effects for the Czech Republic (hereinafter referred to as the "European patent application"), which has been granted a filing date, has the same effects in the Czech Republic as an application for invention submitted pursuant to § 24 on the same date. If the European patent application enjoys the right of priority from an earlier date than the date of filing of the European patent application, this earlier date shall apply for the recognition of the effects of the application.

(2) If the European patent application has been withdrawn or is deemed to be withdrawn, this has the effect of stopping the application procedure under Paragraph 64 (2). If the European patent application has been rejected, it has the same effect as the rejection of the patent application pursuant to Paragraph 34 (1).

(3) Repayment of rights by the European Patent Office to the applicant of a European patent application or, where applicable, to the holder of a European patent with effects for the Czech Republic (hereinafter the "European patent") is also valid in the Czech Republic.

(4) If the European patent application has been published by the European Patent Office, its applicant has submitted a translation of patent claims into the Czech language and paid an administrative fee for disclosure under a special legislation, 4) The Office shall make this translation available to the public and notify it in the Bulletin. The applicant may claim reasonable compensation pursuant to Article 11 (3) upon such disclosure if the patent awarded by the European Patent Office has effects in the Czech Republic (§ 35c).

(5) For the interpretation of the scope of protection resulting from the European patent application, the content of the European patent application is determined by the wording of the European patent in the language in which the proceedings were conducted before the European patent office; If the European patent results in a wider protection than the published European patent application, protection shall be granted only to the extent that it results from both the published European patent application and the European patent granted. If the translation of the patent claims referred to in paragraph 4 does not correspond to their language of the proceedings, protection from the European patent application may be applied only to the extent apparent from its translation into the Czech language.

(6) If the applicant submits a corrected translation of the patent claims into the Czech language, this corrected translation will be valid instead of the original translation from the date of notification of its disclosure in the Bulletin; for such disclosure, the applicant shall be obliged to pay an administrative fee in accordance with specific legislation. 4) The rights of third parties who have, in good faith, used or carried out serious and effective preparations for the use of the subject of a European patent application which, according to a translation submitted by the applicant, did not fall within its scope, the use of the subject of a European patent application is not affected by the delivery of a new translation.

§ 35b

Amendment of the European patent application to the national application

(1) The Office shall, at the request of the applicant for a European patent application filed within the meaning of Article 136 (2) of the European patent convention, initiate the procedure for that application as a national application.

(2) If the Office receives a request pursuant to paragraph 1, it shall invite the applicant to submit a translation of the European patent application into the Czech language in triplicate within 3 months and to pay a fee for filing the application for the invention.

(3) If the applicant has fulfilled the conditions laid down in paragraph 2 and the Office has received an application for amendment of the European patent application within 20 months of the date of priority, the Office shall grant the national application the right of priority of the original European patent application.

(4) The Office shall, at the request of the applicant, discuss a European patent application submitted pursuant to paragraph 1 as a national application for a utility model in accordance with a specific legislation. (c) Paragraphs 2 and 3 shall apply mutatis mutandis.

§ 35c

Effects of the European patent

(1) The patent granted by the European Patent Office has the same effects as the patent granted under Paragraph 34 (3).

(2) The effects of the European patent in the Czech Republic are the date on which the European patent was notified; the holder of the patent is obliged to submit the translation of the patent file to the Czech language within 3 months of that date and to pay an administrative fee for its publication under a special legislation. 4) The patent owner is obliged to submit to the Office within the same time limit an address in the Czech Republic to which he will receive official reports concerning his patent. The Office shall notify the European patent in the Bulletin and publish the translation of the European patent file.

(3) If the translation of the European patent file into the Czech language is not submitted within the time limit referred to in paragraph 2, the holder of the European patent may submit it within an additional period of 3 months if he also pays an administrative fee in accordance with special legislation.4)

(4) If the translation of the European patent file into the Czech language is not submitted within the period referred to in paragraph 3, the European patent is considered ineffective in the Czech Republic from the outset.

(5) Upon notification of the grant of a European patent in the European Patent Gazette, the Office shall enter the European patent in the Czech Register of European Patents with data which are entered in the European Patent Register.

§ 35d

Scope of protection from the European patent

(1) In order to determine the scope of the protection resulting from the European patent, its wording shall be determined in the language in which the European patent application procedure was conducted before the European Patent Office; However, if the translation of the patent file provided to the Office pursuant to Article 35c (2) results in a protection narrower than in the language of the proceedings, third parties may rely on such translation.

(2) The owner of the European patent is entitled to submit to the Office a corrected translation of the European patent file into the Czech language. The corrected translation will apply instead of the original translation after publication of this corrected translation by the Office; for such publication, the owner of the European patent is obliged to pay a fee in accordance with special legislation.4)

(3) The rights of third parties who, in good faith, have used or carried out serious and effective preparations for the use of an article which, according to the translation in force at the time before the publication of the corrected translation by the Office, did not fall within the scope of the European patent, are not affected by the provision of a new translation.

§ 35e

Prohibition of double protection

(1) Where a national patent is awarded for an invention for which the same owner or his legal successor has been awarded a European patent with the same right of priority, the national patent shall, to the extent that it conforms to the European patent, become ineffective on the date on which the deadline for submitting the opposition to the European patent has expired without the opposition being lodged, or on the date of the legal authority of the decision which has maintained the European patent in the opposition proceedings.

(2) The national patent does not take effect pursuant to Article 11 (2) in so far as it conforms to a European patent, if it is granted only after the expiry of the period for submitting the opposition to the European patent without the opposition being lodged, or after the legal power of the decision by which the European patent has been maintained in the opposition proceedings.

(3) The revocation of the European patent pursuant to Article 35f (5) does not affect the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2.

§ 35f

Repeal of the European patent

(1) If the European Patent Office abolishes or retains the European patent as amended, this Decision shall have effect in the Czech Republic.

(2) The Office in the Bulletin shall notify the revocation of the European patent and, where appropriate, its retention as amended in accordance with paragraph 1.

(3) If the European patent is maintained by the European Patent Office as amended, the European Patent Office shall, within 3 months of the date of notification of this amendment in the European Patent Gazette, forward the translation of the amended version of the patent file to the Office and pay the publication fee. The Office for the Conservation of the European Patent, as amended, shall publish in the Bulletin and publish the translation of the amended version of the patent file.

(4) If the English translation of the amended version of the European patent file is not submitted within the period referred to in paragraph 3, the European patent in the Czech Republic shall be considered ineffective from the outset.

(5) If the deadline laid down in the European Patent Convention for the Submission of Resistance has expired in vain, or if the European Patent has not been revoked in the resistance proceedings, the European Patent may be revoked by the Office pursuant to Paragraph 23; The Office shall suspend the proceedings for the annulment of the European patent when proceedings concerning the same subject matter are pending before the European Patent Office. If the European patent has not been revoked in the opposition proceedings, the Office will, on request, continue the infringement proceedings.

(6) In proceedings for the annulment of the European patent, its wording in the language of the proceedings is binding.

§ 35g

(1) For maintaining the validity of the European patent in the Czech Republic, the owner is obliged to pay annual fees ("maintenance fees'). The amount of the maintenance fees shall be determined by the Office by a decree.

(2) The obligation to pay maintenance fees arises from the notification of the grant of a European patent in the European Patent Gazette. Maintenance fees shall be paid in advance to the Office and shall be due for the anniversary of the application date. If, between the notification of the grant of a European patent and the date corresponding to the filing date of the application, the period is less than 2 months, the holder of the European patent shall be obliged to pay the first maintenance fee no later than 2 months after the date of notification. If the maintenance fee is not paid on the due date, it may be paid retrospectively within 6 months of the due date, twice the amount.

(3) The rights of third parties who, after a futile expiry of the period for payment of the maintenance fee in good faith, have started or made serious and effective preparations for the use of the object of the invention, shall not be affected by the additional payment of the maintenance fee.

4c) Act No. 478 / 1992 Coll., on utility models, as amended by Act No. 116 / 2000 Coll. '.

27. The following Sections 35h to 35o are inserted after Section 35g, including the title of the fourth title, the headings and footnotes No 4d to 4f:

„HLAVA ČTVRTÁ

GRANTING OF ADDITIONAL PROTECTION CERTIFICATES FOR PLANT PROTECTION AND PREPARATIONS

§ 35h

(1) The Authority grants additional protection certificates (hereinafter referred to as the "certificate") for substances protected in the Czech Republic if they are active substances of preparations which are subject to registration under specific legislation prior to placing on the market. 4d)

(2) The active substance is a chemically produced substance or mixture of substances, a micro-organism or a mixture of micro-organisms which have general or specific therapeutic or preventive effects in relation to human or animal diseases or which may be administered to them for the purpose of determining disease, improving or modifying health status or which are intended to protect plants or plant products.

(3) The preparation referred to in paragraph 1 shall be an active substance or mixture containing one or more active substances processed in a form which is placed on the market as a medical4e) or as a plant protection product. 4f)

§ 35i

Application for certification

(1) The application for certification shall be submitted by the holder of the patent the object of which is the substance, with the exception of the patent granted under Paragraph 82, or by the method of obtaining the substance or the use of the substance as a medicinal product, or, where appropriate, as a plant protection product (the basic patent), or by its legal successor.

(2) The application for a certificate shall be submitted within 6 months from the date of the marketing authorisation in accordance with specific legislation; (d) where the registration is carried out before the grant of the basic patent, the application for a certificate must be submitted within a period of 6 months from the date of the grant of the patent.

(3) The application for a certificate must contain:

(a) an application for a certificate stating:

1. the name and address of the applicant,

2. the name and address of the representative, if the applicant is represented;

3. the number of the basic patent and the name of the invention,

4. the number and date of the first marketing authorisation under specific legislation; 4d)

(b) a copy of the marketing authorisation issued under specific legislation, 4d) in which the product is identified, including a summary of the product characteristics of the medicinal product;

(c) chemical, generic or other terminology enabling the identification of a substance protected by a basic patent with a registered product.

(4) With the application for a certificate, the applicant shall pay the administrative fee in accordance with the specific legislation.4)

(5) The Office will register the application for certification and publish it in the Bulletin. The publication shall indicate the name and address of the applicant, the number of the basic patent and the name of the invention protected by the patent, the number and date of the registration, including the designation of the product the marketing of which is permitted by that marketing authorisation.

§ 35j

Conditions for certification

The Authority shall issue a certificate if the following conditions are met at the date of application pursuant to § 35i:

(a) the basic patent is valid in the Czech Republic;

(b) the product contains an active substance protected by the basic patent and is legally authorised as a medicinal product or as a plant protection product under specific legislation; 4d)

(c) the substance has not yet been certified;

(d) the marketing authorisation referred to in (b) is the first authorisation for the placing on the market of a mass-produced medicinal product in the Czech Republic or the first authorisation for placing on the market of a plant protection product in the Czech Republic.

§ 35k

Certification

(1) If the application for a certificate is met by the particulars provided for in Section 35i and the substance for which the certificate is sought complies with the requirements laid down in Section 35j, the Office shall issue a certificate which it shall enter in the patent register. The Office shall indicate in the certificate:

Citation	Act No. 116 / 2000 Coll.
Regulation Type	Law
Author	-
Collection	Code of Laws

Date of Promulgation	10.05.2000
Effective from	10.05.2000
Effective until	-
Status	Valid

Act No. 116 / 2000 Coll.

Law amending certain laws on the protection of industrial property

Contents