Hungary: Act No. LXVII of 2018 on Amendments to Certain Acts on Intellectual Property

January 1, 2019

Hungary: The Act No. LXVII of 2018 on Amendments to Certain Acts on Intellectual Property was passed by the Parliament on October 30, 2018, and entered into force on January 1, 2019.

This Act introduces changes to Act No. XXXVIII of 1991 on the Protection of Utility Models, Act No. XXXIX of 1991 on the Legal Protection of Topographies of Microelectronic Semiconductor Products, Act No. XI of 1997 on the Protection of Trademarks and Geographical Indications, which aims to implement the rules of Directive (EU) No. 2015/2436 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2015 to approximate the laws of the Member States relating to trade marks, Act No. XXXIII of 1995 on the Protection of Inventions by Patents, and Act No. XLVIII of 2001 on the Legal Protection of Designs.

The amendments include inter alia:

(i) providing detailed formal requirements for the applications of utility models, topography of integrated circuits, designs, patents and plant varieties to ensure compliance with the legal requirements relating to electronic administration systems and data protection for IP rights;

(ii) revising the fee structure for trademark-related services;

(iii) setting out the grounds for refusal of registration of a trademark for signs that are identical and similar to prior non-registered trademarks;

(iv) providing for the date of commencement of a grace period in case of international registrations; and

(v) requiring the Hungarian Intellectual Property Office (HIPO) to communicate information on inventors and patent applications relating to nuclear energy to the European Commission, in accordance with the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community.