Kosovo Patent Granting Procedure Update

Following the entry into force of the new patent law in Kosovo in September, there have been changes regarding the patent granting procedure affecting the holders of all new patent applications filed in Kosovo as well as all Serbian re-filings, which are considered to be new applications with a priority date of the Serbian filing date.

In accordance with Article 78 of the new patent law, the holder of a new patent application or one that is being re-filed has to submit written evidence on patentability of the invention before the end of the ninth year of the patent term.

Since the patent term is calculated from the filing date or the priority date, if claimed, in some cases the ninth year of the patent term might have already expired. If this is the case, the applicant must submit written evidence on patentability as soon as possible. If the decision to grant the patent has been issued, the applicant must submit the evidence immediately upon expiration of the 15-day appeal period.

The written evidence on patentability must be translated into Albanian and an official fee of EUR 40 (USD 54) must be paid. When the evidence on patentability is filed, the holder is obliged to inform the IPO in case the patent claims have not been granted as initially filed.

Any patent for the same invention granted by the European Patent Office, or any other patent office which is acting as an International Preliminary Examining Authority under the Patent Cooperation Treaty, will be accepted as evidence of the granted patent.

If the patent has not been granted by the relevant Patent Office (i.e. EPO) before the end of the ninth year of the patent term, the applicant must, before the end of the same term, inform the IPO about this fact. The IPO may extend the deadline for another 90 days counting from the day the relevant office issues the grant decision.

For more information, please contact Jelena Jankovic at our Balkan Regional Office.

Source: The local text of the law