Does Estonia perform substantive examination of patent applications?

Yes. The Estonian Patent Office conducts both formal and substantive examination of patent applications, including the assessment of novelty, inventive step and industrial applicability.

Is it necessary for foreign applicants to appoint an Estonian patent attorney?

Yes. Applicants who do not have a residence or place of business in Estonia must be represented by a registered Estonian patent attorney before the Estonian Patent Office.

Is it possible to obtain a patent for a utility model in Estonia?

Yes, the Estonian patent legislation stipulates utility model registration.

In which language must a patent application be filed in Estonia?

Patent applications must be filed in Estonian. If the application is initially filed in another language, the Estonian translation is to be filed within two months from the filing date.

May the applicant amend the patent application during examination in Estonia?

Yes. The applicant may amend the description, claims and drawings during the examination procedure, provided that the amendments do not extend beyond the content of the application as originally filed and are submitted before the decision to grant the patent is issued by the Estonian Patent Office.

What is the duration of a patent in Estonia?

A patent in Estonia is granted for a term of 20 years from the filing date of the application, provided that the required annual maintenance fees are duly paid to the Estonian Patent Office.

PATENT IN ESTONIA

MIKHAILYUK, SOROKOLAT & PARTNERS offers the full range of legal services related to patent registration in Estonia including patent search, patent translation, filing and further prosecution of an application, patent maintenance, preparing and recordal of assignment and license agreements as well as representing applicants before courts. We do our best to represent our clients' interests in the most efficient and cost-effective manner.

The validity term of a patent in Estonia is 20 years from the filing date. For pharmaceutical patents and patents for agrochemicals it is possible to apply for extension of this term for additional 5 years. In case a patent is extended the Supplementary Protection Certificate (SPC) will be issued.

Novelty grace period is 12 months from disclosure of the information on the invention before filing an application.

Overview of the patent registration procedure in Estonia:
After completion of the filing procedure an Estonian patent application undergoes a formal examination lasting 1 month. On condition that an applicant submits all required documents, a notification about positive result of the formal examination will be issued. Estonian legislation stipulates that the substantive examination is carried out automatically upon publication of the application. At this, no request has to be filed to the Patent Office. If an invention meets the requirements of patentability, the grant decision will be issued. A patent will be issued after payment of the registration fee.

The procedure of the patent registration in Estonia takes from 2 to 3 years.

Foreign applicants must be represented before the Office by a registered Estonian patent attorney.

What is required for filing a patent application in Estonia:

filing instructions comprising applicant's and inventor's names, addresses and citizenships;
a filing number and a date of a priority application or a PCT application;
a specification with claims, abstract and drawings;
a copy of the amendments, if any;
a Power of Attorney simply signed and stamped by the applicant(s); legalization and notarization are not required unless it is signed by a proxy-holder. The executed PoA may be provided to the Estonian Patent Office within 2 months from the application filing date.

For conventional applications it is necessary to provide a certified copy of a priority document if priority is claimed. It may be provided to the Estonian Patent Office within 16 months from priority date.

Patent protection in Estonia may be obtained by filing a national patent application with the Estonian Patent Office or by validating a granted European patent in Estonia through the European Patent Office.

In the case of a PCT application, protection in Estonia may be pursued either by entering the national phase before the Estonian Patent Office or by entering the European regional phase before the European Patent Office and subsequently validating the granted European patent in Estonia.

Inventions may also be protected as Utility Models in Estonia. Utility models are granted for technical inventions with a lower inventive step requirement than patents, and the maximum term of protection is 10 years from the filing date, subject to the payment of annual fees.

Terms
The term for entering the Estonian national phase of a PCT application is 31 months from the priority date. The term for filing a conventional patent application in Estonia is 12 months from the priority date.

If you need further information concerning patent registration in Estonia or quotation for filing and prosecuting of a Estonian patent application please feel free to contact us.

Frequently asked questions

What are the available routes to obtain patent protection in Estonia? +

Patent protection in Estonia may be obtained by filing a national patent application with the Estonian Patent Office or by validating a granted European patent in Estonia through the European Patent Office. In the case of a PCT application, protection may be pursued either by entering the national phase before the Estonian Patent Office or by entering the European regional phase before the European Patent Office followed by validation in Estonia.
Does Estonia perform substantive examination of patent applications? +

Yes. The Estonian Patent Office conducts both formal and substantive examination of patent applications, including the assessment of novelty, inventive step and industrial applicability.
Is it necessary for foreign applicants to appoint an Estonian patent attorney? +

Yes. Applicants who do not have a residence or place of business in Estonia must be represented by a registered Estonian patent attorney before the Estonian Patent Office.
Is it possible to obtain a patent for a utility model in Estonia? +

Yes, the Estonian patent legislation stipulates utility model registration.

In which language must a patent application be filed in Estonia? +

Patent applications must be filed in Estonian. If the application is initially filed in another language, the Estonian translation is to be filed within two months from the filing date.
May the applicant amend the patent application during examination in Estonia? +

Yes. The applicant may amend the description, claims and drawings during the examination procedure, provided that the amendments do not extend beyond the content of the application as originally filed and are submitted before the decision to grant the patent is issued by the Estonian Patent Office.
What is the duration of a patent in Estonia? +

A patent in Estonia is granted for a term of 20 years from the filing date of the application, provided that the required annual maintenance fees are duly paid to the Estonian Patent Office.