• Patent fees

Fees associated with filing patent applications in Croatia as well as other patent fees are available in the fee calculator.

• Term for filing patent applications in Croatia

The deadline for filing patent applications in Croatia claiming conventional priority is 12 months from the priority date. This term may be restored in Croatia within one year after the due date.

• Minimum filing documents in Croatia

To obtain a filing date, a patent application in Croatia must contain:
- an express indication that the grant of a patent is applied for;
- the name, or company name respectively, and the domicile or the principle place of business of the applicant;
- a description of the invention and one or more patent claims.

• Language of the Croatian patent application

The official language of the Croatian patent application is Croatian. The application may be filed in any other foreign language; however, the Croatian translation must be supplied within two months from filing.

• Priority document

The certified copy of the priority document and its translation into Croatian must be provided to the patent office within three months from the date of filing of the Croatian patent application. 

• Power of Attorney requirements

The official legalisation of the Power of Attorney is not required in Croatia. PoA must be filed within 60 days upon receipt of the official invitation from the Croatian IP Office, and no extension of this term is possible.

• Examination of a Croatian patent application

Upon completion of formal examination the applicant is invited to request the state of art search. Together with the search report, the Patent Office may prepare a written opinion on patentability on request of the applicant. Once the search report is ready, it is published together with the patent application. The request for substantive examination must be filed within 6 months from the publication.

• Novelty grace period

If disclosure of the information on the invention occurred at an official or officially recognized international exhibition or due to an evident abuse in relation to the patent applicant or his predecessor within six months prior to the filing date, it will not disprove novelty of the invention.

• Grant and maintenance fees

The term for payment of the official grant fee is two months calculated from the date of receipt of the official action requesting the payment of the patent registration fees. Annuities apply for pending patent applications in Croatia and are to be paid annually from the third year onwards. Late payment is possible within a 6-month grace period provided that a surcharge is additionally paid.

• Utility Model

It is possible to file a utility model in Croatia. Validity term of the utility model is 10 years from the filing date. The Office examines whether the application has been duly filed and that the invention is not exempted from protection as utility model. The utility model application cannot contain more than 10 claims. Novelty, inventive step and industrial applicability of the invention are not examined by the Office. At the request of the owner, a full examination of the utility model may be requested to determine whether the invention is new, inventive and industrially applicable. Such a request must be submitted no later than by the end of the seventh year of use.

• Representation by a patent attorney

Foreigners shall perform a patent prosecution in Croatia through an agent, a registered Croatian patent attorney.

• Notes

1. Online Search Databases: Croatian Patents, European Patents (EPO).
2. The patent protection in Croatia may also be obtained via European Patent and its further validation in Croatia. 

Brief summary is based on the information provided by Vukmir & Associates on 24.01.2024
Please contact us if the above information is not in conformity with Croatian IP Laws