Patent representative

Conditions for the obtaining of an authorisation to pursue the activities of a patent attorney

An applicant for the obtaining of an authorisation to pursue the activities of a patent attorney:

1. must have full legal capacity;
2. must be a person of integrity;
3. must have a bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) from a university in the Slovak Republic or a recognised document certifying having obtained a bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) issued by a foreign university;
4. must have at least three years of professional experience as an assistant patent attorney or at least four years of practical experience in the field of industrial property law;
5. may not have been legally imposed a disciplinary penalty in the form of deletion from a list or is treated as if such disciplinary penalty was not imposed;
6. may not be deleted from a list due to legal bankruptcy proceedings against him/her or against a legal person providing patent attorney services in which he/she is a shareholder or partner, or due to a dismissal of a petition for bankruptcy due to insufficient assets, if five years have not lapsed since deletion;
7. must pass a professional patent attorney examination;
8. must notify the Slovak Chamber of Patent Attorneys (hereinafter only the “Chamber”) of the address of his/her registered office in the Slovak Republic or, absent such address, his/her mailing address in the Slovak Republic, and must produce a valid individual liability insurance policy covering damage caused in connection with the pursuit of the activities of a patent attorney; 
9. must take an oath administered by the Chairman of the Chamber.

A person acquires full legal capacity upon attaining the legal age of majority. (The legal age of majority is 18. Prior to attaining this age, a person may attain the legal age of majority by marriage.)

Anyone who has been legally convicted of an intentional crime or a crime associated with the pursuit of the activities of a patent attorney cannot be considered a person of integrity.

Professional patent attorney examination tests the level of theoretical knowledge and practical experience required for the pursuit of the patent attorney profession, knowledge of regulations and international treaties on industrial property protection applicable in the territory of the Slovak Republic, and the ability to apply it in practice. The professional examination may only be performed as a comprehensive test covering the entire domain of the protection of rights applying to the results of technical creative activity and the protection of rights to marking. The professional examination takes place at the Industrial Property Office of the Slovak Republic (address: ul. Jána Švermu 43, 974 04 Banská Bystrica 4; Phone No.: 048 4300 111; web: http://www.upv.sk/) before an examination board. It consists of a written and oral part.

Additional information on pursuing the activities of a patent attorney

A patent attorney from the European Community wishing to pursue the activities of a patent attorney in the Slovak Republic must sit an aptitude test at the Industrial Property Office of the Slovak Republic. The aptitude test focuses on assessing the European Community patent attorney’s knowledge of the Slovak legislation, international treaties on industrial property protection applicable in the territory of the Slovak Republic, and the rules of professional conduct. The aptitude test is administered in the state language.
A European Community patent attorney (hereinafter only “EC patent attorney”) is a patent attorney who is a national of a European Community Member State and is authorised to provide patent attorney services independently and without limitation in the state of his/her registration. EC patent attorneys include visiting patent attorneys and established patent attorneys.

A visiting patent attorney is an EC patent attorney authorised to provide patent attorney services in the territory of the Slovak Republic occasionally.

An established patent attorney is an EC patent attorney authorised to provide patent attorney services in the territory of the Slovak Republic on a permanent basis.

An EC patent attorney may provide patent attorney services independently or in a foreign patent attorney company. A foreign patent attorney company is a foreign legal person:

1. authorised to provide patent attorney services in a Member State;
2. whose partners are only patent attorneys or established patent attorneys and
3. with liability insurance covering damage that could occur in the course of provision of patent attorney services.

An EC patent attorney may not apply for registration in the Chamber via the SPC, but must rather submit the application directly to the Chamber.

Fees for the issuance of an authorisation to pursue the activities of a patent attorney

Application for a professional patent attorney examination or patent attorney aptitude test .......49.50 €.

The fee may be paid:

1. in the form of tax stamps with the prescribed nominal value paid to the relevant administrative authority;
2. in the form of a cash payment to the relevant administrative authority;
3. by a postal cheque to the bank account of the relevant administrative authority; or
4. by a wire transfer from a bank account.

Where relevant operations and proceedings are carried out on the basis of an application sent by electronic means and signed with an electronic signature, the fee is reduced to 50% of the amount of the fee prescribed in the schedule of fees (up to €70 at the most).

Note: Applicants may pay the administrative fee using any of the aforementioned methods, but any payments made by electronic means in the form of a wire transfer from a bank account are only deemed paid when debited from the applicant’s account. (A payment confirmation does not have to be annexed to an electronic application for authorisation.)

Fee for registration in the patent attorney list by the Chamber ......................................... 100 €
Fee for registration in the list of patent attorney companies by the Chamber ...................... 200 €

Application procedure for the obtaining of an authorisation to pursue the activities of a patent attorney

In order to obtain an authorisation to pursue the activities of a patent attorney, it is necessary to fill in an application for registration in the Chamber’s list, attach the required annexes and take an oath administered by the Chairman of the Chamber. Annexes to be attached to the application:

1. evidence of full legal capacity;
2. a statement from the register of criminal records, unless provided through the SPC;
3. evidence of education;
4. evidence of at least three years of professional experience as an assistant patent attorney or at least four years of practical experience in the field of industrial property law;
5. evidence of having passed professional patent attorney examination;
6. evidence of registered office address; if not in the territory of the Slovak Republic, evidence of mailing address in the Slovak Republic;
7. a valid liability insurance policy covering damage caused in connection with the pursuit of the activities of a patent attorney;

Application form

• application form for domestic natural person
• application form for foreign natural person

or applicant can send the application directly to the competent organ.

Electronic form:

Electronic forms can be found at this link and press "Enter the portal". Information about electronic procedures can be found here.