Industrial Property

National Patent Procedure

Completion of the national patent application:

• The application must contain an application form with the details of the applicant, the detailed description of the invention, and the claims defining the scope and content of the protection requested by the inventor.
• Also attached to the application are drawings of the invention to which the claims, its summary, and the legal documents of the depositor in case of a legal entity or natural person if he is not the inventor.
• The corresponding deposit fees must be paid together with the application.
  • Fee for filing a patent application: 50 euros.
  • Fee for each claim contained in the patent application: 30 euros per claim.
  • Fee for the preparation of the research report: 300 euros.
  • Fee for the preparation of the research report with a reasoned opinion: 800 euros.
  • Patent fee: 150 euros.
  • No other fees are due for the first two years of protection.

The process of filing and granting a Patent includes the following steps:

 

 

The submission of the application is very important, because from its date the priority is judged. For the same invention, that is, no new application can be filed later, because it will have lost the meaning of "new".

 

Procedure for Issuing a Utility Model Certificate (ΠΥΧ)

The ΠΥΧ granting process includes the following steps:

 

Procedure for Issuing an Industrial Design Certificate or Model

The administration process includes the following steps:

 

 

• The application must contain a graphic or photographic representation of the design suitable for its reproduction.
• After the lapse of four months from the date of submission of the application, OBI issue a certificate of registration of the design. It is registered in a special register of designs, kept by OBI.
• From the registration the right of the depositor begins to exist.

 

Procedure for Granting a Trademark

a. What can be registered as a trademark?

✓ Any symbol that can be represented graphically. Therefore, the signals can constitute a word or combination of words (including slogans), letters and numbers. It can consist of blueprints, 3D symbols, such as the shape and packaging of goods, audible signals, such as music or vocal sounds, scents or colors.

✓ In general, trademarks are protected for specific categories products and services for periods of 10 years, with the possibility of unlimited renewal.

 

b. What are the requirements for registering a trademark?

✓ Must be distinctive, which means that the customer, seeing it signal, can directly link the product or service to one specific manufacturer / supplier. For this reason, common words are not made generally acceptable, unless they are part of a slogan. ✓ It should not be misleading. Its form should not be such that one can confuse it with an already existing brand. ✓ Must be descriptive. Cannot describe the product either the service.

✓ Must not belong to the exceptions provided by law e.g. photographs / blueprints or names of people or places, unless clearly presented. ✓ Must be in accordance with public policy and ethics.

 

c. How to acquire the right of the trademark?

• It is acquired by its registration in the Special Books of Trademarks of the General Secretariat Trade and not by using it in transactions.
• The trademark declaration contains:
  • The details of the depositor
  • Copies of the mark
  • Statement of classes (categories of products or services, such as fabrics, timber, etc.) for which protection is sought 
  • Fee of the State
  • A declaration with the simple signature of the depositor done by an attorney

 

The deposit must be made by a lawyer.

• A check is made for the formal admissibility of the statement.

• The statement is bound alphabetically to the Trademark Books.