Patent Filing in Hungary

Fees for Patent filing in Hungary 

Fees associated with filing patent applications in Hungary as well as other patent fees are available in the fee calculator.

The Term for filing a Hungarian patent application

The term for filing an application claiming conventional priority in Hungary is 12 months calculated from the earliest date of claimed priority.

Minimum patent filing requirements in Hungary

The official language of proceedings before the HIPO is Hungarian. It is possible to file a patent application in any other language, however, the Hungarian translation must be provided within 4 months from the filing date. If the patent application is filed in English, the deadline for submitting the Hungarian translation is 12 months from the filing date or 16 months from the priority date.

To obtain the date of filing, it is necessary to provide the Hungarian Patent Office with the following:

– request to grant a patent in Hungarian;

– applicant’s details and contact information in Hungarian;

– description or something that can be regarded as a description, even if it doesn’t comply with the formal requirements or

– details of a priority application.

A certified copy of the Priority Document alongside a Hungarian translation thereof should be filed within 2 months from the date of filing in Hungary or within 16 months from the date of priority.

A simply signed original Power of Attorney should be filed within the term set by the Hungarian Patent Office.

If the applicant is not the inventor, the Assignment Deed should be filed within the term set by the Hungarian Patent Office.

Analysis of a Hungarian patent application

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. The substantive examination may be requested at the time of filing or the latest, within 10 months following the filing date.

Novelty grace period in Hungary

The novelty grace period in Hungary constitutes 6 months before the filing date if the disclosure occurred:

– due to an abuse of the rights of the applicant or his predecessors in the title;

– Since 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 patent maintenance fees in Hungary

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 amendments. The grant fee shall be paid within the aforementioned period of 3 months. Patents in Hungary are valid for 20 years from the filing date of the application. The first annual maintenance fee is due on the date of filing; 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 filing date. The annual fees due before the publication of the application are payable within a grace period of 6 months from the date of publication. Post-grant annuities may also be paid within a grace period of 6 months from the due date. Annuities paid during the first three months of the grace period are not subject to any surcharge. From the fourth month, the surcharge constitutes 50%.

Duration of the patent application 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 filing date.

Representation by a Hungarian patent attorney

For foreign patent applicants, it is necessary to perform patent prosecution in Hungary through an agent, a registered patent attorney in Hungary.

Utility Model in Hungary

Any solution relating to the configuration or construction of an article or arrangement of parts thereof may be registered as a 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 for novelty and inventive steps. The term of protection for a utility model in Hungary is 10 years from the filing date.

Notes

1. Online Search Database for Hungarian Patents and Utility Models

2. The patent in Hungary may also be obtained via registration of the European patent and its further validation in Hungary.

If you have any queries related to the Patent Filing in Hungary, please contact IIPLA team. We will be more than happy to resolve your queries free of cost.

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