Title: | Articles 4-9 of the Act No. 517/2007 Coll. on Utility Models |
Field of IP: | Patents |
Type of flexibility: | Utility models |
Summary table: |
Article 4
Technical solution, which is new, is a result of an inventive activity, and is industrially applicable, shall be protected as a utility model.
Article 5
(1) According to this Act the following shall not be deemed to be a technical solution:
a) discoveries, scientific theories and mathematical methods;
b) aesthetic creations;
c) plans, rules and methods for performing mental acts, playing games or trade activities;
d) computer programmes;
e) presentation of information.
(2) Subject-matters or activities stated in paragraph 1 shall be excluded from utility model protection only to extent to which an application of a utility model (hereinafter referred to as "application") relates to these subject-matters or activities as such.
Article 6 Exceptions to protection
The following cannot be protected by utility model:
a) technical solutions commercial exploitation of which would be in contradiction with public order or good manners; prohibition of a technical solution exploitation as such shall not be considered to be in contradiction with public order or good manners within the meaning of this provision;
b) plant and animal varieties;
c) essentially biological processes for production of plants or animals;
d) methods of surgical or therapeutic treatment of human or animal body and diagnostic methods and methods of diseases prevention used on a human or animal body;
e) technical solutions concerning products consisting of biological material or containing biological material or a process by means of which the biological material is produced, processed or used;
f) methods for production of chemical substances;
g) methods for production of pharmaceutical substances; and
h) medical use of substances and compositions of substances.
Article 7 Novelty
(1) A technical solution shall be considered to be new if it does not form a part of state of the art in accordance with paragraphs 2 to 4.
(2) State of the art for purposes of this Act shall be everything made available to the public by any means of disclosure before the day from which an applicant for a utility model (hereinafter referred to as "applicant") enjoys priority right pursuant to Article 34(1).
(3) The content of applications and patent applications filed in the Slovak Republic with an earlier priority right shall be also considered as state of the art, if they are published in the Official Journal of the Industrial Property Office of the Slovak Republic (hereinafter referred to as "Journal") on the day from which the applicant enjoys the priority right or after this day. This shall also apply to international applications with designation for the Slovak Republic;
publication of an international application shall be the publication in the Journal, and for European patent applications with designation for the Slovak Republic (hereinafter referred to as "European patent application"); publication of a European patent application shall be the publication pursuant to Article 93 or Article 153 of the European Patent Convention. Confidential patent application shall be deemed to be published after the expiry of 18 months from the day of rise of priority right.
(4) Disclosure of results of an applicant's work or his legal predecessor shall not be considered as state of the art provided that such disclosure occurred no earlier than six months preceding the filing the application.
Article 8 Inventive activity
(1) Technical solution shall be considered as a result of an inventive activity if it is not for a person skilled in the art obvious from state of the art.
(2) Contents of applications, patent applications, international applications and European patent applications which have not been published by the day from which an applicant enjoys the priority right shall not be taken into consideration in determination of an inventive activity.
Article 9 Industrial application
Technical solution shall be considered to be industrially applicable if its subjectmatter can be produced or used in any branch, particularly in any branch of industry and agriculture.