Parliament passes patent law changes - International Law Office

Validation of European patents
Nullity proceedings
Changing names or extent of contribution of inventors of patents and utility models

On December 5 2011 Parliament passed a package of proposed amendments to various IP laws.

Validation of European patents

Hungary's accession to the London Agreement was a significant step for the validation process of European patents in Hungary (for further details please see "Validation of European patents under London Agreement").

The recently approved amendments package accepted the changes that were introduced, and the newly amended law will come into effect on January 1 2012. The main changes will make it possible to:

• validate a European patent for which the prosecution language is English upon submission of a full Hungarian translation of the specification and claims - no additional printing fee will apply in such cases; and
• file a Hungarian translation of the description of the validated patent at any time after the initial filing of the claims in Hungarian - in such cases, a printing fee will apply for the specification.

In patent infringement suits the plaintiff can claim damages back to the date on which the Hungarian Intellectual Property Office made the full Hungarian translation publicly available.

Nullity proceedings

Previously, where the validity of an IP right was disputed while an infringement proceeding relating to the same right was ongoing, the Hungarian Intellectual Property Office allowed the parties to request an accelerated nullity or cancellation proceeding. The new amendment makes this form of accelerated nullity or cancellation proceeding available where the plaintiff has sought a preliminary injunction on the basis of the challenged IP right, but infringement proceedings have not yet commenced.

Changing names or extent of contribution of inventors of patents and utility models

Previously, if a dispute arose between interested parties (ie, inventors and applicants) as to the identity of the inventor or inventors of a patent or utility model, or the percentage contribution of a particular party, the parties were required to initiate proceedings before the Metropolitan Court. The originally recorded status data in the Patent Register could be amended on the basis of the court's decision.

The amendment provides that if all parties agree to a change, the court proceedings can be bypassed and the Hungarian Intellectual Property Office can amend the recorded status data without the court's intervention.

For further information on this topic please contact Michael Lantos at DANUBIA Patent & Law Office LLC by telephone (+36 1 411 8800), fax (+36 1 266 5770) or email (lantos@danubia.hu).