Introduction of Patentni biro AF d.o.o.

Dear visitors and readers of our blog,

as we have noticed that a part of our readers does not come from Slovenia, but from different foreign countries, we have decided to write some of our posts in English. This one will serve as an introduction of our company, while the following posts will address various topics in industrial property protection in Slovenia as well as in the European Union.

Who we are and what we do

Patentni biro AF d.o.o. is a family-run intellectual property law firm established in 1993, making it one of the oldest IP law firms in Slovenia. The team deals with all services connected with intellectual property with a strong emphasis on industrial property protection and enforcement.

    1) Patents and Supplementary protection certificates

• Opinions on patentability
• Prior art searches
• Preparation of patent applications
• Filing of patent applications and patent prosecution in Slovenia
• Filing of PCT applications
• Filing and prosecution of European patent applications (EPO)
• Collaboration with our foreign partners for filing national patent applications and patent prosecution (i.e. USA, Canada, Russia, China, etc.)
• Preparation of responses to official actions issued by IP Offices
• Validation of European patents in Slovenia
• Obtaining supplementary protection certificate (SPC)

    2) Trademarks

• Searches in different databases for similar trademarks
• Opinions on trademark suitability
• Preparation and filing of trademark applications in Slovenia, European Union (OHIM) and abroad (international trademark applications at WIPO – Madrid system)
• Collaboration with foreign attorneys for preparation and filing of trademark applications in foreign countries, which are not included in international trademark applications under WIPO (i.e. Canada, UAE, etc.)
• Responding to office actions, provisional or partial refusals
• Responding to oppositions

    3) Designs

• Searches in different databases for same or similar designs
• Opinions on design suitability
• Preparation and filing of design applications in Slovenia, European Union (OHIM) and abroad (Hague system, WIPO)
• Preparation and filing of Declarations for design invalidity

    4) Maintaining intellectual property rights in force

• Keeping records for fee and annuity payments
• Conducting procedures for maintaining obtained IP rights

    5) (Possible) Infringements of intellectual property rights

• Regular scan of databases in order to prevent infringements (watching service)
• Counselling regarding appropriate actions when an infringement has been detected
• Preparation and sensing of a warning letter
• Preparation, filing and other procedural steps for patent oppositions
• Preparation, filing and other procedural steps for oppositions against registrations of trademarks or designs
• Comparisons of patents, trademarks or designs
• Opinions on whether a specific product infringes a patent, design or trademark
• Collaborations with law specialists in litigation procedures

    6) Help with marketing, licensing or transfers of intellectual property rights

• Preparation and/or review of licensing agreements
• Preparation and/or review of agreements regarding ownership transfers
• Searching and contacting potential buyers or licensing partners, including negotiations

    7) Translations of patent applications, patent documents, lists of goods and                    services and other texts in connection with intellectual property protection

    8) Counselling and preparation of intellectual property protection strategies 

Our services are used by numerous Slovenian and foreign companies, institutes and individuals, which are engaged in different fields, for example in electronics, mechanical engineering, pharmacy, medicine, biotechnology, chemistry, environmental sciences, sports, just to name a few.

Our team

Ms. Antonija Flak graduated from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Ljubljana. Prior to founding the company Patentni biro AF d.o.o. she has been working in the Department of Intellectual Property in Iskra, the largest Slovenian electronics company. She passed the patent attorney exam at then still common Institute for Intellectual Property in Belgrade. Later, she obtained the title European Patent Attorney, and when Slovenia joined the European Union, she also became an attorney for trademarks and designs before the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM), which primarily handles protection of trademarks and designs for the entire area of the European Union. She has more than 30 years of experience in all areas of intellectual property. Antonija Flak is a member of the Association of Slovenian Patent Attorneys, a member of the European Patent Institute and a member of the Professional Education Committee (PEC) at the European Patent Institute.

Mr. Matjaz Vezjak graduated from the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Maribor and immediately after graduation started working in Patentni biro AF d.o.o. He soon passed the trademark and design attorney exam at the Slovenian Intellectual Property Office, which allows him to act as a Slovenian and European trademark and design attorney. He is a member of the Association of Slovenian Patent Attorneys.

Dr. Maja Boric Vezjak has a graduate degree in microbiology as well as a PhD in microbiology, both obtained at Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana. Soon after finishing her PhD she has joined the Patentni biro AF d.o.o. team and passed the patent attorney exam at the Slovenian Intellectual Property Office, which allows her to act as a Slovenian patent attorney and as a Slovenian and European trademark and design attorney. She is a member of the Association of Slovenian Patent Attorneys.

Office location and working hours

Our working time is flexible, as we often adapt to needs of our clients. In general, the office is open from 8 A.M. to 4 P.M. on working days, except Fridays when we usually close at 3 P.M. The office is closed on national holidays.

The address of our office is:

Kotnikova 32, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

Our other contact details are:

T +386 1 43 00 335

F +386 1 43 00 336

M +386 41 722 566 (Antonija Flak)

    +386 40 462 729 (Matjaz Vezjak)

    +386 40 856 342 (Maja Boric Vezjak)

E antonija.flak@patentni-biro-af.si

   info@patentni-biro-af.si

   maja@patentni-biro-af.si

W www.patentni-biro-af.si

If you have any questions or concerns regarding protection of your intellectual property in Slovenia or in the European Union, we invite you to connect with us using any of above given contacts. We will be glad to help!

Kaj sploh je intelektualna lastnina?

Dobrodošli na našem blogu o intelektualni lastnini!

Ker se gradnja vsake hiše začne pri temeljih, bomo tudi mi začeli na začetku, torej pri osnovnih definicijah intelektualne lastnine in pravicah, ki jih z zaščito intelektualne lastnine pridobi njen lastnik.

Dejstvo je, da je intelektualna lastnina pomemben del človeškega obstoja, saj je poznana in priznana že več kot 500 let. Prvi patentni zakon tako sega v leto 1474, ko je Beneška republika zahtevala prijavo novih izumov Republiki, s čimer je le-ta izume ščitila pred morebitnim ponarejanjem. S časom se je intelektualna lastnina razvijala, in zdaj predstavlja enega od temeljev za uspešno poslovanje in napredek.

S pojmom intelektualna lastnina opredeljujemo izdelke, ki so nastali kot plod človeškega intelekta in razmišljanja. Ker je prisotna na vseh področjih, umetnost, znanost in gospodarstvo, je ni možno poenotiti, zato jo delimo na avtorske pravice in industrijsko lastnino, med katero spadajo patenti, modeli, znamke, geografske označbe in dodatni varstveni certifikati. Področje industrijske lastnine ureja Zakon o industrijski lastnini (ZIL), avtorsko pravo pa narekuje Zakon o avtorskih in sorodnih pravicah.

Avtorske pravice (angl. copyright) so posebne pravice avtorja svojega dela. So izključne (monopolne) narave in omejujejo uporabo avtorskega dela brez soglasja avtorja. Avtorske pravice varujejo avtorska dela iz katerega koli področja književnosti, znanosti ali umetnosti, in pripadajo avtorju na podlagi stvaritve dela. Nasprotno kot pri industrijski lastnini posebna registracija dela kot zaščitenega ni potrebna, je pa lahko koristna zaradi dokazovanja pravic v morebitnem sporu. Drugače je v ZDA, kjer je za avtorskopravno varstvo registracija dela potrebna. Iz ameriškega sistema izhaja simbol za avtorske pravice ©, včasih zapisan tudi kot (c), vendar njegova uporaba ni obvezna. Trajanje avtorskih pravic je časovno omejeno. V primeru fizičnih oseb trajajo še 70 let po smrti avtorja dela, oziroma 70 let od nastanka v primeru neznanega avtorja ali pravnih oseb.

Patent je izključna pravica fizične ali pravne osebe za izum, ki je nov, na inventivni ravni in je industrijsko uporabljiv. Z njim izumitelj dobi pravico do preprečevanja drugim izdelovanje, uporabo ali prodajo njihovih izumov brez dovoljenja. Trajanje veljavnosti patenta je odvisno od tipa patentne prijave. Za pridobitev patenta je potrebno, da je izum nov, na inovativni ravni in da je industrijsko uporabljiv. 

• Izum je nov, če ni obsežen s stanjem tehnike, torej ni bil pred datumom vložitve patentne prijave dostopen javnosti z ustnim ali pisnim opisom, z uporabo ali na katerikoli drug način. 
• Če za strokovnjaka predmet izuma očitno ne izhaja iz stanja tehnike, je izum inovativen. 
• Industrijsko uporabljiv izum se lahko proizvede ali uporabi v katerikoli gospodarski dejavnosti, vključno s kmetijstvom.

Blagovna oz. storitvena znamka je pravno zavarovan znak ali kakršna koli kombinacija znakov, ki omogoča razlikovanje enakega ali podobnega blaga ali storitev in ga je mogoče grafično prikazati. Znak lahko predstavljajo besede, vključno z osebnimi imeni, črke, številke, figurativni elementi, tridimenzionalne podobe in kombinacije barv ali njihove kombinacije.

Model je izključna pravica fizične ali pravne osebe, s katero se zavaruje videz industrijskega ali obrtnega izdelka. Videz izdelka je določen z značilnostmi linij, barv, oblike, teksture oziroma materialov izdelka samega ali ornamentov na njem.

Geografska označba je pravica industrijske lastnine, s katero se zavarujejo oznake, ki označujejo izvor blaga z nekega geografskega območja, če je kakšna značilnost tega blaga bistveno odvisna od njegovega geografskega porekla. Omogoča razlikovanje istovrstnega blaga na trgu glede na njegove določene posebne lastnosti, ki so odvisne od geografske lege. Naravne danosti, kot so klimatski pogoji, sestava tal ipd., in/ali ustaljeni postopki dajejo tem proizvodom lastnosti, zaradi katerih je po njih povečano povpraševanje.

Z zaščito intelektualne lastnine se pridobijo pravice intelektualne lastnine, ki so izključne, temeljijo pa na nekaterih osnovnih načelih. To so:

• imetnik pravice sme prepovedati komercialno izkoriščanje predmeta pravice, za katerega ni dal dovoljenja;
• varstvo teh pravic se nanaša izključno na gospodarsko dejavnost;
• pravice so teritorialne;
• pravice so časovno omejene, razen blagovnih znamk, trgovskih imen in geografskih označb, katerih varstvo lahko traja neomejeno dolgo. Po izteku zakonsko predpisane dobe postane predmet takšnega varstva javna dobrina in ga lahko vsak svobodno komercialno izkorišča.

V našem naslednjem prispevku bomo pisali o pomenu intelektualne lastnine, predvsem pa o koristih, ki jih prinaša ustrezna zaščita le-te. Do takrat pa vas lepo pozdravljamo!