Fees associated with filing patent applications in the Czech Republic, as well as other patent fees, are available in the fee calculator.
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The term for filing a patent application in the Czech Republic
The term for filing a patent application in the Czech Republic claiming conventional priority is 12 months from the priority date. It is impossible to restore this term.
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Minimum filing requirements in the Czech Republic
To obtain the filing date, a Czech patent application should contain an application form including applicant's name and address and the part representing obviously the description of the invention.
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Language of the Czech Republic patent application
Patent applications should be filed in Czech. For conventional applications, it’s impossible to file the Czech patent application in any other language and to submit a translation in due course.
Priority document can be submitted after filing of the application within the term stipulated by the patent office. Translation of the priority document into Czech may be requested by the patent office as well.
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Power of Attorney requirements
Legalization or notarization of the Power of Attorney is not required. It must be submitted to the Czech Industrial Property Office upon filing or within 2 months from the date of receipt of invitation to file the POA. A scanned copy of the signed and dated POA is sufficient, but the original may be requested at any stage of the proceedings.
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Substantive examination request
The substantive examination must be requested within 36 months from filing of the patent application in the Czech Republic. Otherwise, the application is deemed to be withdrawn. No extension of this time limit is possible.
Novelty grace period for patents in the Czech Republic constitutes six months prior to the filing date. Disclosure will not be taken into consideration if it occurred at an official or officially recognized international exhibition, or due to an evident abuse in relation to the inventor or his predecessor.
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Grant and maintenance fees
Official fee for granting a patent in the Czech Republic must be paid after issuance of the decision to grant a patent within the term stipulated by the Patent Office (usually one month). The first maintenance fee must be paid within three months from the patent grant. Maintenance fees for a patent relating to following years must be paid no later than on the day, which the previous annual period expires in.
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Representation by a patent attorney
For the foreigners, it is necessary to perform the patent prosecution in the Czech Republic through an agent, a registered Czech patent attorney.
1. Online Search Databases: Czech Patents and Utility Models, European Patents (EPO).
2. Patent protection in the Czech Republic may also be obtained via European Patent and its further validation in the Czech Republic.
3. Inventions may also be protected as Utility Models in the Czech Republic, which are subject to formal examination only, methods and microorganisms are not protectable. Maximum protection period of a utility model in the Czech Republic is ten years from the date of filing (a 4-year basic term, a further extension for two 3-year periods).
Brief summary is based on the information provided by Bauer IP on 06.02.2023
Please contact us if the above information is not in conformity with Czech IP Laws