Albania Amends Patent Regulation

The amendments to the Albanian Patent and Trademark Office’s (ALPTO) Patent Regulation entered into force on October 12, 2011.

The most important changes are explained below:

Power of Attorney

The patent agent or representative will be entered into the ALPTO’s patent register as the agent or the representative on record as soon as the Power of Attorney for client’s matter is filed. The agent or representative can take all necessary actions concerning the patent for which the PoA was filed, and is not required to file a new PoA for each separate action concerning the same patent. The registered PoA will be effective until its revocation by the owner or applicant.

Priority Right

The priority is declared at the moment the application is filed, and the following details should be included: the priority date, the priority number and the country where the application was filed. If priority is claimed based on an exhibition, the priority declaration should contain the date and the name of the exhibition.

The applicant has 12 months to claim a priority date. Any corrections to the application must be made within four months of filing the application. If there is a mistake in the priority date that was entered on the application, the timeframe for filing the correction will now be counted from the date on which the correction of the priority date on the application form was filed.

Restoration of Patents

The applicant or owner can request restoration of a patent that became invalid because of the failure to pay annuities in two situations:

• Within two months from the date the ALPTO accepts the applicant’s reason for missing the deadline but no later than one year from the first missed deadline, or

• Six months after the grace period for the annuity payment expires.

The time frame applicable is the one that expires first.

For more information, please contact Melina Nika at our Albania office.

Source: ALPTO; the local text of the regulation