What is Act No. 527 / 1990 Coll.?

Act No. 527 / 1990 Coll., on inventions and improvements — Act on Inventions and Improving Proposals.

When it became Act No. 527 / 1990 Coll. effectiveness?

Act No. 527 / 1990 Coll. became effective 01.01.1991.

Is Act No. 527 / 1990 Coll. still valid?

Yes, Act No. 527 / 1990 Coll. is still valid and effective.

Act No. 527 / 1990 Coll. - Act on Inventions and Improving Proposal...

527

THE LAW

of 27 November 1990

on inventions and improvements

The Federal Assembly of the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic decided on this law:

§ 1

Purpose of the law

The purpose of the Act is to regulate the rights and obligations arising from the creation and application of inventions and improvements.

ČÁST PRVNÍ

OBSERVATIONS

HLAVA PRVNÍ

_

§ 2

The Office of Industrial Property (hereinafter referred to as "the Office ') shall grant patents to inventions which fulfil the conditions laid down by this Law.

§ 3

Patentability of inventions

(1) Patents are granted for inventions which are new, are the result of inventive activities and are industrially usable.

(2) In particular, inventions are not considered to be

(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.

(3) The patentability of the articles or activities referred to in paragraph 2 is 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.

§ 4

Exemptions from patentability

Patents shall not be granted:

(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;

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

§ 5

Novost

(1) The invention is new if it is not part of the state of the art.

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

(3) The state of the art is also the content of applications for inventions submitted in the Czech Republic with an earlier right of priority if the right of priority is published on or after the date from which the applicant is entitled (§ 31). This also applies to international applications for inventions with a former priority right, in which the Office is designated by the Office, 1a) and European patent applications (§ 35a) with a former priority right, where the designated State is the Czech Republic. Applications for inventions classified under special regulations shall be deemed to be published for the purposes of this provision 18 months after the priority is given.

(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 Paragraph 3 (4), unless its use in those methods is part of the state of the art.

(5) The state of the art is not such a publication of an invention which did not occur earlier than six months before the filing of the application for the invention and which results, directly or indirectly,

(a) obvious abuse by the applicant or his legal predecessor;

(b) the fact that the applicant or his legal predecessor has issued an invention at an official or officially recognised exhibition under the international contract (1);

In this case, the applicant shall state, when filing the application for the invention, that the invention has been made and, within four months of the filing of the application for the invention, provide proof that the invention has been issued under an international agreement.

§ 6

Inventions

(1) The invention is the result of an inventive activity where the expert does not clearly derive from the state of the art.

(2) However, the content of applications for inventions which have not been published on the date on which the applicant's right of priority is due is not relevant for the evaluation of the inventive activity (§ 31).

§ 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.

§ 8

Right to patent

(1) The right to the patent is conferred on the author of the invention or his successor in title.

(2) The author of the invention is the one who created it with his own creative work.

(3) Co-producers are entitled to a patent in so far as they have been involved in the creation of an invention.

Business invention

§ 9

(1) Where the originator has created an invention for the performance of a task of employment, from a member or other similar employment relationship (hereinafter referred to as "employment relationship") to an employer, the right to a patent on the employer shall, unless otherwise provided by the contract, pass. This is without prejudice to the right to originality.

(2) The author who has created the invention in his employment must immediately notify the employer in writing of this fact and submit to him the documents necessary for the assessment of the invention.

(3) If, within three months of the notification referred to in paragraph 2, the employer does not exercise the right to the patent against the originator, that right shall be transferred back to the originator. Both the employer and the originator are obliged to maintain confidentiality against third parties within that period.

(4) The author who has created an invention in an employment relationship to which the employer has exercised the right to a patent has the right to an adequate remuneration against the employer. For its size, the technical and economic importance of the invention and the benefits achieved by its possible use or other application is decisive, taking into account the employer's material contribution to the creation of the invention and the extent of the work of the originator. If the remuneration already paid is found to be manifestly disproportionate to the benefit of subsequent use or other use of the invention, the originator shall be entitled to an additional settlement.

§ 10

The rights and obligations arising out of the provisions of Section 9 shall remain unaffected after termination of employment.

Effect of the patent

§ 11

(1) The owner of the patent (§ 34) has the exclusive right to exploit the invention, to give consent to or transfer the patent to other persons to the invention.

(2) The effects of the patent arise from the date of the notification of the grant of the patent in the Bulletin of the Industrial Property Office ("Bulletin").

(3) The applicant is entitled to a reasonable compensation from those who, after the publication of the application for an invention (§ 31), have used its subject matter. The right to adequate compensation may be exercised from the date on which the patent takes effect.

(4) In the case of an international application for the grant of a patent in the Czech Republic, which has been published under an international contract, the applicant shall be entitled to adequate compensation under paragraph 3 only after the translation in the Czech language has been published (§ 31).

§ 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 granted or amended in the cancellation procedure provided for in Paragraph 23, determines retroactively the scope of the protection resulting from the patent application, unless the protection is extended.

§ 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)

§ 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.

§ 14

(1) The consent (licence) for the use of the patent-protected invention is provided by a written contract (hereinafter referred to as "licence contract").

(2) The licence contract takes effect against third parties by registration in the patent register (§ 69).

§ 15

The patent shall be transferred by a written contract which shall take effect against third parties by registration in the patent register.

§ 16

Co-ownership of the patent

(1) If the rights of the same patent belong to several persons ("joint owners'), the relationships between them shall be governed by general rules on joint ownership. 2)

(2) Unless otherwise agreed by the co-owner, each of the co-owners of the patent shall have the right to exploit the invention.

(3) The validity of the licence agreement requires, unless otherwise agreed, the consent of all joint owners; each of the joint owners shall be entitled to claim infringement of patent rights separately.

(4) The transfer of the patent requires the consent of all joint owners. The co-owner shall be entitled, without the consent of the others, to transfer his share only to one of the co-owners; it may transfer its share to a third party only if no co-owner accepts a written offer of transfer within one month.

Limitation of patent effects

§ 17

(1) The patent does not act against those who used the invention independently of the originator or holder of the patent or who carried out verifiable measures (hereinafter referred to as "the previous user") before the priority is established (§ 27).

(2) If no agreement is reached, the previous user may require the patent holder to recognise its right in court.

§ 18

The rights of the patent holder are not violated if the protected invention is used:

(a) on ships of other countries which are members of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (hereinafter referred to as the Paris Convention) (3), by which the Czech Republic is bound (hereinafter referred to as the "Union country"), in ships, in machinery, in marine equipment, in equipment and in other accessories when such ships reach the Czech Republic on a temporary or random basis if these items are used only for the purpose of the ship;

(b) in the construction or operation of aircraft or vehicles of Union countries, or in the case of parts of such aircraft or vehicles, if they reach the Czech Republic temporarily or accidentally;

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

(d) in a non-commercial activity;

(e) in an activity carried out with the object of the invention for experimental purposes, including experiments and tests necessary under the special legislation 3a) prior to the placing on the market of the medicinal product.

§ 19

Licence offer

(1) If the applicant or, where applicable, the holder of the patent declares that he will grant anyone the right to use the invention (offer of the licence), the right to use the invention shall be acquired by anyone who accepts the licence offer and shall inform the applicant or the holder of the patent in writing. The Office shall indicate the licence offer in the patent register.

(2) The licence offer declaration cannot be withdrawn.

(3) The creation of the right to use the invention is without prejudice to the right of the patent holder to pay the price of the licence.

(4) For maintaining the validity of the patent for which the holder has offered a licence pursuant to paragraph 1, fees shall be paid under the special legislature3b only in half.

§ 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).

§ 21

Duration of the patent

(1) The patent is valid for 20 years from the filing of the patent application.

(2) For maintaining the patent, the holder shall be obliged to pay fees annually under a special legislation. (3b)

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

§ 22

Dissolution of the patent

The patent shall cease if:

(a) its period of validity expires;

(b) the holder of the patent shall not pay the relevant fees for maintaining the patent in plateaude3b) within the prescribed period;

(c) the holder of the patent renounces it; in this case, the patent shall cease to exist on the date on which the written declaration by the patent holder reaches the Office.

§ 23

Repeal of the patent

(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 it pursuant to § 8; in this case the Office shall, on application by the authorised person (§ 29).

(2) Where the grounds for cancellation relate only to part of the patent, the patent shall be partially revoked. Partial cancellation of the patent shall be carried out by changing its claims, description or drawings.

(3) The revocation of the patent shall have retroactive effect from the date of its entry into force.

(4) The application for revocation of the patent may be filed even after the expiry of the patent, provided that the applicant has demonstrated his legal interest.

HLAVA DRUHÁ

PATENT PROCEDURE

Application for invention

§ 24

(1) The patent procedure is initiated by filing an application for an invention with the Office.

(2) The Office is the place where citizens of the Czech Republic and other persons residing or having their registered office in the Czech Republic may submit international applications.

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

(4) If the European patent application and the international application contain information classified under a specific law, 4a) the applicant is obliged to submit it to the Office and at the same time attach the consent of the National Security Office to submit such an application.

(5) The applicant shall be obliged to pay an administrative fee in accordance with the special regulations referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 and, in the case of an international application referred to in paragraph 2, to pay the fees laid down in accordance with the international contract for the international application for an invention; they shall be notified by the Office in the Bulletin.

§ 25

(1) The application shall state who the originator is.

(2) At the request of the originator, the Office shall not indicate its name when the patent application is published and the patent notice.

§ 26

(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 are those which determine the contribution of each invention considered as a whole to the state of the technique.

(2) The invention must be explained in the application for the invention so clearly and completely that the expert can carry it out. Where an industrial production micro-organism is invented, it shall be stored in the public collection of cultures on the date from which the applicant has the right of priority.

(3) In doubt, the Office may invite the applicant to prove his usefulness by presenting the subject matter of the application or by other appropriate means. If they do not prove this, the object applied for shall be deemed not to be usable.

§ 27

(1) Submission of an application for an invention gives the applicant the right of priority.

(2) The right of priority resulting from an international contract (3) must be exercised by the applicant in the application for an invention and proved by the Office within the time limit laid down by the Office, otherwise not taken into account.

(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.

§ 28

(1) If proceedings have been brought before the competent authority in dispute over the right to patent, the Office shall suspend the application procedure.

(2) The time limit laid down by this Law shall be suspended for the duration of the stay of the proceedings, except in accordance with the provisions of Paragraph 31 (1).

(3) The right of priority shall remain in place if the applicant has requested that the proceedings be continued within three months of the legal authority of the decision on the right to the patent. The acts taken before the suspension of the patent procedure shall also be considered valid for further proceedings.

§ 29

(1) The Office shall rewrite the application of the invention or patent, if applicable, to the person to whom the court decides that it is the author of the invention.

(2) The Office shall rewrite the applicant or holder of the patent if, in dispute, the competent authority decides that the right to the patent is for another person.

Preliminary survey of the application of the invention

§ 30

(1) The Office shall submit an application for an invention to a preliminary survey,

(a) whether it does not contain an article which is manifestly contrary to the provisions of Article 3 (1) or Article 26 (2);

(b) whether it does not contain an article under the provisions of § 3 (2) or § 4;

(c) that it has no deficiencies which prevent its publication;

(d) whether the applicant has paid the relevant administrative fees; 4)

(2) Where the application contains an article which is manifestly contrary to the provisions of § 3 (1) or § 26 (2), or contains an article pursuant to § 3 (2) or § 4, the Office shall reject the application. Before rejecting the application, the applicant must be allowed to comment on the supporting documents on the basis of which the decision is to be taken.

(3) If the application contains an article which has deficiencies in its publication or where the applicant does not pay the relevant administrative fees, the Office shall invite the applicant to comment on these facts within the prescribed time limit and to remedy the deficiencies.

(4) In the event that the applicant does not, within the prescribed time limit, remove the deficiencies of the application for an invention which prevents its publication or where the applicant does not pay the relevant administrative fees, 4) The Office shall suspend the proceedings. This consequence must be brought to the attention of the applicant when setting the time limit.

§ 31

(1) The Office shall publish the application for an invention 18 months after the priority is established and shall notify such publication in the Bulletin.

(2) An application for an invention may be published before the time limit referred to in paragraph 1 if the applicant so requests not later than 12 months after the priority is given and if he pays the administrative fee in accordance with the special rules. (4) The Office shall publish the application before the expiry of the period referred to in paragraph 1, if the patent has already been granted on the invention; However, without the consent of the applicant, the Office shall not publish the application of the invention before 12 months have elapsed since the priority.

(3) The Office may, together with the application for an invention, publish a report on the state of the art (research) relating to the invention applied in the application.

§ 32

(1) After publication of the application for an invention, anyone may submit observations to the Office on the patentability of its subject matter; the observations shall be taken into account by the Office in the full examination of the application for the invention.

(2) Persons making comments pursuant to paragraph 1 shall not be parties to the application for an invention. However, the applicant for the invention must be informed of the comments.

Full search of the invention application

§ 33

(1) The Office shall submit an application for an invention to a full survey in which it shall ascertain whether it fulfils the conditions laid down by this Law for the grant of a patent.

(2) The Office shall carry out a full examination of the application for an invention at the request of the applicant or of any other person, or it may carry it out ex officio.

(3) An application for a full survey shall be submitted no later than 36 months after the filing of the application for the invention and shall not be withdrawn. The applicant shall pay the administrative fee in accordance with the specific regulations.4)

(4) The Authority will initiate a full survey without delay after the request has been submitted.

(5) If the application for a full survey has not been duly submitted within the time limit referred to in paragraph 3, or where appropriate within the same time limit, the Office has not initiated a full investigation of the application of the invention ex officio, the Office shall stop the application procedure.

§ 34

(1) If the conditions laid down for the grant of the patent are not fulfilled, the Office will reject the application. Before rejecting an application for an invention, the applicant shall be allowed to comment on the documents on the basis of which the application for an invention is to be decided.

(2) In the event that the applicant does not remove the defects of the application which prevent the grant of the patent within the prescribed time limit, the Office shall stop the application procedure. This consequence must be brought to the attention of the applicant when setting the time limit.

(3) If the subject matter of the application for an invention fulfils the conditions laid down and the applicant pays the relevant administrative fee in accordance with the special rules, 4) The Office shall grant the applicant a patent; the applicant becomes the holder of the patent. The Office shall issue the patent holder with a patent document stating the originator's name and including a description of the invention and patent claims and notifying the grant of the patent in the Bulletin.

Citation	Act No. 527 / 1990 Coll., on inventions and improvements
Regulation Type	-
Author	-
Collection	Code of Laws

Date of Promulgation	21.12.1990
Effective from	01.01.1991
Effective until	-
Status	Valid

Act No. 527 / 1990 Coll.

Act on Inventions and Improving Proposals

Contents

§ 1