Quick Overview
- Industrial property rights primarily protect technical solutions, the appearance of products, and the names of products or services.
- The main types of industrial property rights include patents, utility models, industrial designs, and trademarks.
- The Industrial Property Office (ÚPV) is primarily responsible for their registration and protection in the Czech Republic.
- Copyright generally arises automatically upon the creation of a work, whereas for many industrial property rights, an application or request for registration must be filed to obtain protection.
- The term of protection varies: for example, a patent can be valid for up to 20 years in the Czech Republic, a trademark can be repeatedly renewed in ten-year increments, and an industrial design can be protected for a maximum of 25 years.
Not sure whether a patent, utility model, industrial design, or trademark is best suited for your product? Our attorneys will help you choose the appropriate form of protection and prepare the necessary legal steps.
“Now! He was right here! You must have met him…” This famous line from the film *Jára Cimrman Lying Asleep* quite accurately captures the essence of the protection afforded by various patents and industrial property rights in general. Unlike copyrights, which arise for the author simply by creating a work, industrial property rights must be registered with the Industrial Property Office or similar offices abroad.
So if you delay in filing your miraculous invention, some Mr. Bell or Mr. Edison could easily beat you to it.
Tip for article
In today’s fast-paced world, it’s easy for someone to use your work without your permission. Read on to learn how to protect your copyright.
Are you solving a similar problem?
Are you looking to register a trademark?
It’s easy to overlook a mistake when registering a trademark. It may not be apparent at first, but it can surface after you’ve launched your business, when competitors start taking advantage of you. Make sure everything is thoroughly documented and filed correctly. We’ll take care of it.
I'd like some advice
- When you order, you know what you will get and how much it will cost.
- We handle everything online or in person at one of our 6 offices.
- We handle 8 out of 10 requests within 2 working days.
- We have specialists for every field of law.
What does the term “industrial property rights” cover?
You’ll primarily use industrial property rights when you need to protect your product or process from unauthorized use or copying. The most important industrial property rights include, in particular:
- patents, which can protect inventions that meet the legal requirements,
- utility models, which protect specific technical solutions,
- industrial designs, which protect the appearance of a product,
- trademarks, which protect the names of products or services,
- designations of origin and geographical indications,
- topographies of semiconductor products,
- and, under certain conditions, supplementary protection certificates for pharmaceuticals and plant protection products.
Not everything created through business or creative activity automatically falls under industrial property rights. For example, a computer program may be protected primarily by copyright, and a scientific discovery itself cannot be patented.
What is the difference between copyright and industrial property rights?
The biggest difference between copyright and industrial property rights lies in how protection arises and in what each type of right protects.
| Copyright |
Industrial Property Rights |
| It protects, for example, texts, photographs, music, or computer programs that meet the criteria for a copyrighted work. |
It protects, for example, inventions, technical solutions, product designs, and trademarks for products and services. |
| Copyright protection generally arises automatically upon creation of the work. |
For many industrial property rights, an application, registration, or grant of the right by the relevant authority is required. |
| Copyright in the Czech Republic does not require mandatory registration. |
Patents, trademarks, utility models, and industrial designs are subject to formal proceedings before the relevant authority. |
In practice, different types of protection may also overlap. For example, a single product may have its technical design protected by a patent or utility model, its appearance protected by an industrial design, and its name or logo protected by a trademark.
Conditions for Registration
For many industrial property rights, filing an application or a request for registration is necessary to obtain full protection. In the Czech Republic, for example, patents are granted, and trademarks, utility models, and industrial designs are entered into the relevant registers.
However, the specific procedure depends on which right you wish to protect and in which territory. It is therefore not accurate to say that all industrial property rights arise in the same way or that no legal protection exists without registration.
From practice: One of the most common mistakes is to begin addressing protection only once a product or brand name has become publicly known. For some rights, however, the date of filing the application or prior publication of the invention can be crucial. That is why it pays to explore protection options even before launching a product on the market.
The Territorial Nature of Industrial Property Rights
Anothercharacteristic feature of industrial property is its territorial nature. Patents, utility models, ortrademarks registered with the Industrial Property Office are generally valid only within the territory of the country in which they were registered. If you wish to obtain protection in another country, you must apply for it separately in that country.
The EPO (European Patent Office) and EUIPO (European Union Intellectual Property Office) can greatly simplify the situation in Europe (or the European Union). The EUIPO issues registrations for trademarks and industrial designs that are valid throughout the European Union (EU). The EPO is a regional office responsible for granting European patents. All EU member states are members of the EPO.
Please note: a European patent and an EU trademark do not function in the same way. An EU trademark provides uniform protection throughout the EU, whereas a standard European patent granted by the EPO must be evaluated according to the patent protection system in each individual country. In addition to this, there is now also a European patent system with unitary effect for participating states.
Whether you are preparing to register a trademark, a utility model, or a patent, in addition to experts and specialists in the technical solution itself, you will generally benefit from consulting with an attorney. This advice can be used not only for filing applications with the Industrial Property Office, but especially for the subsequent drafting or review of licensing and other agreements, as well as for representation in court.
Do you have a technical solution, a new design, or a brand, and aren’t sure which type of protection to choose? We’ll help you assess your industrial property protection options, prepare contracts, and address any infringement of your rights by competitors.
The two most significant subcategories of industrial property rights are:
- utility models, which protect various technical solutions,
- patents, which protect inventions.
Both types of protection can very often be applied to the same solution. They differ primarily in the complexity and duration of the proceedings.
Utility Models
You will find a utility model valuable if you need protection for one of your technical solutions—that is, if you want to prevent competitors from using a similar solution themselves or from having it patented.
The advantage of obtaining legal protection through utility models is the relative speed of the proceedings (typically within a few months). The maximum term of protection for a utility model in the Czech Republic is 10 years, provided it is renewed.
The basic rights granted to you under a utility model are the right to use the product and to grant licenses for its use. However, utility models are not recognized in some countries. These include, for example, the United States and the United Kingdom, as well as Sweden and Switzerland.
Patent-Protected Inventions
Although it may seem more advantageous to protect industrial property rights through utility models, there are certain types of inventions for which this is not possible. These include methods of manufacture, measurement, or use; software; and biological reproductive materials. In these cases, it is essential to apply for a patent.
A patent in the Czech Republic can remain in force for a longer period, but no longer than 20 years from the filing date, provided the owner duly pays the maintenance fees. However, it also brings greater prestige, so it is necessary to consider whether the higher initial costs and longer registration period (which can take up to several years) will be offset, for example, by the long-term granting of licenses. For certain pharmaceuticals and plant protection products, supplementary protection certificates may be obtained under specified conditions.
In the history of the Czech lands, we find many other notable inventors besides Jára Cimrman. Take, for example, Prokop Diviš and his so-called “weather machine”—a grounded lightning rod. Another well-known invention is the ship’s propeller, which Josef František Ressel patented in 1827. A turbulent fate awaited the inventors of the plow, Veverka’s cousins. Although their discovery was revolutionary for its time and made farmers’ work much easier in many ways, the cousins lacked business acumen; they were unable to further “market” and monetize their invention and ended their lives in utter poverty. Poor business tactics, combined with a lack of freedom in the business sphere, reportedly led to losses amounting to many billions in the sale of the license for another significant Czech invention: contact lenses, invented by Otto Wichterle. Another prominent Czech inventor, Antonín Holý, was at least granted, for part of his life, dignified and unrestricted conditions for his research into the development of new drugs, and as a result, the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry now earns nearly 2 billion crowns annually from licensing fees and patents for his drug discoveries alone.
Trademarks
We consider a trademark to be any designation, in particular words, including personal names, colors, drawings, letters, numerals, the shape of a product or its packaging, or sounds, provided that such designation is capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one person from those of another. In practice, a trademark can be not only a word mark (“Affordable Lawyer”), but also a design mark (a brand logo) or a three-dimensional mark (the packaging of Toblerone chocolate).
Tip for article
Tip: Have you created an interesting product, or is your company taking off and gaining recognition? You can register a trademark to prevent your competitors from offering a product on the market under the same brand or name. We’ve outlined the details in our article.
How do patent and trademark protections differ?
Patent and trademark protection serve different purposes.
- A patent protects a technical solution—such as a new product or a technological process—provided it meets the legal requirements for patentability.
- A trademark, on the other hand, protects a mark that allows customers to distinguish one business’s products or services from those of another.
- In the Czech Republic,a patent is valid for a maximum of 20 years from the date of filing the application.
- A trademark is valid for 10 years from the date of filing the application, but its registration can always be renewed for another ten years, so if renewed properly, its protection can last significantly longer.
Example: An entrepreneur develops a new device and, at the same time, comes up with a new name and original design for it. A single registration may not be sufficient. Depending on whether the conditions are met, the technical solution may be protected by a patent or a utility model, the product’s appearance by an industrial design, and the name by a trademark. Therefore, when protecting a new product, it is important to first determine exactly what is to be protected.
Industrial Property Office
The Industrial Property Office(ÚPV) in the Czech Republic is the central government agency responsible for the protection of industrial property. Its main task is to ensure the legal protection of industrial property, particularly industrial rights such as trademarks, patents, design rights, trademark certificates, and industrial designs.
Its primary activities include granting patents and maintaining trademark registries. You can also search for existing patents, trademarks, and other registered rights on its website. Conducting a search can be useful even before filing your own application—for example, to verify whether a similar designation or solution is already protected by someone else.
The Industrial Property Office’s database contains information on all granted patents, trademarks, utility models, and designs, as well as information on all applications for these rights. According to some experts, patent documents contain up to 90% of technical information that has not yet been published in any literature. They are therefore a very valuable source of up-to-date technical information, and many companies seeking rapid development and growth regularly search and monitor these databases.
The law governing the enforcement of rights in this area, known as the Industrial Property Rights Enforcement Act, provides the owners of these rights with tools to protect their intellectual property.
What laws govern industrial property rights?
Industrial property protection in the Czech Republic is not governed by a single piece of legislation. Depending on the type of right, the following laws apply in particular:
The last of these laws governs the legal remedies that may be used in the event of infringement or threat to industrial property rights.
The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property
An important international foundation for the protection of industrial property is the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property of 1883. It covers a wide range of rights, including, for example, patents, trademarks, industrial and utility designs, trade names, and geographical indications. The countries that have signed this treaty form the Union for the Protection of Industrial Property. The Convention ensures that industrial property is protected against misuse, unauthorized use, and trafficking. It also stipulates that states must respect the rights of industrial property owners and enforce those rights at the national level.
One of its key principles is the so-called right of priority. Thus, provided certain conditions are met, an applicant may, when filing an application in other contracting states, rely on an earlier application and retain its priority date.
Summary
Industrial property rights protect various results of business and creative activities—such as technical solutions, product designs, or trademarks. The main industrial property rights include patents, utility models, industrial designs, and trademarks. Their creation, duration, and territorial scope of protection vary, and for many of them, it is necessary to file an application with the Industrial Property Office or with the relevant foreign or European institution. A patent in the Czech Republic is valid for a maximum of 20 years, a design for up to 25 years, and a trademark can be repeatedly renewed in ten-year increments. If you are unsure which form of protection is most suitable for your solution, it is worth addressing this issue before its publication or launch on the market.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are industrial property rights?
The main types of industrial property rights include patents, utility models, industrial designs, trademarks, appellations of origin, and geographical indications, as well as topographies of semiconductor products.
What is the difference between copyright and industrial property rights?
Copyright protects, for example, literary, photographic, and other creative works, and generally arises automatically upon their creation. In contrast, many industrial property rights require an application, registration, or the granting of the right by the relevant authority.
How does the registration of an industrial design work?
In the Czech Republic, an application is filed with the Industrial Property Office. A design patent protects the appearance of a product and, upon registration, is initially valid for five years; protection may be renewed for up to a total of 25 years.
Is it possible to protect a single product in more than one way?
Yes. A technical solution can, for example, be protected by a patent or a utility model; a product’s appearance can be protected by a design patent; and its name or logo can be protected by a trademark.
What does the Industrial Property Office handle?
The Industrial Property Office, for example, makes decisions on patents and maintains registries of trademarks, utility models, and industrial designs. It also provides publicly accessible databases of industrial property rights.
