on the Organization and Activity of the Body of Experts on Industrial Property
By virtue of the authorization under Article 118(1) of Act XXXIII of 1995 on the Protection of Inventions by Patents as amended (hereinafter referred to as "the PA") the Government orders as follows:
Tasks of the Body of Experts on Industrial Property
Article 1
(1) The Body of Experts on Industrial Property (hereinafter referred to as "the Body of Experts") shall, at the request of the court or of other authorities or on commission, give an expert opinion on cases specified in Article 114/Z(1) and (2) of the PA.
(2) For the purposes of this Decree, industrial property related legal disputes shall mean any legal disputes arising from the exercise of rights on the basis of
a) patent protection, plant variety protection, utility model protection, design protection, topography protection, trademark protection and protection of geographical indications;
b) the protection due for intellectual creations protected by the Civil Code that are not governed by special legislation, that can be widely used by the society and have not become part of the public domain;
c) the protection due for persons as regards their economic, technical and management skills and experience (know-how), and
d) the protection due for the intellectual creations, skills and experience referred to in subparagraphs a)-c), against unfair competition and unfair manipulation of consumer choice, as provided for by the provisions of the Act on the Prohibition of Unfair and Restrictive Market Practices.
(3) For the purposes of this Decree, an industrial property case shall mean any case arising from the exercise of rights referred to in paragraph (2).
Organization, Members and Officers of the Body of Experts
Article 2
(1) The members of the Body of Experts shall be appointed by the Minister of Justice for a five-year period. The appointment shall be proposed by the President of the Hungarian Patent Office (hereinafter referred to as "the HPO"). In order to draw up his proposal, the President of the HPO shall ask for the opinion of the professional and interest groups concerned.
(2) Persons having expertise in industrial property or in fields of activity related to industrial property may be nominated as members of the Body of Experts.
(3) The number of members of the Body of Experts shall not exceed 50.
(4) If it is necessary for the maintenance of the operational capacity of the Body of Experts, the President of the HPO may propose the appointment of new members even before the expiry of the five-year term laid down in paragraph (1). In this case, the provisions of paragraphs (1)- (3) shall also apply.
Article 3
(1) The President and the Presidential Board of the Body of Experts shall be appointed, on the proposal of the President of the HPO, by the Minister of Justice from amongst the members of the Body of Experts. The appointment of the President and of the Presidential Board shall be for a period of five years.
(2) The Presidential Board shall consist of 7 members; the President of the Body of Experts shall be a member of the Presidential Board ex officio.
(3) The Secretary of the Body of Experts shall be appointed from amongst the civil servants of the HPO by the President of the HPO, in agreement with the President of the Body of Experts.
Article 4
(1) The Body of Experts shall be directed and represented by the President. If absent or prevented, he shall be replaced by a member of the Presidential Board designated by him. The President shall receive a honorarium, the amount of which shall be determined by the President of the HPO, on a proposal of the Presidential Board.
(2) In certain cases the Body of Experts may be represented, besides the President, by the Chairman of the panel proceeding in the case.
(3) The Presidential Board shall follow with attention and evaluate the activity of the Body of Experts. Its meetings shall be convened by the President of the Body of Experts if necessary, however, at least once a year.
(4) The administrative tasks of the Body of Experts shall be carried out by the Secretary. His fee shall be determined by the President of the HPO, on a proposal of the President of the Body of Experts.
Activity of the Body of Experts
Article 5
(1) The Body of Experts shall work according to the rules of procedure established by the Presidential Board and approved by the President of the HPO.
(2) The annual budget of the Body of Experts shall be adopted by the Presidential Board and approved by the President of the HPO. The President of the HPO shall provide the material conditions for the activity of the Body of Experts and shall conclude the contracts necessary thereto.
(3) The President of the Body of Experts shall annually submit a report to the Minister of Justice on the activity of the Body of Experts, with the approval of the Presidential Board and in agreement with the President of the HPO. For information, the annual report shall also be sent to the Minister exercising the directing authority on behalf of the Government over the HPO.
(4) The list of members of the Body of Experts, its rules of procedure, the annual report and, on proposal of the Chairman of the proceeding panel, and subject to the agreement of the President of the HPO, any expert opinion shall be published in the official journal of the HPO.
(5) The official seal of the Body of Experts shall consist of the coat of arms of the Republic of Hungary with the legend "Iparjogvédelmi Szakértői Testület" (Body of Industrial Property Experts).
Procedure of the Body of Experts
Article 6
(1) Expert opinions shall be given, on behalf of the Body of Experts, by a majority of a three- or five-member panel of experts (hereinafter referred to as "the panel"). The President of the Body of Experts shall designate, in view of the nature of the case, the members of the panel, and from among them the expert in charge of the case and the Chairman of the panel.
(2) Where the formation of an expert opinion calls for special expertise that the members of the Body of Experts do not have, outside experts may also be involved in an advisory capacity.
(3) Any person against whom a ground for exclusion defined in Article 178(1) of the Code of Civil Procedure exists, shall be excluded from participating in the formation of the opinion of the Body of Experts. The President of the Body of Experts shall ensure ex officio that an excluded expert should not participate in the formation of the expert opinion.
Article 7
(1) Requests of courts or other authorities and commissions submitted to the Body of Experts shall be accepted and confirmed by the President of the Body of Experts, on the basis of the preparatory work by the Secretary.
(2) In case of requests by the court or other authorities, the preparation of an expert opinion shall be subject to the payment of a basic fee and, if it is necessary to hold more than one session of the panel, a supplementary fee shall be charged for each further session. The amount of the basic fee and supplementary fee is set out in the annex to this Decree.
(3) The fees determined under paragraph (2) may be increased by the President of the Body of Experts by not more than 50%, if it is justified by the complexity of the case.
(4) In the letter confirming the acceptance of a commission given to the Body of Experts, the amount of the commission fee to be determined in the light of the circumstances of the case shall be indicated, upon payment of which the Body of Experts shall prepare the expert opinion.
Article 8
(1) The Body of Experts shall form its expert opinion on the basis of the questions raised and documents filed; it shall not take evidence separately to establish the facts. It may, however, ask the requesting court or other authority or the client to supply further data, if necessary.
(2) The panel shall form its expert opinion in closed session. About each session minutes shall be prepared, which shall be signed by the keeper of minutes of the session and by the Chairman of the panel.
(3) On the submission by the Chairman of the panel, the written expert opinion of the Body of Experts shall be signed by the President of the Body of Experts; simultaneously the expert opinion and the documents placed at his disposal shall be sent to the requesting court or other authority or to the client.
Article 9
(1) For the preparation of the expert opinion, the members of the panel and the outside experts involved under Article 6(2) shall be entitled to a honorarium.
(2) The amount of the honorarium shall be determined in the rules of procedure of the Body of Experts and shall be paid from the fees received by the Body of Experts under Article 7(2) to (4).
Final Provisions
Article 10
(1) This Decree shall enter into force on 1 January 2003; its provisions shall apply to requests and commissions received by the Body of Experts after its entry into force.
(2) Members and officers of the Body of Experts shall be appointed by following the procedure referred to in Articles 2 and 3 within three months following the entry into force of this Decree. Until the appointment, the Board of Experts on Inventions, established by virtue of the provisions earlier in force, shall continue its activity, in the composition and with the officers existing at the entry into force of this Decree, consistently applying the rules of this Decree in its procedure.
(3) [amendment of other legislative provisions]
(4) Upon the entry into force of this Decree, Decree No 79/1995 (XII. 29.) IKM on the Body of Experts on Inventions shall be repealed.
Annex to Decree No 270/2002 (XII. 20.) Korm.
1. Basic fee for an expert opinion:
- in case of a three-member panel HUF 150 000
- in case of a five-member panel HUF 237 500
2. Supplementary fee for further sessions:
- in case of a three-member panel HUF 90 000
- in case of a five-member panel HUF 125 000