IRELAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Philip Tully, Emma Doherty, Alice Duffy, Simon Shinkwin and Marie McGinley, Matheson LLP
Irish law also provides for short-term patents, which have a ten-year duration. The test of inventiveness for a short-term patent is lower than for a full-term patent. Short-term patents may be converted to full- term patents where they meet the requirements for a full-term patent. Registration Applications for Irish patents are filed at the Intellec - tual Property Office of Ireland (IPOI). The specifica - tion forming part of the application must include the title of the invention, description of the invention and claim or claims and drawings, if any, referred to in the description. It is also possible to file a patent application at the European Patent Office (EPO) under the European Patent Convention (EPC) or at the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) under the Patent Coop - eration Treaty (PCT) and to designate Ireland for pat - ent protection. The EPC and the PCT both facilitate the application for patents in a number of jurisdictions, but these are effectively a bundle of applications to a number of states. There are plans to reform both registration and enforcement under the Unified Patent Court Agree - ment. This reform consists of two pillars: (i) the crea - tion of a new European patent with unitary effect; and (ii) the establishment of the Unified Patent Court. The Agreement on a Unified Patent Court was signed in February 2013 by 25 EU member states, includ - ing Ireland. However, as at the time of writing, Ireland has not ratified the Agreement and the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment omitted any reference to the ratification of the Unified Patent Court in its September 2025 “Action Plan on Competitive - ness and Productivity”. Enforcement and Remedies Patents in Ireland are enforced through civil claims against infringing parties. A patent owner can prevent direct or indirect use of their invention by third parties in Ireland without consent. The courts have a wide range of civil remedies avail - able to them to compensate aggrieved owners. These
include a declaration of the validity of a patent and that it has been infringed, damages for infringement, injunctive relief and orders to account for profits, and to seize, destroy and/or hand over infringing goods to the patent holder. This will be subject to change upon ratification of the Unified Patent Court Agreement. 7.2 Trade Marks Definition A trade mark under Irish law is any sign capable of both: • distinguishing the goods or services of one under - taking from those of other undertakings; and • being represented on the register in a manner which enables the competent authorities and the public to determine the clear and precise subject matter of the protection afforded. A trade mark may consist of words (including per - sonal names), designs, letters, numerals or the shape of goods or their packaging. Unregistered trade marks have a limited protection in Ireland through the law of passing off, in a manner similar to that applying in other common law jurisdic - tions. Length of Protection All registered trade marks are registered initially for ten years but, uniquely among intellectual property rights, this term can be renewed indefinitely for successive ten-year terms on payment of a renewal fee. A trade mark registration is liable to revocation if, with - in a continuous period of five years, the trade mark has not been put to genuine use in Ireland (or EU, for EU trade marks) in connection with the goods or ser - vices for which it is registered and there are no proper reasons for non-use. Registration There are three options open to trade mark proprietors carrying on business in Ireland. An application for an Irish trade mark at the IPOI An IPOI examiner scrutinises the application to ensure that it can be considered a trade mark under Irish law
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