PART 1 PATENTS
§1.01 SUMMARY
[A] Kinds of Patents
- National patent
- European patent
[B] Duration of Patents
- 20 years from the date of filing
[C] Patentable / Not Patentable
- To be patentable, an invention must be new, involve an inventive step and be applicable in industry.
- The exceptions of rule 39 PCT apply.
- Also not patentable are computer programs; processes for cloning human beings; processes for modifying the germ line genetic identity of human beings; uses of human embryos for industrial or commercial purposes.
- Processes for modifying the genetic identity of animals, which are likely to cause them suffering without any substantial medical benefit to man or animal, and also animals resulting from such processes.
[D] Novelty
- Absolute novelty is required.
[E] Filing Requirements and Application Procedure
- Filing language: Any
- Language of translation: Greek
- Time limit for filing translation: 4 months from filing
- Patent applications are examined as to form only but not as to substance.
[F] Specific Aspects of Regional Patents
- – Validation of European Patents in Cyprus is possible.
[G] Specific Aspects of International Patent Applications (PCT)
- The only way to extend a PCT international application to Cyprus is by way of a European Patent validated in Cyprus.
[H] Governmental Websites
§1.02 DETAILED INFORMATION
[A] Conventions and Legislation
[1] Conventions
- Paris Convention (International Union), 1883–1967 (Cyprus is bound by the Stockholm text of 1967 since 3 April 1984);
- Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents, 1961, since 30 April 1973;
- Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization (hereinafter 'WIPO Convention'), 1967, since 26 October 1984;
- Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), 1970, since 1 April 1998;
- European Patent Convention, 1973, since 1 April 1998;
- WTO TRIPS Agreement, since 30 July 1985;
- Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure;
- EU Regulation No. 1768/92 EC of 18 June 1992 concerning the creation of a supplementary protection certificate for medicinal products;
- EU Regulation No. 2100/94 EC of 27 July 1994 on Community plant variety rights;
- EU Regulation (EC) 1610/96 of 23 July 1996 concerning the creation of a supplementary protection certificate for plant protection products;
- EU Directive 98/44/EC of 6 July 1998 on the legal protection of biotechnological inventions;
- EU Directive 2004/27/EC of 31 March 2004 amending Directive 2001/83/EC on the Community code relating to medicinal products for human use;
- EU Directive 2004/48/EC of 29 April 2004 on the enforcement of intellectual property rights; – EU Regulation (EC) No. 1901/2006 of 12 December 2006 on medicinal products for paediatric use;
- EU Regulation (EU) No. 1257/2012 of 17 December 2012 implementing enhanced cooperation in the area of the creation of unitary patent protection (not yet in force);
- EU Regulation (EU) No. 1260/2012 of 17 December 2012 implementing enhanced cooperation in the area of the creation of unitary patent protection with regard to the applicable translation arrangements (not yet in force); and
- Agreement of 19 February 2013 on a Unified Patent Court (not yet in force).
[2] Laws
- Patents Law of 1998 (as amended);
- Patents Rules 1999 (as amended);
- Protection of New Plant Varieties Law No. 21(I)/2004, which took effect in Cyprus on 1 May 2004;
- The Legal Protection of Topographies of Semiconductor Products Law No. 5(I)/ 2002, as amended by The Legal Protection of Topographies of Semiconductor Products (Amendment) Law of 2006, 120(I)/2006; and
- Law No. 163(I)/2002, The Patents (Amendment) Law of 2002.
[B] Kinds of Patents
- – National patents
- – European patents.
Depending on ratification of the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court, a European patent granted after the entry into force may, at the applicant's choice, alternatively be registered as a European patent with unitary effect for a large number of EU member states ('EU patent'). See for more details the chapters 'European Union' and 'European Patent System' in the section 'Patents' under 'Conventions and Legislation'.
[C] Duration of Patents
The duration of national patents is twenty years from the filing date of the patent, subject to the payment of annual fees.
[1] Patent term extension / Supplementary protection certificate
The term of protection of an invention relating to a pharmaceutical covered by a patent may be extended in Cyprus (by the grant of a supplementary protection certificate) with a period equal to that lapsed between the date of filing the patent application and the date of grant of the first marketing authorization in Cyprus, less five years. The maximum duration of the supplementary protection certificate is five years.
If the first marketing authorization in Cyprus was granted within five years from the date of filing the patent application, no supplementary protection certificate can be obtained. If the first such authorization in Cyprus was granted between five and ten years from the date of filing the patent application, the duration of the certificate may be up to five years, depending on when that authorization was granted. If the first such authorization in Cyprus was granted between ten and twenty years from the date of filing the patent application, a certificate with a duration of five years may be obtained. The period of validity of the certificate runs from the expiration of the basic patent.
The possibility of extension applies both to national Cyprus patents and to European patents valid in Cyprus. Products protected by a patent in Cyprus which, before they may be brought on the market as a medicinal product, are subjected to an administrative authorization procedure in Cyprus, may be the subject of a supplementary protection certificate. Medicinal product in this context means any substance or combination of substances, presented for treating or preventing disease in human beings or animals, and any substance or combination of substances which may be administered to human beings or animals with a view to making a medical diagnosis or to restoring, correcting or modifying physiological functions in human beings or animals. Product in this context means the active ingredient or combination of active ingredients of a medicinal product. For obtaining a supplementary protection certificate, an application must be filed with the Registrar in Cyprus.
Such certificate may be obtained only provided that:
- at the date the certificate is applied for the product concerned is protected by a basic patent still in force in Cyprus, which patent protects the product, a process to obtain the product, or an application of the product;
- for bringing into the trade of the product concerned as a medicine a valid authorization has been granted in Cyprus;
- no previous supplementary protection certificate has been obtained for the product; And
- the authorization meant under (2) is the first authorization to put the product on the market in Cyprus as a medicinal product.
A supplementary protection certificate may be applied for by the owner of the basic patent or his or her legal successor or assignee. The certificate must be applied for within six months from the date on which the first marketing authorization for bringing the product concerned on the market as a medicinal product in Cyprus was granted. However, if that authorization was granted before grant of the basic patent, the certificate must be applied for within six months from the date on which the patent is granted.
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