PATENTS

Filing a Conventional Application – Requirements

• Name and address of the Applicant
• List of inventors
• Priority date and number
• Specification of Patent
• Patent Claims
• Drawings (if any)
• Abstract – summary of the invention
• Power of Attorney signed by the Applicant (date, name, family name, position, facsimile or seal - if the applicant is a company). – can be submitted subsequently, within one month as from the Application date
• The Application is to be filed within one year as from the priority date
• Translation of specification, claims and abstract into Albanian, can be filed subsequently, within one month as from the Application date

Registration Procedure

• The IP Office of Kosovo examines only the formal requirements and if those are fulfilled it grants the patent. In order to obtain fully registered patent Applicant is obliged to submit the evidence that the patent for the same invention has been granted by the institution bearing the status of the International authority for evaluation of patents. In case that no evidence is submitted, the patent would lapse.

Duration

• 20 years as from the application date for conventional Patents the protection fees are to be paid annually, prior to the expiration of the year for which the protection fees have been paid or three months after the expiration date with 25% fine or 3-9 months after the expiration of the protection period at the latest with 100% fine.

Source: Patent Law No. 04/L-029 and Administrative Instruction No. 10/2012.

NEWS & UPDATES

New Administrative Instruction Concerning Patents Approved

Following promulgation of the New Patent Law, Law No. 04/L-029 of the date August 9, 2011, the Minister of Trade and Industry issued a new regulation concerning the registration of patents. The Administrative Instruction No. 10/2012 on the Procedure for Registration of Patents regulates in detail the filing and granting procedure. It also introduced Electronical Filing of all documents filed with the paper application. Theses additional filings should be completed within 2 weeks from the date of paper filing or 12 months from the earliest date of priority.

July 11, 2012