INFORMATION
General provisions of procedures on registration of trademarks(based on Act No XI of 1997 on the Protection of Trademarks and Geographical Indications, in a consolidated form with the interim amendments)
1. Examination on filing an application
Following the filing of a trademark application, the Hungarian Intellectual Property Office (hereinafter referred to as the Office) shall examine whether the application satisfies the requirements prescribed for according a date of filing (i.e. an indication that trademark protection is sought, information identifying the applicant, a representation of the sign and a list of goods or services), the filing fee has been paid and the list of goods or services has been filed in the Hungarian language.
1.1. The filing date of an application
The applicant shall be notified of the accorded date of filing. If a date of filing cannot be accorded, the applicant shall be invited to rectify the irregularities within 30 days. If the applicant complies with that invitation within the specified time limit, the date of receipt of the rectification shall be accorded as the date of filing. In the case of failure to comply with the said invitation, the trademark application shall be considered withdrawn.
Information on the application fee is included in point 1 of Schedule of Fees. Application fee shall be paid to the state budget account of the Office, indicating the filing number and destination. Where the filing fee is not paid within one month following the filing date of the application, the trademark application shall be considered withdrawn.
1.3. List of goods and services in Hungarian
Where the documents making up the trademark application have been prepared in a foreign language, the list of goods or services shall be filed in Hungarian within 2 months after the date of filing. In the case of failure to comply with the said invitation, the trademark application shall be considered withdrawn.
Any person may file an observation with the Office to the effect that the sign may not be granted trademark protection for any grounds referred to in Articles 2 and 3 of the Trademark Act.. The observation shall be communicated to the applicant and it shall be taken into consideration when the requirement objected to in the observation is examined. The person making the observation shall be notified of the outcome of his observation.
3. Examination as to Formal Requirements
If a trademark application satisfies the requirements for granting a filing date, the filing fee has been paid and the list of goods or services has been filed in Hungarian language, the Office shall examine whether the application satisfies the formal requirements. If the application does not comply with the requirements examined, The Office shall invite the applicant – in its decision - to rectify the irregularities or to divide the application and shall continue the procedure accordingly. Where the applicant does not reply to the invitation within the fixed time limit, the trademark application shall be considered withdrawn.
If a trademark application satisfies the requirements laid down in the Trademark Act, the Office shall carry out a search for earlier rights referred to in Article 4 and shall draw up a search report on the basis of the sign, with due regard to the list of goods or services, and shall send the search report to the applicant.
The applicant, the holder and the licensee recorded in the trademark register - upon his request and after the payment of the fee - shall be notified by the Office of the later trademark application in the search report of which his earlier right was indicated by sending him a copy of the search report. (See point 4. of Schedule of Fees).
5. Substantive Examination Ex Officio
If a trademark application satisfies the requirements laid down in the Trademark Act, the Office shall carry out a substantive examination of the trademark application. If the application does not comply with the requirements examined, The Office shall invite the applicant – in its decision - to rectify the irregularities or to submit comments, as the case may be. A trademark application shall be rejected by the Office in whole or in part if it does not meet the examined requirements even after the rectification of the irregularities or the submitting of comments. If the applicant fails to reply to the invitation within the fixed time limit, the trademark application shall be considered withdrawn.
6. Publication of the Trademark Application
Having sent the search report to the applicant, the Office shall publish the application in the official journal of the Office, and shall notify the applicant of this publication.
Under the provisions of the Trademark Act, within a period of three months following the date of publication of a trademark application, or modification or division thereof, respectively, a notice of opposition to registration of the trademark may be submitted on the grounds of Articles 4 to 6 by persons entitled to file opposition. An opposition fee prescribed by special legislation shall be payable within one month from the date of filing of the notice of opposition. (see point 5 of Schedule of Fees)
If the opposition does not meet the prescribed requirements, the opponent shall be invited to rectify the irregularities; if the opposition fee has not been paid, he shall be invited to make payment within the time limit fixed by the Trademark Act. Failing to comply with these requirements, the opposition shall be considered withdrawn.
Following the written preparatory work, the Office shall only hold an oral hearing with respect to the notice of opposition if the clarification of the facts requires that the parties be heard together or if the parties so request unanimously in due time.
If the applicant so requests, within one month from the filing date of the application, the Office shall apply the accelerated trademark registration procedure. A fee prescribed by special legislation shall be payable for the request for accelerated procedure within one month from the filing of the request. (See point 6 of Schedule of Fees)
If the fee for the request is not paid, the applicant shall be invited to rectify the irregularities within the period specified by the Trademark Act. Failing this, the request shall be considered withdrawn.
If the request does not comply with the requirements laid down in the Trademark Act, the applicant shall be invited by the Office to rectify the irregularities or to submit comments. The request shall be rejected if it still does not comply with the requirements laid down in the Trademark Act even after rectification or comments. The request shall be considered withdrawn if the applicant does not reply to the invitation within the fixed time limit.
The Office shall establish the accelerated procedure by an order.
9. Particularly accelerated procedure
If the applicant so requests specially in the request for accelerated procedure, the Office shall register the sign as a trademark simultaneously with the publication of the trademark application, with the proviso that this registrations could be final only after the expiry of the time limit fixed for submitting a notice of opposition. A request for particularly accelerated procedure may only be filed within the time limit laid down for the filing of a request for accelerated procedure (see point 8).
A fee prescribed by special legislation shall be payable for the request for particularly accelerated procedure within one month from the filing of this request. (See point 7 of Schedule of Fees).
If the fee for the request is not paid, the applicant shall be invited by the Office to rectify the irregularities within the period specified by the Trademark Act. Failing this, the request shall be considered withdrawn.
If the request does not comply with the requirements laid down in the Trademark Act, the applicant shall be invited by the Office to rectify the irregularities or to submit comments. The request shall be rejected if it still does not comply with the requirements laid down in the Trademark Act even after rectification or comments. The request shall be considered withdrawn if the applicant does not reply to the invitation within the fixed time limit. The Office shall establish the particularly accelerated procedure by an order.
10. Amendment, Internal Priority
A trademark application may not be amended in respect of the sign, as well as the list of goods or services in such a way that it extends beyond that contained in the application on the date of filing.
The applicant may file a new trademark application - not later than six months prior to the application in question claiming protection for broader specification of goods and services than it has been covered by the original application.
11. Division of the Application
If the applicant claimed protection for more than one sign in one application or wants to claim for more than one registration, he may divide his application claiming protection of several signs or specified goods or services separately preserving the day of application or eventual other priorities. The request may be filed until the ruling on the registration of the trademark becomes final. A fee prescribed by special legislation shall be payable for the request for division within one month from the filing of the request. (See point 9 of Schedule of Fees). Failing this, the request shall be considered withdrawn.
12. Time limits - Extension of Time - Restitutio in integrum
The time limits prescribed by the Trademark Act (see points 1.1., 1.2., 1.3., 7., 8., 11., 14.) shall not be extended. Failing to comply with such time limits shall involve legal consequences without further notice. Where the Trademark Act does not prescribed any time limit, the party may request before the expiration of the period that the time limit fixed by the Office be extended. A fee prescribed by special legislation shall be payable for the request for extension (See point 8 of Schedule of Fees).
In trademark matters – unless excluded under the Trademark Act – a request for restitutio in integrum may be submitted within 15 days of the unobserved time limit or of the last day of the unobserved period. Where the failure to comply became known to the party subsequently or the cause thereof ceased subsequently, the time limit shall be reckoned from the date on which the failure to comply became known or the cause thereof ceased.
The request for restitutio in integrum shall not be admissible if it is filed later than six months from the date of the time limit not complied with or the last day of the period not complied with.
13. Registration of the Trademark
If the trademark application - and the sign to which it relates - meet all the requirements of the examination, the Office shall register the subject matter of the application as a trademark. The date of the ruling on registration shall be the date of registration of the trademark. After registration, the Hungarian Intellectual Property Office shall issue a trademark certificate to which the extract from the register shall be annexed.
14. Term of Trademark Protection, Renewal, Division of the Registration
Trademark protection shall have a term of 10 years beginning on the filing date of the application and shall be renewable for further periods of 10 years.
The request for renewal may be submitted not earlier than twelve months before the expiry of protection and within a period of six months at the latest from the date of expiry or from the date of registration, whichever expires later.
For a claim for renewal, a prescribed fee shall be paid (see point 10 of Schedule of Fees). After renewal, the Office shall issue a trademark certificate to the trademark owner with the extract from the register annexed.
By separating the list of goods or services, the holder may divide the trademark protection in respect of specified goods and services. A fee prescribed by special legislation shall be paid for the request for division (see point 11 of Schedule of Fees).