Kosovo Patent Applications Update

Our Kosovo office has recently received an official notification from the patent examiner regarding the procedure to be followed after a pending patent application, including the re-filing of a patent application, is published in the Official Gazette of Kosovo.

In accordance with Article 38 of the Kosovo Law on Patents, once a patent application is published, the IP right holder has a six-month deadline to file a request for the issuance of the decision. Along with this request, an official fee of EUR 40 (USD 57), regardless of the number of claims, must be paid.

A copy of the grant decision issued by any International Preliminary Examining Authority should also be submitted. If this decision has not been issued, the Kosovo IPO will issue the grant decision but the applicant will be obliged, in accordance with Article 40, to submit a confirmation of the granted patent within ten years from the date of application. Any patent for the same invention granted by the European Patent Office, or any other patent office which is acting as an International Preliminary Examining Authority under the Patent Cooperation Treaty, will be accepted as a confirmation of the granted patent.

If the right holder fails to submit necessary paperwork as outlined above, the patent and the application on which it is based will be deemed never to have had the rights provided by the Law on Patents.

For more information, please contact Jelena Jankovic at our Balkan Regional Office.