SLOVENIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Nataša Pipan Nahtigal, Veronika Novak and Katarina Čepon, Šelih & partnerji
Šelih & partnerji, o.p., d.o.o. Komenskega ulica 36 1000 Ljubljana Slovenia
Tel: +00 386 1300 7650 Fax: +00 386 1433 7098 Email: info@selih.si Web: selih.si
1. Patents 1.1 Legal Framework and Patentable Subject Matter Patent protection in the Republic of Slovenia is gov- erned by the following sources of law: 1. Statutory law: • Industrial Property Act; • Employee Inventions Act; • Act on the Ratification of Amendments to the Pat- ent Cooperation Treaty; • Act on the Ratification of Amendments to the Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure; • Act on the Ratification of the Strasbourg Agree- ment on the International Classification of Patents; • Act on the Ratification of the Patent Law Treaty; • Act Ratifying the Convention on the Grant of Euro- pean Patents; and • Act on the Ratification of the Amendments to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property. 2. Regulations: • Regulation on Fees Charged by the Intellectual Property Office of the Republic of Slovenia; • Regulation on the implementation of Council Regulations (EC) concerning the introduction of supplementary protection certificates for medicinal products and plant protection products;
• Regulation on Registers of Industrial Property Applications and Rights and Certificates of Priority; • Regulation on the Legal Protection of Biotechno- logical Inventions; • Regulation on the Extension of European Patents to the Republic of Slovenia; • Rules on the Content of a Patent Application and the Procedure for Divisional Patents; and • Rules on Rewards for Inventions Arising from Employment. Patentable Types of Inventions Generally, any invention in any field of technology can be patented as long as it meets the requirements of novelty, inventive step and industrial applicability. Exclusions : Discoveries, scientific theories, math- ematical methods, aesthetic creations, schemes, rules and methods for performing mental acts, play- ing games or doing business, computer programs, presentations of information, an invention of which the commercial exploitation would be contrary to public order or morality (exploitation shall not be deemed to be contrary merely because it is prohibited by law or other regulation), an invention relating to a method for treatment of the human or animal body by surgery or therapy, or to a diagnostic method practised on the human or animal body (this shall not apply to inven- tions relating to products, in particular substances or compounds, for use in any of these methods). Utility Models or Similar Rights Under Slovenian industrial property law, utility models are not recognised as a form of protection. The clos- est equivalent is a short-term patent with a maximum
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