SWEDEN Law and Practice Contributed by: Helena Rönqvist, Magnus Jonson, Vilma Slättegård and Anna Karlsson, Magnusson Law
Magnusson Law Strandvägen 1 P.O. Box 7413 SE-103 91 Stockholm Sweden Tel: +46 8463 7500
Email: info@magnussonlaw.com Web: www.magnussonlaw.com
1. Patents 1.1 Legal Framework and Patentable Subject Matter For an invention to be eligible for patent protection, it must satisfy the requirements of novelty, inventive step and industrial applicability. A new Swedish Pat- ent Act (2024:945) entered into force on 1 January 2025, aligned with the European Patent Convention (EPC) and the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (the UPC Agreement). Patent protection in Sweden may be obtained through the Swedish national system or the EPC system. Irre- spective of the route chosen, the resulting patent is national in scope. Since 1 June 2023, the Unitary Pat- ent system has also been available in Sweden, com- plementing the existing national and EPC systems. Under this system, a European patent application filed with and granted by the European Patent Office (EPO) may, at the applicant’s election, result either in a traditional European patent or in a patent with uni- tary effect. A unitary patent confers uniform protection and has the same legal effect across all participating member states. 1.2 Patent Granting Procedure An application for a Swedish patent may be filed by the inventor or by any other person or entity entitled to the invention. The application is submitted to the Swedish Intellectual Property Office together with a description of the invention, patent claims, an abstract and, where applicable, drawings.
The grant procedure for a Swedish patent typically takes approximately two to three years. As a general rule, the Swedish Intellectual Property Office issues its initial assessment of the patentability of the invention within six to eight months of filing. The overall dura- tion of the procedure will depend on whether, and to what extent, the applicant is required to address any deficiencies identified in the application. During the examination process, third parties may submit observations, which may be taken into account in the assessment. Once the patent has been grant- ed, third parties may file an opposition within nine months from the date of grant. Where an application is refused, the applicant may appeal the decision to the Patent and Market Court. 1.3 Scope, Term and Maintenance of Patent Rights The maximum term of a Swedish patent is 20 years. In order to keep the patent in force, annual fees are required. The first annual fee falls due at the beginning of the patent’s third year, and the fees for the first two years are payable at the same time as the third-year fee. At present, however, no fee is charged for the first two years. The same applies where a patent applica- tion remains pending. From the third year onwards, the fee is payable annually. Where a patent covers a pharmaceutical or plant protection product, the patent holder may apply for a supplementary protection certificate (SPC), which may extend the period of patent protection by up to five years, provided that the applicable conditions are met.
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