• Patent fees

Fees associated with Hungarian PCT national phase entry as well as other patent fees are available in the fee calculator.

• Deadline for PCT national phase entry in Hungary

The time limit for entering the Hungarian national phase of a PCT application is 31 months from the date of priority. The application may be filed within 3 months after the expiration of the 31 months deadline provided that the surcharge is paid.

• Filing requirements in Hungary

In Hungary, the official language of the PCT national phase entry is Hungarian. The Hungarian translation of the international application must be provided within 31 months from the priority date. It is possible to furnish the translation within 3 months from the last day of the 31-month deadline, provided that the surcharge is paid.

To entry the PCT national phase in Hungary, it is necessary to submit:
- name and address of the inventor if they have not been provided in the international application;
- description;
- claims (both original and the amended, if any);
- text matter of drawings;
- abstract.

The copy of the International Application is not required by the Hungarian Patent Office.

A simply signed original Power of Attorney should be filed when entering the National Phase.

If the applicant is not the inventor, the Assignment Deed as well as the Declaration of Assignment should be filed when entering the National Phase or within the term set by the Hungarian Patent Office.

• Examination of a PCT national phase patent application in Hungary

Patent applications in Hungary undergo formal and substantive examination. If an application complies with the formal requirements, the Hungarian Patent Office administers the filing date and conducts a Novelty Search if some parts of the international application were not subject to international search. The request for substantive examination may be filed either at the time of entering the Hungarian national phase or at the latest within 6 months counted from the date of mention of the issuance of the Search Report in the Official Gazette.

• Novelty grace period

The novelty grace period in Hungary constitutes 6 months before the priority date if the disclosure occurred:
- due to an abuse of the rights of the applicant or his predecessors in title;
- due to the fact that the applicant or his predecessors in title have displayed the invention at an exhibition officially recognized by the Hungarian Intellectual Property Office.

• Grant, validity term and maintenance fees

After the decision to grant a patent the Hungarian Patent Office sends the text of the description, the claims and drawings to the applicant who has three months to either confirm the text or to propose the amendments. The grant fee shall be paid within the aforementioned period of 3 months. Patents in Hungary are valid for 20 years from the international filing date of the application. Annual maintenance fees should be paid for each year from the international filing date. Payment of accumulated annuities (generally 1st – 3rd years) becomes due at the time of the publication of the application. All subsequent annual fees should be paid in advance before the due date. The due date for payment of annuities is the anniversary of the international filing date. Annuities may also be paid within a grace period of 6 months from the due date.

• Duration of registration procedure

In the case of a smooth registration procedure, the average time of obtaining a patent in Hungary is 3 years counted from the PCT national phase entry in Hungary.

• Utility Model

Any solution relating to the configuration or construction of an article or arrangement of parts thereof may be registered through a PCT national route as utility model in Hungary if it is new, industrially applicable and involves an inventive step. Utility models in Hungary are subject to formal and substantive examinations. However, they are not examined in respect to novelty and inventive step. The term of protection for a utility model in Hungary is 10 years from the international filing date.

• Representation by a patent attorney

For foreign patent applicants, it is necessary to perform the PCT national phase entry in Hungary through an agent, a registered patent attorney.

• Notes

1. Online Search Database for Hungarian Patents and Utility Models.
2. PCT application in Hungary may also be nationalised via European regional phase entry and its further validation in Hungary.
3. Maintenance fees due by May 31, 2022, including the first year's fee, are payable except for applications filed between August 7, 2021, and May 31, 2022, where the first year's fee is not required. Maintenance fees for the first three years due on or after June 1, 2022, are not payable.

Brief summary is based on the information provided by MILOJEVIC, SEKULIC & ASSOCIATES on 07.03.2024
Please contact us if the above information is not in conformity with Hungarian IP Laws