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REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA

REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA PATENT LAW This Law shall legitimize 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 I PROTECTION OF INVENTIONS Article

  1. Form of Protection of Inventions The form of protection of inventions shall be a patent granted by the State Patent Bureau in the procedure established by this Law. Article
  2. Patentable Inventions 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 utilized 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. Article
  3. Novelty of an Invention 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. Article
  4. Inventive Step 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. Article
  5. Industrial Applicability An invention shall be considered industrially applicable if it can be made or used in industry, agriculture, health protection and other spheres. Article
  6. Grace Period 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 recognized exhibition in accordance with the Convention on International Exhibitions signed at Paris on 22 November
  7. 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. Article
  8. Right to a Patent The right to a patent shall belong to the inventor or his successor in title. 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. Article
  9. Service Inventions The right to the patent for the invention made by an employee during the execution of a commission or an employment contract shall belong to the employer if this is provided for in the contract made by an employer and employee. The employer is obligated to pay to the employee an equitable remuneration, taking into account the economic value of the invention and any benefit derived by the employer from the utilization of the invention. Relations between the employer and employee concerning service inventions shall be established by a separate law. Article
  10. Mention of the Inventor 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 II PATENT GRANT Article
  11. Filing a Patent Application 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. Article
  12. A Patent Application 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. Article
  13. Date of Filing a Patent Application 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. Article
  14. Disclosure 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. Article
  15. The Claims 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. Article
  16. Abstract 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. Article
  17. Unity of Invention 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. Article
  18. Division of Application 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. Article
  19. Right of Priority 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. Article
  20. Examination 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
  21. 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. Article
  22. Amendment or Correction of Application. Withdrawal of Application 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. Article
  23. Publication of Patent Application 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. Article
  24. Patent Grant 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 a month 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. Article
  25. Register of Patents 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. Article
  26. Inspection of Patent Applications Files 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. Article
  27. Settlement of Disputes 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 III EFFECTS OF A PATENT Article
  28. Rights of the Owner of a Patent Where a patent concerns a product (equipment, material, etc.) the owner of the patent shall have the right to prevent third parties from performing, without his authorization, the following acts: 1) the manufacturing of a product incorporating the patented invention; 2) the offering, importing, or providing as well as stocking for the market a product incorporating the patented invention. Where the patent concerns a process, the owner of the patent shall have the right to prevent third parties from performing, without his authorization, the following acts: 1) the using of a process which is the subject matter of the patent; 2) to perform acts referred to in item 2 of paragraph 1 of this Article with respect to any product directly obtained by such process even if such product is non-patentable. 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. Article
  29. Term of Patents and Maintenance Fees 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. Article
  30. Scope of Legal Protection and Interpretation of Claims 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. Article
  31. Right of Prior Use 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. Article
  32. Rights of the Owner of the Patent with Respect to Foreign Means of Transport 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 IV CHANGE IN OWNERSHIP Article
  33. Change in Ownership of Patent Application or Patent 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. Article
  34. Judicial Assignment of a Patent Application or a Patent 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. Article
  35. Change of Joint Ownership of a Patent Application or a Patent 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 V LICENCE AGREEMENT. LICENCE OF RIGHT Article
  36. Licence Agreement Licence agreement means any agreement by which a party (the licensor) allows the other party (the licensee) to perform any of the acts referred to in Article
  37. 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. A separate law shall establish the procedure of making and amending licence agreements. Article
  38. Rights of Licensee The rights given by the licensor 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
  39. Article
  40. Rights of Licensor In the absence of any provisions to the contrary in the licence agreement, the licensor 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 licensor may neither allow any third party to perform, nor perform himself the acts referred to in Article
  41. Article
  42. Licence of Right 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 VI COMPULSORY LICENCE Article
  43. Compulsory Licence If after the expiration of a period of four years from the date of filing the application or three years from the grant of the patent (the whichever is later), there is non-working or insufficient working of the patented invention and those willing to work it are refused a licence, on the request of any person who proves his ability to work the patented invention, the court may grant a non-exclusive compulsory licence. The grant of the compulsory licence shall be subject to the payment of equitable remuneration to the owner of the patent the amount of which shall be fixed by the court. A compulsory licence shall not be granted if the court is convinced that circumstances exist which justify the non-working or insufficient working of the patented invention in the Republic of Lithuania. Where a compulsory licence is granted and the patented invention is still not or insufficiently worked, the court at the request of persons interested may prescribe a forfeiture of a patent. A forfeiture of a patent shall be allowed only after the expiration of a period of two years from the date on which the first compulsory licence was granted. Article
  44. Exploitation of an Invention approved by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania Taking into consideration the state or public interests, the Government of the Republic of Lithuania may adopt a decree, even without the agreement of the owner of a patent, to allow an enterprise or a person to use a patented invention subject to payment of equitable remuneration to the owner of the patent. The owner of the patent who finds the amount of remuneration as fixed by the Government non-equitable shall have the right to appeal to the court. Upon the receipt of the decree of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania approving the exploitation of an invention the State Patent Bureau shall publish it in the next issue of its Official Bulletin. CHAPTER VII CONSIDERATION OF DISPUTES. ENFORCEMENT OF RIGHTS Article
  45. Institutions for Consideration of Disputes Concerning the Legal Protection of Inventions 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) by the Supreme Court of the Republic of Lithuania as the court of first instance up to the entry into force of the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on the establishment of District Courts, Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of the Republic of Lithuania and Supplement to Article 15 of the Court Law of the Republic of Lithuania; after that date - the Vilnius district 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. Article
  46. Protection of Rights 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. Article
  47. Declaration of Non-Infringement 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 VIII CHANGES IN PATENTS. SURRENDER. INVALIDATION Article
  48. Changes in Patents 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. Article
  49. Surrender The owner of the patent may surrender the patent by written declaration to the State Patent Bureau. The surrender may be limited toone 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. Article
  50. Invalidation 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 recognized 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. Article
  51. Effects of Invalidation 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 IX INTERNATIONAL PATENT APPLICATION Article
  52. General Provisions An international patent application shall mean a patent application filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty done at Washington on 19 June
  53. In this Chapter of the Law when speaking about an international patent application references are made to articles of the Patent Cooperation Treaty and the Regulations under the Patent Cooperation Treaty. The provisions of the Patent Cooperation 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. Article
  54. International Patent Application for which the State Patent Bureau Acts as a Designated or Elected Patent Office 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 Cooperation 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 Cooperation Treaty furnish a translation of the international patent application into Lithuanian and pay the prescribed fee. Article
  55. International Patent Application Filed with the State Patent Bureau as a Receiving Patent Office 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 Organization and to the International Searching Authority shall be paid as provided for in item 14 of the Regulations under the Patent Cooperation Treaty. An international patent application must be filed in the language established by the State Patent Bureau. CHAPTER X EXTENSION OF EUROPEAN PATENTS Article
  56. General provisions 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 Cooperation 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. Article
  57. Request for Extension 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 Cooperation Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Lithuania and the European Patent Organization 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. Article 52. Extension Fee 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. Article
  1. Effects of European Patent Applications 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 recognized, 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. Article
  2. Effects of European Patents 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. Article
  3. Authenticity of Texts of European Patent Applications or European Patents 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. Article
  4. Right of Earlier Date 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. Article
  5. Simultaneous Protection 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. Article
  6. Renewal Fees for Extended European Patents 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. Article
  7. Applicability of the European Patent Convention 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 XI INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS Article
  8. International Agreements; Rights of Foreign Legal and Natural Persons 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 XII FINAL PROVISIONS Article
  9. Amendments of the Civil Code of the Republic of Lithuania 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. Article
  10. Entry into Force of this Law 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
  11. Chapter 9 shall become effective upon the date when the accession of the Republic of Lithuania to the Patent Cooperation 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 Organization on cooperation in the field of patents becomes effective. I promulgate this Law adopted by the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania. ALGIRDAS BRAZAUSKAS President of the Republic Vilnius 18 January 1994 No.I-372 ____________

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