Fees associated with Croatian PCT national phase entry as well as other patent fees are available in the fee calculator.
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Deadline for PCT national phase entry in Croatia
The time limits for entering the Croatian national phase of a PCT application is 31 months from the date of priority. This term may be restored within 12 months from its expiration.
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Minimum filing requirements in Croatia
To obtain a filing date in Croatia, a patent application based on PCT 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.
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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 entering the Croatian national phase.
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Power of Attorney requirements
The official legalisation of the Power of Attorney is not required for PCT national phase entry 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.
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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.
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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.
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.
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Representation by a patent attorney
Foreigners must perform a patent prosecution as well as national phase entry in Croatia through an agent, a Croatian patent attorney.
1. Online Search Databases: Croatian Patents, European Patents (EPO).
2. The PCT application in Croatia may also be nationalised via European Patent registration 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