How patent protection is secured Find out what it protects and what it concerns – The procedure in detail

For the commercial exploitation of a patent and the safeguarding of its ownership, its registration is certainly required

Works of creativity and innovative thought have never stopped, and indeed there have been many times when inventors and scientists contributed through them to worldwide cultural and economic development. Likewise, the innovators themselves, by exploiting their patent, improved or even boosted their financial standing dramatically.

But how can someone register their invention? Anyone who believes that their innovation needs protection can contact the competent body that grants patents. This particular patent grants the inventor the exclusive right to exploit their invention and forbids any third party from using it without their consent.

In our country the competent body for the award of titles that legally safeguard the inventor is the Industrial Property Organisation and it is supervised by the Ministry of Development and Competitiveness. With the Patent Grant (DE) it protects inventions and also provides technological information from Patents at Greek and international level for technical bibliographic and other data.

Procedure followed for patent registration

According to Law 1733/1987 on inventions and technological innovation, ‘patents concern inventions that are new, involve inventive activity and are susceptible of industrial application. The patent may refer to a product, process or industrial application’.

An invention is deemed new if it is not known anywhere in the world from a written or oral description or by any other means before the date of filing the application for the grant of a patent. An invention is also considered to involve inventive activity if it does not emerge in an obvious way from the existing state of the art. Finally, susceptible of industrial application means an invention the subject matter of which may be produced or used in any sector of productive activity.

A patent grants its holder the exclusive right to exploit his or her invention for 20 years. This means that the invention may not be manufactured, used, distributed or sold without his or her approval, in the country or countries for which he or she holds a valid patent. Patent protection is governed by the laws of the state in which the patent has been granted.

Who has the right to obtain a patent The right to obtain a patent belongs to the inventor of the invention. However, in the case where the invention is the product of a contractual employment relationship between an employee and an employer for the development of inventive activity, it belongs entirely to the employer. Even in that case, of course, if the invention proves particularly profitable, the inventor may request additional reasonable remuneration. The third case is that of a dependent invention, namely one carried out by an employee using materials, means or information of the enterprise in which he or she works. Under these conditions, the right to file for a patent belongs simultaneously to the inventor and the enterprise, with a percentage of 60% for the former and 40% for the latter.

The Patent Grant Procedure The procedure for granting a patent is carried out in four steps

– Filing the application with OBI

The filing of the application with OBI should include the full name or company name, nationality, residence or registered office and address of the applicant. It must also include the description of the invention, its abstract and the specification of one or more claims. Claims mean the scope and content of the protection sought by the applicant. Finally, the request for the grant of a patent is completed. The fee for filing an application for the grant of a Patent costs 50€ while for more than ten claims a fee of 30€ is paid for each one.

-Deadline of 4 months for any corrections or completion of omissions

Upon filing the application, a deadline of 4 months is granted for any corrections or completion of omissions on the part of the applicant.

-Examination of the “new” and inventive activity and the drafting of the search report

OBI then carries out an examination of the “new” and a search report is drawn up by the organisation’s specialised scientists depending on the field to which the invention belongs. The drafting of the search report costs 300€ while, in the case where the inventor wants a search report with reasoned opinion, that is, a search report accompanied by comments or concise explanatory observations on the characteristics of the invention (its novelty, inventive step and industrial applicability), the fee costs 640€. Finally, for registration of Assignments or Licences for Exploitation or other Amendments of Rights or Change of Name or Legal Form of the beneficiary of the Patent. (Article 24 para. 1 and 2 Law 1733/1987) 200€

-Deadline of 3 months for the applicant’s observations on the search report

The search report is then given to the applicant so that any observations may be made. Thereafter the final search report is drawn up and the inventor bears no additional fee.

-Issue of Patent

Upon completion of the above procedures, the organisation issues the patent within a period of 12 to 18 months. The fee for the grant of the Patent amounts to 150 euros, while the rights conferred by the Patent are maintained in force by payment of the corresponding fees to the Organisation annually. The first two years are free, while from the third year onwards its maintenance costs 20 euros and rises, reaching 1.100 euros for the 20 year of maintenance. It should be noted here that the fees must be prepaid up to and including the anniversary date of the invention. Otherwise, the inventor retains the right to pay the fees with a surcharge of 50% for 6 additional months. If the amount is not paid even within those six months, the patent ceases to be valid and the holder loses his or her rights. Upon grant, the patent is entered in the Patent Register and its abstract is published in the special Industrial Property Bulletin. Throughout the 18-month period up to the issue of the patent, however, the application is confidential.

Protection in foreign countries

Any creator may submit a patent protection application in as many and whichever countries he or she wishes. The choice of countries and/or geographical areas is a purely business decision. OBI acts as the receiving office for applications, since it cooperates both with the World Intellectual Property Organisation WIPO and with the European Patent Office EPO. In this way, the submission of applications in more than one country simultaneously is facilitated, reducing the examination time and the cost of submitting multiple applications. Depending on the choice of countries and geographical areas, the cost is determined.