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PREPARATION OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LEGISLATION
The Hungarian Patent Office (HPO) performed its duties related to the preparation of legislation with a comprehensive approach in an efficient and proactive manner. The majority of the tasks focused on the preparation and management of amendments to legislation concerning industrial property and copyright. An important part of the work was connected with the legal drafting and other duties related to Hungary’s membership of the European Union, the European Patent Organisation and the World Intellectual Property Organization. Preparation for the Hungarian EU presidency in 2011 intensified, which, as a new challenge, imposed numerous tasks on the HPO.
On 15 December 2008 the Parliament adopted an amendment aimed at the legal harmonisation of Act LXXVI of 1999 on copyright (Copyright Act). In line with the HPO’s mid-term strategy, the amendment brought a change in the provisions on public lending rights, a new system for the authorisation of orphan works was developed, and the order of approval of the fee schedule of collective rights management organisations was also modified.
A package of three draft laws was prepared comprising of the proposal on the amendment to certain industrial property laws, that on the accession to the promulgation of the amendment of the Protocol Related to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks. The whole package will be submitted to the Government in 2009.
After taking over certain tasks from the Ministry for National Development and Economy, the minister without portfolio responsible for research and development issued Decree 2/2008. (VIII. 22.) TNM on industrial property qualification, replacing the former legislation, i.e. Decree 78/1995. (XII. 29.) IKM on industrial property qualification. The new decree entered into force on 30 August 2008.
The HPO prepared a study and model regulations for the Hungarian Academy of Sciences for the preparation of the regulations on the management of intellectual property. A survey was carried out on the situation of book publishing and book commerce including the current issues of intellectual property protection.
The HPO is also making preparations for the fulfilment of the obligation of submitting to the Commission a national report by the deadline of 29 April 2009 prescribed by Article 18 of Directive 2004/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the enforcement of industrial property rights. In order to structure the implementation of the data collection necessary for the report, the president of the HPO and the state secretary of the Ministry of Justice and Law Enforcement have sent out a questionnaire on two occasions to the stakeholders concerned as well as to the most important state agencies responsible for enforcing intellectual property rights.
The HPO participated in the preparation of the government decree on the assessment procedure of grant applications in the field of R&D and innovation, and in the preparation of certain legislative amendments on the exploitation of innovative results.
Hungarian Council for the Protection of Intellectual Property
During the seven years since its establishment, the Hungarian Council for the Protection of Intellectual Property (hereinafter referred to as the “Council”) has grown into a body playing an orientating role in the intellectual property profession. Its activities have helped the work of central public administration and commanded keen international interest. The activities of the Council are regulated by Article 115/F of Act XXXIII of 1995 on the protection of inventions by patents.
In March 2008 the third volume of an intellectual property protection series, co-edited by the HPO and the Council, entitled White Paper on Intellectual Property Protection was launched in the framework of a press conference. The volume devoted to the current issues of intellectual property protection gives an insight into the strategic ideas of domestic and international intellectual property protection in a knowledge-based economy of the 21st century. It also contains the HPO’s mid-term strategy for institution development, offers an overview of the new Hungarian body, the National Board Against Counterfeiting facilitating the enforcement of IP rights; and it elaborates on the most important issues concerning the “hot topics” in copyright and their backgrounds.
It is the fifth year that the quarterly “Newsletter on intellectual property protection”, a joint publication of the HPO and the Council, is published. It summarises news and current information in the fields of industrial property and copyright. The aim of the publication is to acquaint responsible political and professional decision-makers and figures in the economic and cultural spherese with current national and international issues of intellectual property protection in a concise form.
Upon the agreement concluded with the professional and financial support of the Council, the Hungarian Central Statistical Office made available for the HPO data on gross added value, gross emission, employment and income from 2006 for the purposes of an analysis on the economic contribution of copyright-based industries in Hungary, in line with the methodological guide laid down by the WIPO.
OFFICIAL ACTIVITY
Since our country’s accession to the European Union on 1 May 2004, the effect of Community protection systems has extended to Hungary as well. In 2008 the number of Community trademarks with effect extending to Hungary surpassed 81 000, that of Community designs rose above 78 000. At the same time, the dynamic growth in the number of Community trademark applications of the previous years came to a halt. As a consequence of the draining effect of the Community protection system, the number of foreign trademark applications received under the Madrid Agreement further decreased.
Due to the economic recession the number of trademark applications of domestic applicants decreased by 9%.
The HPO has performed the tasks of a receiving office deriving from the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), from the accession to the European Patent Convention on 1 January 2003 (including euro-PCT applications) and from the accession to the European Union on 1 May 2004. Hungarian applicants have been filing their foreign applications increasingly with the HPO as a receiving office. Domestic applicants filed 48 Community trademark applications, in 2008 via the HPO.
As a result of Hungary’s accession to the European and Community protection systems on 1 May 2004, the amount of rotection obtained by foreign applicants and extending to the territory of Hungary has continuously increased, which the Hungarian enterprises producing for the domestic market should also respect. The accession to the Community and European protection systems has also generated new official tasks for the HPO. In 2008 the HPO carried out national trademark searches for the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) and prepared the search reports with respect to more than 30 000 Community trademark applications. In the optional search system operating since 10 March 2008 not more than 3.6% of the Community trademark applicants requested national search Europe-wide, therefore, we will have to reckon with a decrease in the amount of such search tasks.
TRADEMARKS
In 2008, 4132 international trademark applications were received under the Madrid Agreement. As a consequence of the draining effect of the Community trademark system, the number of international applications was down by 9%, compared with the previous year. More than 87 000 Community trademark applications also covering Hungary were filed with the OHIM. Hungarian applicants filed 277 Community trademark applications, and 168 international (under the Madrid Agreement) applications.
The number of trademark applications filed following the national route was 3843; 9.5% less than in the previous year. The activity of domestic applicants was down by 9% compared with the previous year. Applications received from enterprises were preponderant in the case of both domestic and foreign applicants: 82% of domestic applications and 98% of foreign applications were of such origin. The three classes most frequently indicated in trademark applications filed following the national route were advertising, business (Class 35), education, training, sporting (Class 41), paper, packaging materials (Class 16).
In national trademark registration procedures 5359 national trademark cases were completed, the number of registrations was 4001, 390 applications were rejected, 132 withdrawn and 836 considered withdrawn. 3675 trademark applications were published. 72 cases were recommenced on the basis of requests for review. The number of pending cases further decreased, from 3959 to 2502. To the general satisfaction of applicants, the full processing time of registration procedures was reduced from 11 months to 9.8 months, while the time until the publications of trademark applications decreased on average from 6 months to 3.5 months.
With respect to national trademark procedures, the number of oppositions decreased compared with the previous year: 152 were filed. The procedure was com pleted in 233 cases; the processing time shortened also in the cases in which opposition was involved. The popularity of accelerated and fast-track registration procedures indicates the demand of customers for a quick closing of procedures. The customers requested accelerated registration procedure in 222 cases and fast-track registration procedure in 90 cases.
The HPO proceeded in 63 cases covering national trademarks to be settled by a board. 53 requests related to cancellation and 10 to revocation. The processing time was short, that is, 7-8 months.
The settlement of requests for cancellation in accelerated procedure was asked for in 2 cases.
4078 international trademarks were granted protection. The HPO issued search reports together with declaration of provisional statement of grant of protection or notification of provisional refusal in 4 300 cases, it issued final decision on refusal in 102 cases. The HPO received 60 oppositions, the number of cases completed that concerned opposition amounted to 59. The number of oppositions was down by almost 20% compared with the previous year.
The HPO received 10 new trademark cases to be settled by a board, of which 2 were requests for cancellation and 8 for revocation. 30 cases were completed, of which 15 were related to revocation and 15 to cancellation. The number of pending cases before the board decreased from 28 to 17. The average processing time continued to be 12-14 months in these cases.
At the end of 2008, international (Madrid) trademarks valid in Hungary totalled 143 130, representing a ecrease of 3% compared with the previous year. 33% of them were owned by German, 16% by French and 11% by Swiss proprietors. 68% of international trademarks valid in Hungary were younger than 20 years and 35% were younger than 10 years.
The number of Community trademark protections extending to Hungary was 507 845, up by 19% compared to the previous year.
One new application was filed for the registration of geographical indications with the HPO. At the end of the year there was no pending case. Under the Lisbon Agreement, 3 new international applications concerning appellations of origin were received, which were pending at the end of the year.
The number of national trademarks valid in Hungary amounted to 53 339 at the end of the year, which was up by 1246 on the previous year. Hungarians owned 56% of valid national trademarks. The ratio of US proprietors ranking second was 20%. The US was followed by the United Kingdom (4%) and Germany (3%). Among the proprietors having the highest number of valid national trademarks, Hungarian and foreign pharmaceutical companies ranked first, such as Gedeon Richter Plc., EGIS Pharmaceutical Company, Borsodi Beer Co., Chinoin Co., Zwack Unicum Plc., Glaxo Group and UNILEVER N.V..
The classes most frequently indicated in the case of valid national trademarks were: 1) advertising, commercial services (Class 35); 2) pharmaceutical, sanitary preparations (Class 5) ; 3) education, training, sporting; (Class 41); 4) instruments for scientific purposes; 5) paper, packaging materials (Class 16).
2038 valid trademarks were renewed. 64% of valid trademarks are 10-year-old or younger. 92% of the trademarks are not older than 20 years. 63 valid trademarks are older than a hundred years. Right-holders possessing such “old” trademarks are, among others, DaimlerChrysler AG with the signs “Mercedes” and “Daimler”; Unilever N.V. with the signs “Vasenol” and “Lux”; Kodak GmbH with the sign “Kodak”; Gedeon Richter with the sign “Tomogen”; OSRAM GmbH with the sign “Osram”; Beiersdorf AG with the sign ”Nivea”, GUABER S.r.l. with the sign „VIM” and Gilette Company with with its figurative trademark.
COURT REVIEW OF THE DECISIONS OF THE HUNGARIAN PATENT OFFICE
Less requests for review were settled within the HPO’s own competence. In the case of trademarks, the decline halted, the number of requests reached the level of 2005; the number of cases settled within the HPO’s own competence increased.
2008 saw a considerable, almost 30% decrease in the number of cases returned by the courts, with a final decision. As regards trademark matters, the number of orders rejecting the request for review decreased.
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