Patent Law No. I-372 of January 18, 1994 Vilnius
(as amended up to Law No. IX-118 of December 21, 2000)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Article
Chapter 1: Protection of Inventions Form of Protection of Inventions .................................. 1 Patentable Inventions .................................................... 2 Novelty of an Invention ................................................ 3 Inventive Step ............................................................... 4 Industrial Applicability ................................................. 5 Grace Period.................................................................. 6 Right to a Patent............................................................ 7 Service Inventions......................................................... 8 Mention of the Inventor ................................................ 9
Chapter 2: Patent Grant Filing a Patent Application............................................ 10 A Patent Application..................................................... 11 Date of Filing a Patent Application............................... 12 Disclosure ..................................................................... 13 The Claims.................................................................... 14 Abstract......................................................................... 15 Unity of Invention......................................................... 16 Division of Application................................................. 17 Right of Priority ........................................................... 18 Examination .................................................................. 19 Amendment or Correction of Application. Withdrawal of Application............................................ 20 Publication of Patent Application ................................. 21 Patent Grant .................................................................. 22 Register of Patents ........................................................ 23 Inspection of Patent Applications Files......................... 24 Settlement of Disputes .................................................. 25
Chapter 3: Effects of a Patent Rights of the Owner of a Patent .................................... 26 Term of Patents and Maintenance Fees......................... 27 Scope of Legal Protection and Interpretation of Claims 28 Right of Prior Use ......................................................... 29 Rights of the Owner of the Patent with Respect to Foreign Means of Transport.......................................... 30
Chapter 4: Change in Ownership Change in Ownership of Patent Application or Patent .. 31 Judicial Assignment of a Patent Application or a Patent ............................................................................ 32 Change of Joint Ownership of a Patent Application or a Patent.......................................................................... 33
Chapter 5: Licence Agreement. Licence of Right Licence Agreement ....................................................... 34 Rights of Licensee......................................................... 35 Rights of Licenser ......................................................... 36 Licence of Right............................................................ 37
Chapter 6: Compulsory Licence Compulsory Licence ..................................................... 38 Exploitation of an Invention with the Authorisation of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania ............... 39
Chapter 7: Consideration of Disputes. Enforcement of Rights Institutions for Consideration of Disputes Concerning the Legal Protection of Inventions ................................ 40 Protection of Rights ...................................................... 41 Application of Customs Control Measures ................... 411 Declaration of Non-Infringement.................................. 42
Chapter 8: Changes in Patents. Surrender. Invalidation Changes in Patents ........................................................ 43 Surrender....................................................................... 44 Invalidation ................................................................... 45 Effects of Invalidation................................................... 46
Chapter 9: International Patent Application General Provisions ........................................................ 47 International Patent Application for which the State Patent Bureau Acts as a Designated or Elected Patent Office ............................................................................ 48 International Patent Application Filed with the State Patent Bureau as a Receiving Patent Office .................. 49
Chapter 10: Extension of European Patents General Provisions ........................................................ 50 Request for Extension ................................................... 51 Extension Fee................................................................ 52 Effects of European Patent Applications....................... 53 Effects of European Patents .......................................... 54 Authenticity of Texts of European Patent Applications or European Patents ...................................................... 55 Right of Earlier Date ..................................................... 56 Simultaneous Protection................................................ 57 Renewal Fees for Extended European Patents .............. 58 Applicability of the European Patent Convention ......... 59
Chapter 11: International Agreements International Agreements; Rights of Foreign Legal and Natural Persons ...................................................... 60
Chapter 12: Final Provisions Amendments of the Civil Code of the Republic of Lithuania ....................................................................... 61 Entry into Force of this Law ......................................... 62
This Law shall legitimise inventions as objects of industrial property, regulate the rights and duties of legal and natural persons with respect to inventions, provide legal protection thereof.
Chapter 1 Protection of Inventions
Form of Protection of Inventions
1. The form of protection of inventions shall be a patent granted by the State Patent Bureau in the procedure established by this Law.
Patentable Inventions
2. Inventions shall be patentable if they are new, involve an inventive step and are industrially applicable.
The following shall not be regarded as inventions:
1. discoveries, scientific theories and mathematical methods;
2. design of products;
3. schemes, rules and methods of games, intellectual and economic activities, as well as programmes for computers; and
4. presentations of information.
Patents shall not be granted for the methods of treatment of people and animals, diagnostics and prevention of diseases (with the exception of equipment and materials utilised for such methods), varieties of plants and animals as well as biological (except microbiological) methods of their production and also for the inventions which are deemed to be contrary to public interest, principles of humanity and morality.
Where the object of invention is a method, patent protection shall also be granted with respect to a product made by such method.
Novelty of an Invention
3. An invention shall be considered new if it does not form part of the state of the art.
The state of the art shall consist of everything which, before the filing date of patent application or where priority is claimed, before the priority date, has been published or was in public use in the Republic of Lithuania or abroad.
An invention shall not be considered new if although unknown from the state of the art it had been described in an application for patent of a different applicant having an earlier filing date and published in the Official Bulletin of the State Patent Bureau later or on the same date, that the state of the art had been established.
Inventive Step
4. An invention shall be considered to involve an inventive step, if it is not obvious to a person skilled in the art to which it pertains.
Industrial Applicability
5. An invention shall be considered industrially applicable if it can be made or used in industry, agriculture, health protection and other spheres.
Grace Period
6. Disclosure of information shall not effect the patentability of an invention if the information was disclosed within 6 months preceding the filing date of a patent application and where the disclosure of information has been made:
1. by the inventor himself or by his successor in title who before the filing date of the patent application had the right to the patent;
2. by a person having an interest in making an abuse with respect to inventor or his successor in title to their disadvantage; and
3. where an inventor or his successor in title displayed his invention at an official or officially recognised exhibition in accordance with the Convention on International Exhibitions signed at Paris on 22 November 1928.
An inventor or his successor in title willing to benefit from the grace period provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article, shall have the burden of proving that he has the right to the grace period.
Right to a Patent
7. The right to a patent shall belong to the inventor or his successor in title, or the employer, in the case of a service invention. If an invention is made at an enterprise, institution or organisation which carries out scientific research, designing, construction works and other works of creative character under contract with a client who finances an appropriate work, the right to a patent for the invention shall be established by such contract. If the employer renounces the right to a patent or, within four months, does not inform the inventor about the intention to make use of this right, the right to a patent shall be passed over to the inventor. Joint inventors shall, unless they agree otherwise, have equal rights to the patent.
Where several inventors have made the same invention independently of each other, the right to a patent shall belong to the inventor whose application has the earliest filing date with the State Patent Bureau or who has the earliest priority right to this invention as long as his application is not withdrawn or deemed withdrawn.
Service Inventions
8. A service invention shall be an invention made:
1. during the execution of an employment contract which provides for inventing activities;
2. on a concrete assignment, in the course of designing, constructing, scientific research or creation of technologies;
3. when using the experience accumulated by an enterprise, institution or organisation, or its technologies and equipment.
The worker who made a service invention, must immediately inform the employer in writing. Until the filing of a patent application, the employer and worker may not disclose the essence of an invention.
A patent application regarding a service invention shall be filed with the State Patent Bureau, on behalf of an enterprise, institution or organisation.
Upon the receipt of a patent on a service invention, the employer must pay remuneration to the inventor. The amount of remuneration shall depend on the economic value of the invention and any benefit derived by the employer from the utilisation of the invention. The conditions of remuneration and the payment thereof shall be established in a remuneration agreement which is signed by the employer and inventor, and which is concluded within six months following the granting of a patent or within one year of the beginning of the use of an invention, if the beginning of the use of the invention is prior to the granting of a patent.
Remuneration shall not be paid if the employment contract of a worker provides for making inventions and he has been or is paid an agreed increased salary.
If no agreement exists between the parties, the amount of remuneration shall be established by the court.
The rights and duties of the employer and worker, related to service inventions, with the exception of the payment of remuneration, shall expire when the patent becomes null and void or after one year of the termination of labour relations.
Mention of the Inventor
9. A patent application and patent must contain mention of the name of the inventor or inventors.
Any publication of the State Patent Bureau of a patent application or patent, must mention the name of the inventor or inventors.
An inventor shall have the right to request that his or her name should not be mentioned. Therefore, he shall have to file a declaration with the State Patent Bureau. The State Patent Bureau shall have to proceed accordingly.
Chapter 2 Patent Grant
Filing a Patent Application
10. A person wishing to obtain a patent for an invention shall file a patent application with the State Patent Bureau. An application may be filed by several legal or natural persons or by both natural and legal persons.
An application may be filed on behalf of an inventor by his representative. Foreign legal and natural persons shall file applications with the State Patent Bureau through a patent attorney of the Republic of Lithuania.
A Patent Application
11. A patent application shall contain:
1. a request for the grant of a patent;
2. a description of the invention;
3. one or more claims;
4. drawings if necessary for the understanding of the essence of the invention;
5. an abstract;
6. a document confirming payment of the fee;
7. a document confirming the right to file a patent application (provided it is filed not by inventor himself) and the declaration regarding inventorship of the invention.
A request to grant a patent shall be filed in the Lithuanian language. Other documents shall be filed in Lithuanian or any other language designated by the State Patent Bureau. In the event that the documents comprising a patent application are filed in another language, translation thereof into Lithuanian must be supplied. Translation of documents comprising a patent application must be furnished by an applicant to the State Patent Bureau within 3 months from the date of filing a patent application.
Date of Filing a Patent Application
12. The filing date of a patent application shall be the date of receipt by the State Patent Bureau of the following documents:
a request to grant a patent;
a description of the invention together with claims;
any drawings if necessary for the understanding of the essence of the invention;
a document confirming payment of the fee.
Where an applicant fails to supply all the documents as stated in paragraph 1 of this Article, the patent application shall be treated as if not have been filed.
Disclosure
13. A specification must disclose the invention in such full and clear terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains to use the invention.
Where a patent application refers to a biologically reproducible material which cannot be disclosed in the application in such a way as to enable any person skilled in the art to use it, and such material is not available to the public, it shall be deposited for safe-keeping with a depository institution. The patent application filed with the State Patent Bureau shall be accompanied by a document about the deposition of such biological material.
A specification contained in the patent application shall be presented as prescribed by the State Patent Bureau.
The Claims
14. The patent application shall contain one or more claims. All claims above 10 shall be subject to payment of an additional fee.
The claims shall define the scope of legal protection.
All claims shall be clear and concise.
The claims shall be presented as prescribed by the State Patent Bureau.
Abstract
15. The abstract shall merely serve for the purpose of technical information on the invention and shall be presented as prescribed by the State Patent Bureau. The abstract shall not be taken into account when establishing the scope of patent protection.
Unity of Invention
16. A patent application shall be filed so as to relate to one invention only or to a group of inventions so linked as to form a single general inventive concept.
Failure to comply with the requirements of unity of invention shall not be a ground for invalidation of a patent.
Division of Application
17. An applicant who does not observe the requirements of the unity of invention shall be obligated to divide his patent application into two or more applications (divisional applications). An applicant may divide his patent application into two or more applications on his own initiative.
In each separate patent application the essence of the invention must not be disclosed wider than it was disclosed in the initial patent application.
The filing date of the initial application shall be established for each separate patent application or, if priority is claimed, the priority date of the initial application.
Priority documents and any required translations thereof that are submitted to the State Patent Bureau in respect of the initial patent application shall be considered as having been submitted in respect of all divisional applications.
Right of Priority
18. When filing a patent application the applicant may submit a declaration claiming the priority, pursuant the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, on the basis of one or several national or international applications earlier filed in foreign countries, specifying the filing date and the country of the said application or applications.
The State Patent Bureau may request from the applicant claiming priority within 3 months from the filing date of the application to furnish a copy or copies of previously filed applications and a translation thereof into the Lithuanian language.
Upon establishing that the requirements of paragraph 2 of this Article are not observed, the State Patent Bureau may request the applicant to fulfil the requirements. Upon failure to fulfil the requirements, the declaration claiming the priority shall be regarded as not have been filed.
Examination
19. The State Patent Bureau shall make an examination of a patent application and establish whether the application complies with the requirements provided for in paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 2, in Article 11, paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 13, as well as in Articles 14 and 18.
After the State Patent Bureau finds that the application does not meet the requirements as provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article, it shall invite the applicant to meet such requirements. If the applicant fails to do so, the State Patent Bureau shall adopt a resolution to refuse the grant of a patent.
Amendment or Correction of Application. Withdrawal of Application
20. The applicant shall have the right to correct or amend the patent application during its pendency in the State Patent Bureau.
No amendment or correction of the patent application may go beyond what has been disclosed in the application as filed.
The applicant shall have the right to withdraw a patent application at any time during its pendency in the State Patent Bureau.
Publication of Patent Application
21. The State Patent Bureau shall publish the patent application as filed by the applicant within 18 months from its filing date, or if priority is claimed, from its priority date. In the event that the applicant files a written request with the State Patent Bureau to have his
patent application published earlier, the State Patent Bureau proceeds accordingly, but no earlier than six months after the filing date of the application.
A patent application shall not be published if it is withdrawn within 17 months from its filing or priority date.
Provisional legal protection shall be provided to a published patent application from the date of its publication until the date of patent grant.
If the published patent application is later withdrawn or disputed by another person, it shall be considered that the application has not been provided with the provisional legal protection provided for in paragraph 3 of this Article.
If an invention is kept secret, the inventor shall be paid compensation according to the agreement made between the state secret protection institution and the inventor of the invention.
Patent Grant
22. If the patent application complies with all requirements of the examination, the State patent Bureau, on payment of the prescribed fee by the applicant, shall within six months grant a patent.
Upon the decision to grant a patent, the State Patent Bureau shall publish notification of the patent grant in its Official Bulletin.
The form of a patent document and the number of data entered shall be established by the State Patent Bureau.
A patent shall be granted in one copy only. In the event that there are several applicants, unless otherwise agreed, the patent shall be granted in the name of the applicant who is stated first in the request.
Register of Patents
23. The State Patent Bureau shall keep the Register of Patents of the Republic of Lithuania. On the register patents shall be assigned a serial number in the order of their grant.
The data of the patent, as well as the data relating to its corrections and other data pertaining to the patent grant, use and protection shall be entered in the Register of Patents of the Republic of Lithuania.
An extract of any entry in the Register of Patents of the Republic of Lithuania shall be furnished by the State Patent Bureau to any person upon his request and payment of the prescribed fee. The extract from the Register shall be regarded as an official document.
Inspection of Patent Applications Files
24. After a patent application is published, any person interested may inspect it. To inspect a patent application before it is published shall be possible only upon written consent of the applicant.
Where a patent application has been withdrawn in accordance with paragraph 3 of Article 20 before it is published, inspection of the application shall be possible only upon written consent of the person who has withdrawn the application.
Settlement of Disputes
25. Disputes arising before the patent grant between the applicant and the examiner of the State Patent Bureau with respect to the filing or priority date of a patent application, conclusions of examination and refusal to grant a patent shall be settled by the Board of Appeals of the State Patent Bureau. The applicant or his representative shall have the right to participate in the hearings of the Board of Appeals.
Chapter 3 Effects of a Patent
Rights of the Owner of a Patent
26. Where the subject matter of a patent is a product, the owner of the patent shall have the exclusive right to prevent third parties not having the owner’s consent from the acts of making, using, offering for sale, selling, importing or exporting that product.
Where the subject matter of a patent is a process, the owner of the patent shall have the exclusive right to prevent third parties not having the owner’s consent from the act of using the process, and from the acts of using, offering for sale, selling, importing or exporting a product obtained directly by that process.
The owner of the patent shall have no right to prevent third parties from performing acts referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2, provided that:
1. the act is done privately and for non-commercial purposes and it does not significantly prejudice the economic interests of the owner of the patent;
2. the act is done for purely experimental purposes or for scientific research;
3. the act consists of preparing medicines for individual cases in a pharmacy upon the prescription of a physician or if it is indicated how to use the medicines so prepared.
The owner of the patent shall have the right to prevent all third parties from supplying or offering to supply essential elements of the patented invention with the exception of those which are widely known in the economic activities, if the supply and offering to supply them is necessary for performing the acts provided for in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article.
Rights to the patent application and the patent itself shall be inheritable. The state shall not inherit these rights.
Term of Patents and Maintenance Fees
27. The term of a patent shall be 20 years as from the date of filing the application.
The maintenance of a patent shall be subject to the payment of an annual fee.
The first annual fee shall be due in respect of the third year of the validity of a patent.
The annual fee shall be paid within two last months of the current year of the validity of a patent.
The annual fee increased by 50% may still be validly paid within 6 months from the due date prescribed in paragraph 4 of this Article.
Scope of Legal Protection and Interpretation of Claims
28. The scope of legal protection conferred by a patent shall be determined by the claims. The description and drawings may be used to interpret the claims.
Claims shall be considered to cover not only all the elements as expressed in the claims but also their equivalents.
An element shall be considered as being equivalent to an element as expressed in a claim if:
it performs substantially the same function in substantially the same way and produces substantially the same result as the element expressed in the claim;
it is obvious to a person skilled in the art that the same result as that achieved by means of the element as expressed in the claim, can be achieved by means of the equivalent element.
The State Patent Bureau shall take into consideration any statement of the applicant or the owner of the patent to limit the scope of the claims filed before the patent grant or within the patent validity term.
If the patent description contains examples of the embodiment of the invention or examples of the functions or results of the invention, the claims shall not be interpreted as limited to such examples.
Right of Prior Use
29. Natural and legal persons who in good faith were using or were making effective or serious preparations for such use before the filing date or, where priority is claimed, the priority date of a patent application, shall have the right to continue such use or to use the invention as envisaged in such preparations without taking into consideration the will of the owner of the patent.
The right of the prior use may only be transferred together with the enterprise or its activities or with that part of the enterprise or its activities in which the use of an invention or preparations for such use have been made.
Rights of the Owner of the Patent with respect to Foreign Means of Transport
30. The following shall not be considered the violation of the rights of the owner of the patent:
1. the use of the means, which are the subjects of the patent, on any foreign vessel, temporarily or accidentally entering the waters of the Republic of Lithuania provided that such means shall be used exclusively for the needs of the vessel;
2. the use of the means which are the subjects of the patent in the construction of foreign air or land carriers or the exploitation of these means, as well as their use in supplementary constructions thereof, when such means of transport temporarily or accidentally enter the Republic of Lithuania.
Chapter 4 Change in Ownership
Change in Ownership of Patent Application or Patent
31. Any contract assigning a patent application or a patent shall be made in writing and attested by the notary.
Any change in the ownership of a patent application or a patent shall be recorded on payment of the fee with the State Patent Bureau. The right to a patent or a patent application shall be obtained as of from the date of the registration with the State Patent Bureau. The State Patent Bureau shall publish in its Official Bulletin information on the change of the ownership.
Judicial Assignment of a Patent Application or a Patent
32. The person concerned may request the court to order the assignment of the patent application or the patent to him if the essential elements of the invention claimed in a patent application or patent are created by him, but not by the applicant of a patent application or by the patent owner.
Change of Joint Ownership of a Patent Application or a Patent
33. A patent application or a patent may jointly belong to several applicants or several joint owners of the patent.
Each of the joint applicants may independently without the consent of the others assign by succession his share in the application, but the joint applicants may only jointly withdraw the patent application or conclude licence agreements with third parties.
Each of joint owners of the patent may independently without the consent of the others assign or transfer by succession his share in the patent or institute court proceedings for infringement of the patent.
The joint owners may only jointly surrender the patent or conclude licence agreements with third parties.
The regulations provided for in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article shall be applicable only in the absence of an agreement to the contrary between the joint applicants or owners of the patent.
Chapter 5 Licence Agreement.
Licence of Right
Licence Agreement
34. Licence agreement means any agreement by which a party (the licenser) allows the other party (the licensee) to perform any of the acts referred to in Article 26.
A licence agreement must be made in writing. Oral licence agreement shall not be valid.
On payment of the prescribed fee the licence agreement shall be recorded in the Register of Patents of the Republic of Lithuania and shall be enforced as of from the date of such recording.
Rights of Licensee
35. The rights given by the licenser to the licensee shall extend to the performance of all the acts referred to in Article 26, unless otherwise provided in the licence agreement, without limitations throughout the entire territory of the Republic of Lithuania and through any application of the said invention.
In the absence of any provisions to the contrary in the licence agreement, the licensee may not allow a third person to perform any of the acts referred to in Article 26.
Rights of Licenser
36. In the absence of any provisions to the contrary in the licence agreement, the licenser may allow a third person to perform any of the acts referred to in Article 26 and may perform them himself.
If the licence agreement provides that the licence is exclusive the licenser may neither allow any third party to perform, nor perform himself the acts referred to in Article 26.
Licence of Right
37. The owner of a patent may file a statement with the State Patent Bureau that he is prepared to allow any person to use the invention as a licensee in return for appropriate compensation. In this case the annual fees shall be reduced by 50%.
The State Patent Bureau shall refuse to accept such statement as long as an exclusive licence granted by the owner of the patent for the same invention is recorded in the Register of Patents of the Republic of Lithuania.
The owner of the patent may withdraw such statement at any time upon written notification to this effect to the State Patent Bureau, provided that no one has previously informed the State Patent Bureau in writing of his intention to use the invention.
Any person willing to make use of the licence of right may file a statement with the State Patent Bureau and shall be entitled to use the invention as a licensee. Any licence so obtained shall be treated as non-exclusive.
Upon the receipt of a statement of any person to make use of the licence of right, the State Patent Bureau shall have no right to record an exclusive licence granted for the same invention in the Register of Patents of the Republic of Lithuania, unless the said statement is withdrawn.
Chapter 6 Compulsory Licence
Compulsory Licence
38. Repealed 15 June 2000.
Exploitation of an Invention with the Authorisation of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania
39. The Government of the Republic of Lithuania may adopt a resolution to permit a central or local government institution, natural or legal persons as well as an enterprise which does not have the rights of a legal person to market, without the agreement of the owner of a patent, a patented invention in the territory of the Republic of Lithuania, if:
an invention protected by a patent is related to public needs, national security and public health protection, development of economically important sectors;
the court determines that a method of the exploitation of an invention employed by the owner of a patent or licensee is anti-competitive.
An invention may be exploited only for the purpose in respect of which the resolution has been adopted. The owner of a patent must, for the exploitation of the invention, be remunerated fairly, taking into consideration economic value of the invention.
If the owner of a patent or a person who has authorisation to use an invention, requests, the Government of the Republic of Lithuania may, taking into consideration their reasons, change the conditions of the use of a patented invention, and time limits of the validity of permission.
When authorisation to use a patented invention is issued to the owner of a patent which improves a previously patented invention (second invention) and that may infringe the exclusive rights of the owner of the first patent, the Government of the Republic of Lithuania shall, before the adoption of this resolution, take into consideration the following additional conditions:
the claimed in the second patent shall involve an important technical advance of considerable economic significance in relation to the invention claimed in the first patent;
the owner of the first patent shall be entitled to a cross-licence (authorisation to each owner to use the patented inventions) to use the invention claimed in the second patent;
the use authorised in respect of the first patent shall be non-assignable except with the assignment of the second patent.
The Government of the Republic of Lithuania may declare the resolution null and void, if the circumstances which led to the authorisation to use a patented invention cease to exist, or if a central or local government institution, natural or legal persons as well as an enterprise which does not have
the rights of a legal person uses a patented invention for the purpose other than that in respect of which the resolution has been adopted.
Authorisation to exploit an invention must be non-exclusive, i.e. the owner of a patent shall not lose the right to use a patented invention himself, and it shall not prohibit the owner of a patent to conclude license agreements related to the use of a patented invention as well as to further exploit a patented invention or to implement his rights in other ways.
Authorisation to use a patented invention may not be transferred, except when the enterprise (or a part thereof) in which a patented invention is used, is transferred in a manner prescribed by law.
Attached to a request to permit the exploitation of a patented invention must be evidences confirming that the person seeking authorisation has requested, but has not received
authorisation of the owner of a patent to use the patented invention. This provision shall not apply in the case of a national emergency or other circumstances of extreme urgency or in cases of public non-commercial use of a patented invention. The owner of a patent must be informed in writing about a resolution, which is being drawn up, concerning the authorisation to use a patented invention, and about an intention to use a patented invention for the purposes provided for in subparagraph 1 of paragraph 1 of this Article.
Resolutions of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania concerning the authorisation to use a patented invention without the consent of the owner of a patent may be appealed against in court in a manner prescribed by law.
Upon the receipt of the resolution of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania concerning the authorisation to exploit an invention, the State Patent Bureau shall publish information on the authorisation in the next issue of it’s Official Bulletin.
Chapter 7 Consideration of Disputes.
Enforcement of Rights
Institutions for Consideration of Disputes concerning the Legal Protection of Inventions
40. Disputes regarding the patenting and the use of inventions shall be dealt with by the following institutions:
1. the Board of Appeals of the State Patent Bureau, in respect of all disputes relating to the patenting of an invention prior to the patent grant;
2. the Vilnius County Court, in respect of disputes regarding:
decisions of the Board of Appeals of the State Patent Bureau relating to the refusal to grant a patent;
assignment of a patent application or a patent to a different person;
all matters relating to the invalidation of a granted patent in full or in part;
all matters concerning infringement of a patent application for which provisional protection is granted;
all matters relating to infringement of a patent;
all matters relating to the declaration of non-infringement;
all matters relating to a compulsory licence.
Disputes relating to the resolution of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania concerning the granting of authorisation to use a patented invention, changing of the conditions related to the use of a patented invention with authorisation of the Government, establishment of the amount of remuneration to the owner of a patented invention for the use of such patent, and revocation of authorisation shall be settled in a manner prescribed by law.
Protection of Rights
41. The owner of a patent or the applicant shall have the right to institute court proceedings against a person who has infringed or is infringing the patent or published patent
application, for which provisional protection was granted, and to require the termination of infringing acts, as well as compensation for the inflicted damage. Any of them shall also have the right to institute court proceedings against any person who is performing acts which make it likely that such infringement will occur. Such proceedings may not be instituted later than three years from the establishment of the fact of infringement.
Unless the licence agreement provides otherwise, any licensee may request the owner of the patent to take measures to protect his rights obtained under the licence agreement. The licensee shall specify the legal acts needed to protect his rights and the relief desired.
Such licensee may, if he proves that the owner of the patent received his request but failed to institute proceedings against the infringer of patent rights within three months from the receipt of request, institute proceedings against the infringer in his own name, after notifying the owner of the patent of his intention. The owner of the patent shall have the right to join in the proceedings as a person concerned.
Even before the expiration of the three month period, the court may, on the request of the licensee, grant an appropriate injunction to prevent infringement of the rights of the owner of the patent, if the licensee proves that immediate action is necessary to avoid substantial damage.
If the subject-matter of a patent is a process for obtaining a product and the product produced by the defendant is new and there is a reason to believe that the product is produced by infringing the patent, but the plaintiff is unable through reasonable efforts to determine the process actually used, the defendant must prove that the product does not infringe the patent.
Application of Customs Control Measures
411. Customs control measures, established by the law, may apply to the products the import whereof into the Republic of Lithuania and export from there is deemed to be an infringement of the rights of the owner of a patent.
Declaration of Non-Infringement
42. Any person concerned shall have the right to institute court proceedings against the owner of the patent requesting the court to declare that the performance of a specific act does not constitute infringement of the patent.
If the person concerned proves that the acts performed by him do not constitute infringement of the patent, the court shall pass the decision of non-infringement.
The owner of the patent shall notify any licensees of the proceedings. In the absence of any provision to the contrary in the licence agreement the licensees shall have the right to join the proceedings.
Chapter 8 Changes in Patents.
Surrender. Invalidation
Changes in Patents
43. The owner of the patent shall have the right to request the State Patent Bureau to make changes in the patent in order to limit the extent of the protection conferred by it.
The owner of the patent shall have the right to request the State Patent Bureau to make changes in the patent in order to correct mistakes and clerical errors.
The State Patent Bureau must comply with lawful requirements of the owner of the patent.
No changes in the patent shall be permitted which would result in the extension of the scope of the invention set forth in the patent application.
The State Patent Bureau shall publish the changes of the patent in its Official Bulletin.
Surrender
44. The owner of the patent may surrender the patent by written declaration to the State Patent Bureau. The surrender may be limited to one or more claims of the patent.
The State Patent Bureau shall record surrender in the Register of Patents and publish it in the Official Bulletin.
The surrender of the patent shall take effect as of from the date of the receipt of the declaration of the owner of the patent by the State Patent Bureau.
Invalidation
45. On the request of any persons concerned the court may invalidate a patent, in whole or in part, on one of the following grounds:
1. the invention is not patentable within the meaning of Articles 2-5 of this Law;
2. the patent does not disclose the invention in a manner sufficiently clear and complete for it to be carried out by a person skilled in the art;
3. the disclosure contained in the patent goes beyond what has been disclosed in the application as filed, or if the patent was granted on a divisional application, which goes beyond what has been disclosed in the initial application as filed;
4. the owner of the patent has no right to it within the meaning of paragraph 1 of Article 8 of this Law.
If the patent is recognised invalid in part, the corresponding limitation of the rights conferred by the patent, the reduction of the number of claims, and corresponding amendments to description and drawings shall be made.
Effects of Invalidation
46. To the extent that a patent is invalidated by the court in whole or in part it shall be considered null and void as from the filing date of the patent application.
When a decision of the court to invalidate a patent, in whole or in part, becomes final, the court shall send it to the State Patent Bureau, which shall record data on the invalidation in the Register of Patents of the Republic of Lithuania and publish it in its Official Bulletin.
Chapter 9 International Patent Application
General Provisions
47. An international patent application shall mean a patent application filed under the Patent Co-operation Treaty done at Washington on 19 June 1970.
In this Chapter of the Law when speaking about an international patent application references are made to articles of the Patent Co-operation Treaty and the Regulations under the Patent Co-operation Treaty.
The provisions of the Patent Co-operation Treaty, of this Law and executive acts shall apply in respect of an international patent application for which the State Patent Bureau acts as a receiving, designated or elected patent office.
International Patent Application for which the State Patent Bureau Acts as a Designated or Elected Patent Office
48. Any international patent application for which the State Patent Bureau is a designated or elected patent office and which has been published under Article 21 of the Patent Co-operation Treaty shall enjoy provisional protection under paragraph 3 of Article 21 of this Law.
The provisional protection shall become effective from the date on which a translation into Lithuanian of the claims of the invention described in the international patent application is published by the State Patent Bureau in the Official Bulletin.
If the applicant of an international patent application for which the State Patent Bureau is a designated or elected patent office wishes to obtain a patent of the Republic of Lithuania under this Law, he must within the time limit applicable under Articles 22 or 39 of the Patent Co-operation Treaty furnish a translation of the international patent application into Lithuanian and pay the prescribed fee.
International Patent Application Filed with the State Patent Bureau as a Receiving Patent Office
49. An international patent application may be filed with the State Patent Bureau if the applicant is a resident or a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania.
A fee for transmitting an international patent application to the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organisation and to the International Searching Authority shall be paid as provided for in item 14 of the Regulations under the Patent Co-operation Treaty.
An international patent application must be filed in the language established by the State Patent Bureau.
Chapter 10 Extension of European Patents
General Provisions
50. A European patent application and a European patent extending to the Republic of Lithuania shall, according to the following provisions of this Chapter, have the effect of and be subject to the same conditions as a national application filed and a national patent granted under the Patent Law of the Republic of Lithuania.
A European patent application means an application for a European patent filed under the European Patent Convention, done at Munich on 5 October 1973, as well as an international application filed under the Patent Co-operation Treaty, done at Washington on 19 June 1970 for which the European Patent Office (hereinafter referred to as the EPO) acts as designated or elected office and in which the Republic of Lithuania is a designated country.
An extended European patent means a patent granted by the EPO on a European patent application in respect of which extension to the Republic of Lithuania has been requested.
A national patent application means a patent application filed under this Law with the State Patent Bureau of the Republic of Lithuania.
A national patent means a patent granted on a national patent application.
Request for Extension
51. A European patent application and a European patent granted on such application shall be extended to the Republic of Lithuania at the request of the applicant. The request for extension shall be deemed to be filed with any European patent application filed on or after the date on which the Agreement implementing Article 3(3) of the Co-operation Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Lithuania and the European Patent Organisation enters into force. Any request for extension shall be published by the State Patent Bureau as soon as possible after it has been transmitted by the EPO but not before the expiry of 18 months from the filing date or, if priority has been claimed, the earliest priority date.
The request for extension may be withdrawn at any time. It shall be deemed withdrawn where the prescribed extension fee has not been paid in due time or where the European patent application has been finally refused, withdrawn or deemed withdrawn. The State Patent Bureau shall publish this as soon as possible if the request for extension has already been published.
Extension Fee
52. The extension fee under paragraph 2 of Article 51 shall be paid to the EPO within the applicable time-limits provided under the European Patent Convention for the payment of the designation fee.
The extension fee may still be validly paid within the period of grace specified in Rule 85a(2) of the European Patent Convention, provided that a surcharge of 50% is paid within this period.
For the payment of extension fees the Rules of the European Patent Convention relating to the payment of fees shall apply mutatis mutandis. Extension fees validly paid shall not be refunded.
Effects of European Patent Applications
53. A European patent application which has been accorded a filing date shall in any case be equivalent to a national patent application filed according to all the requirements, where the priority of the European patent application is being recognised, whatever its outcome may be.
A published European patent application shall be provided with the same provisional protection as a national patent application according to paragraph 3 of Article 21 of this Law. The provisional protection shall be provided from the date on which a translation of the claims of the published European patent application into the Lithuanian language has been communicated by the applicant to the person using the invention in the Republic of Lithuania.
The European patent application shall be deemed not to have been provided for the provisional protection ab initio, referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article where the request for extension has been later withdrawn or is deemed withdrawn.
Effects of European Patents
54. An extended European patent shall, subject to paragraphs 2-6 of this Article, confer from the date of publication of the mention of its grant by the EPO the same rights as would be conferred by a national patent under Article 26 of this Law.
Within 3 months from the date on which the mention of the grant of the European patent has been published, the owner of the patent shall furnish to the State Patent Bureau a translation of the claims of the European patent into the Lithuanian language and shall pay the prescribed fee for publication.
If, as a result of an opposition filed with the EPO, the claims of the patent have been amended, the owner of the patent shall, within three months from the date on which the amended claims of the patent were published, furnish to the State Patent Bureau a translation of the amended claims of the invention into the Lithuanian language and pay the prescribed fee for the publication.
The State Patent Bureau shall publish as soon as possible any exact translations filed according to paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article.
If the translation specified in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article is not filed in due time or the prescribed fee is not paid in due time, the European patent shall be deemed to be void ab initio.
An extended European patent and the European patent application on which it is based shall be deemed not to have had ab initio the effects specified in paragraph 1 of this Article and paragraph 2 of Article 53 to the extent that the patent has been revoked in opposition proceedings before the EPO.
Authenticity of Texts of European Patent Applications or European Patents
55. The text of a European patent application or a European patent in the language of the proceedings before the EPO shall be considered the authentic text in the Republic of Lithuania as well.
The translations specified in Articles 53 and 54 of this Law shall be regarded as authentic, except in revocation proceedings, where they confer protection which is narrower than that conferred by it in the language of the proceedings before the European Patent Office.
The applicant or the owner of the patent may file a corrected translation of the claims of the European patent application or European patent. The corrected translation shall become effective when it is published by the State Patent Bureau. Any person who, in good faith, uses or has made effective and serious preparations for using an invention, without infringing the previous translation of the patent application or patent may, after the corrected translation of the claims takes effect, continue using the invention in his business or for the needs of his enterprise without payment.
Right of Earlier Date
56. A European patent application for which the extension fee has been paid and an extended European patent shall have with regard to a national patent application and a national patent the same prior art effect as a national patent application and a national patent under paragraph 2 of Article 3 of this Law.
A national patent application and a national patent shall have with regard to an extended European patent the same prior art effect as they have under paragraph 2 of Article 3 of this Law.
Simultaneous Protection
57. Where an extended European patent and a national patent having the same filing date or, where priority has been claimed, the same priority date have been granted to the same person or his successor in title, the national patent shall have no effect to the extent that it covers the same invention as the extended European patent as from the date on which the time limit for filing an opposition to the European patent has expired without an opposition having been filed or as from the date on which the opposition procedure has resulted in a final decision maintaining the European patent.
Renewal Fees for Extended European Patents
58. Renewal fees for an extended European patent shall be paid to the State Patent Bureau. It shall be paid starting the following year after the mention of the grant of the European patent was published.
Applicability of the European Patent Convention
59. The provisions of the European Patent Convention and its Implementing Regulations shall not apply in the Republic of Lithuania unless otherwise provided in this Law.
Chapter 11 International Agreements
International Agreements; Rights of Foreign Legal and Natural Persons
60. Where international agreements to which the Republic of Lithuania is a party establish rights which, for the applicant or the owner of the patent, are more advantageous that those provided for in this Law and other standard acts, the provisions of such international agreements shall apply.
Protection of inventions in the Republic of Lithuania shall be granted on a patent application filed abroad if it is so provided for in an agreement or treaty to which the Republic of Lithuania is a party. Such patent application and a patent granted on it shall have in the Republic of Lithuania the same effects as a national patent application filed with the State Patent Bureau and a patent granted on it, as prescribed by this Law.
Foreign legal and natural persons shall enjoy all rights provided for in this Law and other standard acts regulating the protection of the rights of the patent owner.
Chapter 12 Final Provisions
Amendments of the Civil Code of the Republic of Lithuania
61. To declare Chapter 5 (Articles 557-559) and Chapter 6 (Articles 560-566) of the Civil Code of the Republic of Lithuania null and void.
Entry into Force of this Law
62. The Patent Law of the Republic of Lithuania, except Chapter 9 “International Patent Application” and Chapter 10 “Extension of European Patents”, shall become effective as of 1 February 1994.
Chapter 9 shall become effective upon the date when the accession of the Republic of Lithuania to the Patent Co-operation Treaty, done at Washington on 19 June 1970 takes effect.
Chapter 10 shall become effective on the date when the bilateral agreement between the Government of the Republic of Lithuania and the European Patent Organisation on Cupertino in the field of patents becomes effective.
I promulgate this Law passed by the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania.
President of the Republic Algirdas Brazauskas