1. What is a trade mark?

A trade mark may be any verbal, figurative, three-dimensional, position sign, pattern sign, single colour sign or combination colour sign without contours, a sound, motion, multimedia, hologram sign or other sign capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one undertaking from those of other undertakings.

2. Who may submit an application for a trade mark?

• Natural persons (or their representatives);
• Legal entities (or their representatives);
• Associations of natural persons or legal entities (for collective trade marks).

3. What shall a trade mark application include?

• Applications shall be submitted on a prescribed form (the form is available only in Slovak)
• The applicant’s identification data and signature,
• Identification data and signature of the applicant's representative (if the applicant has a representative),
• The representation of the sign subject to application,
• The list of goods and services for which the trade mark is to be registered,
• A written agreement concluded among all members of an association (for collective trade marks),
• The list of members entitled to use the trade mark (for collective trade marks).

4. What does a trade mark application procedure involve?

• The application shall be submitted in person to the filing office of the Industrial Property Office  in Banská Bystrica, by post to the Office’s address in Banská Bystrica or electronically (the service is available only in Slovak).
• Payment of the administrative fee is required.
• The Office shall examine the application and if it meets the requirements, publish it in the Official Gazette.
• Third parties have 3 months from publication to submit oppositions.
• Provided that the procedure has not been halted, the application has not been rejected and no oppositions have been submitted, the Office shall register the trade mark in the register and notify the registration in the Official Gazette.
• The Office shall issue a certificate to the proprietor.

5. What is the duration of trade mark protection and what administrative fees apply?

The term of registration of a trade mark is 10 years from the date of the application, while protection can be extended by additional 10 years at the request of a trade mark proprietor.

The following administrative fees apply to registration and maintenance of protection:

More information on the fees is available at the Office's website.

6. What are the rights of a trade mark proprietor?

• Trade mark proprietors have exclusive right to use a trade mark for the products and services for which it is registered,
• Use ® together with the trade mark,
• Authorise third parties to use the trade mark,
• Transfer the rights to the trademark to another natural person or legal entity,
• Seek legal protection if their rights are threatened or violated,
• Prohibit third parties from using the trade mark in question in the course of trade,
• Request a work publisher to correct in case of discrepancies,
• Prohibit an agent from unauthorised use of the trade mark,
• Prevent third parties from bringing goods and services to the territory of the Slovak Republic, if they bear the trade mark without authorisation.