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A patent is the legal instrument provided nationally, on a
European level and/or internationally, for the protection of any
manufacture used for, amongst others, industrial purposes. By
registering a patent, an inventor will exclude others from
commercially exploiting the invention for a limited period, in
return for the disclosure of the invention.
The Patent Law 16(I)/98, which is the main part of the
legislation governing this field of IP rights, has been enacted in
Cyprus on 1 April 1998, and amended later by Laws 21(I)/99,
153(I)/2000, 163(I)/2002, and 122(I)/2006, (together the
"Patent Laws") and supplemented by the relevant Patent
Regulations K. Δ. ∏ No. 46/99, as these have been
amended by K. Δ. ∏No. 320/2000.
Here below is a summary of the main provisions of the applicable
regimes, for your ease of reference:
National
application:
The requirements provided by the Laws, in relation to the
inventions granted Certificate of Patent, are the following:
The invention must be
novel, this means that the invention is not a part
of an 'existing art'. 'Existing art' is
defined as anything which has been published by written form, oral
description or with its usage, or by any other means around the
world;
The invention should involve an
inventive step, which means that the invention
is not arisen by the existing level of art; and
The invention must be
industrially applicable, which means that the
invention can be created or used in any industrial field.
In order to obtain the aforementioned Certificate, an
application is filed with the Patent Registrar (the
"Registrar") by providing the prescribed information,
including, but not limited to, the following:
Request for a patent to be
granted;
The title of the invention;
Description of the invention;
Claim or claims which must be drafted
in the manner prescribed by the law, including clear and accurate
information and must state in detail, the extent of the protection
to be conferred by the application for a patent;
Any drawings referred to in the
description or claims; and
An abstract of the invention, in no
more than 150 words.
The Registrar will then forward the patent application to the
European Patent Organization for examination. If the application
fulfills the requirements provided by applicable laws and
regulations, then the examiner will send the relevant report to the
Registrar who will inform the applicant, as to who should prepare
and submit the search report. On receipt of the report and subject
to the provisions of the Laws, the Registrar will then publish in
the Official Gazette of the Republic of Cyprus; the issued Patent
Certificate of Registration together with the search report.
The duration of a patent is 20 years from the date of the
submission of the relevant application.
International
application
The Patent Corporation Treaty of 1970 (PCT), makes it possible
to seek patent protection for an invention in a large number of
countries, who are signing parties to the treaty, by submitting a
single "international" patent application.
After the expiration of 18 months from the earliest submission
date of such application, the content of the international
application will be disclosed to the world.
Upon the completion of the aforementioned PCT procedure and
usually after 30 months from the earliest filing date of your
initial application, from which you claim priority, you may start
to pursue the grant of your patents directly before the national
(or regional) patent Offices of the countries in which you want to
obtain patents. Of course there is a possibility to "claim
priority" and request an early entry into the national
phase.
European
application
The most popular way to file a European application is online,
using the EPO Online Filing, provided free of charge.
The European Patent Office (EPO) acts as a Regional patent
office which grants patents that take effect in some or all of the
countries signatories to the Convention on the Grant of European
Patents (EPC). Thus, the applicant may indicate in his / her
application the countries where the applicant wants his / her
patent to be protected. If the application complies with the
requirements provided by the EPO, then the EPO grants the patent in
respect of the states indicated in the said application.
Should you have a new, industrially applicable idea which is
inventive in nature, be proactive, have it registered and keep it
safe for your use. Evangelides & Partners have expertise in
Cyprus IP, including registration of patents within and outside
Cyprus and are happy to assist with provision of advice and
assistance on any matters relating to patents, guiding you through
every step prior and/or during the filing of such application,
until completion.
In collaboration with S. Evangelides & Partners
LLC
The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
about your specific circumstances.
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