PATENT REGISTRATION
The patent is the protection title of the invention, issued by the state, which confers a number of exclusive rights to the inventors. The title is granted upon meeting the eligibility criteria. This means that you have to meet the conditions imposed by the law and by the Romanian State Office for Inventions and Trademarks, which is the state organ specialized in industrial property.
What rights do you acquire when registering an invention patent?
Registering an invention and obtaining the patent for this means acquiring the exclusive right to impede anyone from using, producing, offering for sale, importing or selling a product or a process based on the patent invention without obtaining your approval in advance.
For what kind of invention is the patent granted?
The invention patent is granted for any type of invention, if the following conditions are met:
- The invention is new - this means that the invention proposed for patenting has to differentiate itself from other known technical solutions. According to Art. 10 alin. (1)from Law no. 64/1991, an invention is new as long as it is not in the technical stage. The condition of novelty is analyzed according to the technical effects that it can create. If this technical effect has never been produced, the rule or method used to create it is new in regard to the global system.
- The invention involves an inventive activity - according to the provisions stipulated in Art. 12 alin (1), Law no. 64/1991, an invention is considered as involving an inventive activity if, for a specialized individual, this activity is not evident from the technical knowledge one possesses.
- The invention is susceptible to industrial applicability - according to the depositions stipulated in Art. 13 from Law no. 64/1991, an invention is susceptible to industrial applicability if its outcome/object can be manufactured or used in an industrial domain, including in agriculture. The condition for industrial applicability refers to the object, applicability and result of the invention. Ideas, discoveries, theories and principles cannot be protected as inventions.
In order to obtain an invention patent and to benefit from exclusive rights from this registration, the subsequent steps have to be followed:
- Verifying the known technical stage in the domain in which the invention has been developed in order to reduce the risk of having the registration application rejected due to lack of novelty or inventive activity;
- Registering the invention and obtaining the invention patent;
- Protecting the right of industrial property over the invention through:
- Formulating oppositions when third parties register similar inventions;
- Litigations concerning disloyal competition;
- Penal complaints against counterfeiting.
- Maintaining the validity of the patent.
What are the particularities of the invention patent?
- It is a specific title of protection, which attests the protection of an invention;
- It is issued by the Romanian State Office for Inventions and Trademarks, upon the request of the inventor or of the rightful successor;
- Confers the quality of inventor to the natural person who created the invention;
- Confers certain rights to the titular character;
- The protection of the institution is limited in time and space;
- After the expiration of the protection period, the invention becomes part of the public domain and can be exploited by anyone interested.
Important! According to the current legislation, the patent is the invention’s only title of legal protection. The validity of the patent lasts20 years and it begins after its registration.