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Cost and timing considerations
- Filing Fees: What are the official fees for filing a design application for a GUI? How do the fees scale with additional applications?
- Maintenance Fees: Are there any maintenance or renewal fees required to keep the design right in force? If so, what are they? When are they due?
- Processing Time: How long does it typically take from filing to grant of a design right for a GUI in your jurisdiction, assuming no Registry objections are identified?
- What is the self-disclosure period (e.g. the period in which disclosures by the proprietor do not count as prior art). For example, in the EU, there is a grace period of 12 months during which disclosures by an applicant will not count as prior art.
- Deferment: How long can a design application be deferred (e.g. prevented from being publicly disclosed)?
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Formalities
- General Formalities: Is a Power of Attorney (“PoA”) required? Are there any other similar formalities required upon filing or within a set period after filing?
- Priority Claim formalities: Must any priority documents or WIPO DAS codes be filed along with the application or can they be filed late? What formalities are involved?
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Examination
- Examination Process: Are design applications for GUIs examined for substantive requirements, or are they only subject to a formalities examination?
- Prior art: Are prior art searches performed by examiners?
- Priority Claim formalities: Are priority claims examined? If so, what is the process? Is there any guidance where priority is claimed from a design patent which might be visually different but might still cover the same subject matter?
- Opposition: Are design applications in your country open to opposition by third parties prior to grant?
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Scope and Content of Applications
- Number of representations: how many representations are permitted in a single design?
- Sequences or Animations: where the GUI involves a sequence or animations – can these be protected within a single design application for a GUI? Is this protecting using a series of images showing the changes or are video uploads permitted?
- Written Disclaimers: Are written disclaimers allowed in design applications for GUIs? If so, what are the requirements or limitations?
- Drawing Conventions: Which drawing conventions are recognized in your jurisdiction for GUI design applications (e.g., line drawings, colour drawings, photographs, shading, etc?) Are multiple types of dotted lines permitted to represent different things or not?
- Other Relevant IP Rights and self-incrimination
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Practical Considerations
- Common Pitfalls: What are some common pitfalls or challenges applicants face when seeking design protection for GUIs in your jurisdiction?
- Best Practices: What best practices would you recommend for applicants to ensure robust protection of their GUIs?
- Hague Agreement: How does your jurisdiction's approach to GUI design protection compare with provisions of the Hague Agreement? Are there any specific points to watch for when considering filing a Hague application covering your jurisdiction?
- Future Developments: Are there any anticipated changes in the law or practice regarding the protection of GUIs as design rights in your jurisdiction?
jurisdiction
Cost and timing considerations
1. Filing Fees: What are the official fees for filing a design application for a GUI? How do the fees scale with additional applications?
- Filing of a simple design application by the originator or co-inventors 30 €
- Filing of a single application by an applicant other than the originator or by applicants who are not identical to the co-inventors 60 €
- Filing of a collective design application by the originator or co-inventors 30 €
- Filing of a multiple application by an applicant other than the originator or by applicants who are not identical to the co-inventors 60 €
- Filing of a multiple design application for each additional design in the multiple application filed by the originator or co-inventors 20 €
- Filing of a multiple design application for each additional design in the multiple application filed by an applicant other than the originator or applicants who are not identical to the co-inventors 20 €
When those requests are filed electronically, the fees could be discounted by 50%, up to the amount of 50 EUR.
2. Maintenance Fees: Are there any maintenance or renewal fees required to keep the design right in force? If so, what are they? When are they due?
- Yes, there are renewal fees;
- The fees are as follows:
- for the first time in five years: 100 €
- for the second time in five years: 200 €
- for the third time in five years: 300 €
- for the fourth time in five years: 400 €
- The registrations must be renewed on every fifth anniversary, for up to a maximum of 25 years. The late renewal fee is double of the original fee.
When renewal requests are filed electronically, the fees could be discounted by 50%, up to the amount of 50 EUR.
3. Processing Time: How long does it typically take from filing to grant of a design right for a GUI in your jurisdiction, assuming no Registry objections are identified?
In most of the cases the usual processing time for flawless filings is from one to four months, with most filings being registered closer to the longer period from the specified range.
4. What is the self-disclosure period (e.g. the period in which disclosures by the proprietor do not count as prior art). For example, in the EU, there is a grace period of 12 months during which disclosures by an applicant will not count as prior art.
The grace period is also in Slovakia 12 months, and therefore the designer must file the application within the 12-month grace period (i.e. within 12 months of the first disclosure of the relevant design).
5. Deferment: How long can a design application be deferred (e.g. prevented from being publicly disclosed)?
Deferment period is in Slovakia for up to 30 months.
Formalities
6. General Formalities: Is a Power of Attorney (“PoA”) required? Are there any other similar formalities required upon filing or within a set period after filing?
If a different person / entity to the applicant is filing the design application, PoA is necessary. The PoA may be submitted to the Industrial Property Office of the Slovak Republic additionally, even upon the Office's request. Generally, a copy of a PoA is sufficient, but Industrial Property Office of the Slovak Republic may request if in doubts the original of PoA.
7. Priority Claim formalities: Must any priority documents or WIPO DAS codes be filed along with the application or can they be filed late? What formalities are involved?
The applicant must claim the right of priority arising from an international treaty in the application and, within three months of its filing, prove this by providing a document that proves the right of priority, otherwise the Industrial Property Office of the Slovak Republic will disregard it. The applicant must indicate in the application the date of filing of the original application from which the priority right is derived, the number original and the state in which this original application was filed, or the authority to which this original application was filed.
Examination
8. Examination Process: Are design applications for GUIs examined for substantive requirements, or are they only subject to a formalities examination?
Industrial Property Office of the Slovak Republic examines also substantive requirements, i.e. the design is new, has a distinctive character and it is not contrary to public policy or to accepted principles of morality.
9. Prior art: Are prior art searches performed by examiners?
Yes, the examiners perform prior art searches as well.
10. Priority Claim formalities: Are priority claims examined? If so, what is the process? Is there any guidance where priority is claimed from a design patent which might be visually different but might still cover the same subject matter?
Yes, but only formally. If the priority right covers the right of priority is granted only to those graphical representation of designs that are depicted in the priority application. If there are additional designs in a subsequent filing that are not covered by the declared priority, these will not be covered.
11. Opposition: Are design applications in your country open to opposition by third parties prior to grant?
The only opportunity for the third parties to challenge the registration is post grant.
Scope and Content of Applications
12. Number of representations: how many representations are permitted in a single design?
No limits of representations are set.
13. Sequences or Animations: where the GUI involves a sequence or animations – can these be protected within a single design application for a GUI? Is this protecting using a series of images showing the changes or are video uploads permitted?
The video format is not acceptable at the moment, however a series of images would be, if those are visually connected and not changing the essence of the design.
14. Written Disclaimers: Are written disclaimers allowed in design applications for GUIs? If so, what are the requirements or limitations?
Verbal texts and explanatory notes must not be used in the graphical representation of the design.
The design law in Slovakia allows to add a description (outside of the design graphical representation), explaining the representations of the design. This is not a mandatory part of the application, and its purpose is not to describe the appearance of the product. The appearance itself should be clear from the graphical representation. The description is a supporting tool, giving an opportunity to clarify the depicted design.
15. Drawing Conventions: Which drawing conventions are recognized in your jurisdiction for GUI design applications (e.g., line drawings, colour drawings, photographs, shading, etc?) Are multiple types of dotted lines permitted to represent different things or not?
Any drawing conventions are acceptable, however then all the graphical design representations are recommended to be filled in the same format. No specific guidelines on the dotted lines are provided. Filings in black and white generally covers all colour variations, coloured filings cover only provided colour.
Other Relevant IP Rights and self-incrimination
16. Additional IP Rights: Are there other intellectual property rights that can be used to protect GUIs in your jurisdiction (e.g., copyright, trade marks)?
GUIs could be also protected by the means of trademark and copyright law.
17. Overlap with Other IP Rights: How do these other IP rights interact with or limit design rights for GUIs?
Protection of GUIs also by trademark and copyright law could be cumulated and help to support the longer and stronger protection of the rights.
Practical Considerations
18. Common Pitfalls: What are some common pitfalls or challenges applicants face when seeking design protection for GUIs in your jurisdiction?
Currently the most common pitfalls are related to technical challenges facing registration of designs hidden in modern technologies such as GUIs are, for what the legislators were not ready more than 20 years ago, however those are expected to be fixed by the upcoming EU (national level and EU wide) design law amendment.
19. Best Practices: What best practices would you recommend for applicants to ensure robust protection of their GUIs?
Is recommended to properly set up selection of graphical representation and sequencing of individual GUIs graphical representation and their connectivity to secure smooth registration procedure. We have a dedicated Design Law Group available to advise on this complex area of law. Further information can be found here.
20. Hague Agreement: How does your jurisdiction's approach to GUI design protection compare with provisions of the Hague Agreement? Are there any specific points to watch for when considering filing a Hague application covering your jurisdiction?
Most aspects of Slovak law are comparable to the Hague Agreement basics, e.g. unlimited number of graphical representations or 30 months window for deferment of publication. There is coverage of 98 countries, so when filing the application through the Hague Agreement be ready, that some alterations especially for graphical representations for some jurisdictions may be unavoidable.
21. Future Developments: Are there any anticipated changes in the law or practice regarding the protection of GUIs as design rights in your jurisdiction?
The unification of EU design law will influence also Slovakia, especially reflecting the transposition of directive (EU) 2024/2823 on the legal protection of designs, the ‘design’ and ‘product’ definitions will become broader and clearer, with ‘design’ explicitly including non-physical products such as animations, motions and transitions, also mentioning protection of ‘graphic user interfaces’. Time for transposition is until 9th December 2027.
