The Office for the Protection and Protection of Industrial Property Rights operates within the Economic Chamber of North-West Macedonia. It offers you cooperation in other representations such as marketing and promoting your business.
As a result of this cooperation, after the signing of the Contract for Cooperation between the two contracting parties, our Patent Office is obliged to inform you and consult about the protection of industrial property rights in Macedonia and to represent you in a professional way.
What is a patent?
A patent is an exclusive legal right that is given for an invention. The invention is a product or process that provides a new way to do something or provides a new technical solution to a problem.
What does the patent do?
The patent offers its holder legal protection for an invention. The protection is granted for a fixed term of 20 years if renewal fees for the retention of the applicable patent are paid annually.
What kind of protection does the patent offer?
Patent protection means that an invention cannot be marketed, used, distributed or sold without the consent of the patent owner. These patent rights are enforced by the court, which has the authority to prohibit patent infringement. On the other hand, the court may also impose the promulgation of a patent as unlawful, as a result of a successful claim by third parties.
What are the patent owner’s rights?
The patent owner has the right to decide who can use the patented invention for the period during which the invention is protected. The patent owner may grant authorization or license to other parties for the use of the invention on the basis of mutually agreed terms. Also, the owner may sell the invention to someone else, who then becomes the new owner of the patent. Upon expiration of the patent expiration, protection is terminated and the invention becomes valid for public use. This implies that the owner has no exclusive rights to the invention, which becomes valid for exploitation for commercial purposes by others. Lastly, its content should allow the designation as “patentable”. Scientific theories, mathematical methods, plant or animal varieties, natural substance discoveries, commercial methods or methods of medical treatment (other than medical products) are not patentable.
What role do patents play in everyday life?
It is a fact that patented inventions have entered into every aspect of human life, from electric lighting (patents kept by Edison and Senna) and plastics (patents held by Baekeland) to spherical pens (patents are held by Biro) and microprocessors (patents kept by Intel). All patent owners should make public the information on their invention in order to enrich the comprehensive body of technical knowledge in the world. This ever-growing public knowledge body promotes further creativity and innovativeness to others. In this way, patents provide valuable information and inspiration to future generations of scholars and inventors.
Which inventions can be protected?
The invention must meet the following criteria in order to protect it from the patent: • Be applicable to the industry; • It should be a novelty; ie a characteristic that is not part of earlier knowledge. Earlier knowledge includes everything that has been made known to the public. • The invention should include an inventive step that can not result from the impression of an individual with average knowledge in the relevant field. • Lastly, its content should allow the designation as “patentable”. Scientific theories, mathematical methods, plant or animal varieties, natural substance discoveries, commercial methods or methods of medical treatment (other than medical products) are not patentable.
How do I get a patent?
The following procedural steps should be taken:
1. Filing a patent application containing:
Application form for granting patents;
Description of the invention;
Patent applications defining the extent of protection;
Drawings, if any;
Abstract of the invention;
Evidence for payment of a fee;
Authorization (if the applicant has no headquarters in the country);
Priority certificate, if there is a previous foreign application.
2. Formal examination and payment of fees;
3. Publication after 18 months;
4. Patents;
5. Payment of annual fee;
6. Patentability test within 9 years.