Hungary
GENERAL INFORMATION
Area: 93,036 sq. km.
Population: 9,855,745 (2024).
Capital: Budapest.
Language: Hungarian.
Currency: Forint.
GENERAL REMARKS
Hungary is an OECD country and a member of the European Union as of May 1, 2004.
PATENTS OF INVENTION
LEGAL BASIS
- Patent Law No. XXXIII of 1995, in force since January 1, 1996.
- Decree No. 20/2002 (XII.12) (IM) on Rules of formal requirements of patent applications, in force since January 1, 2003.
- Decree No. 19/2005 (IV. 12.) (GKM) on Fees of the Proceedings before the Intellectual Property Organization (HIPO), in force since June 11, 2009.
- Law No. L of 2002 on Enactment of the Convention on the Grant of European Patents.
- Regulation (EC) No. 469/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of May 6, 2009 concerning the supplementary protection certificate for medicinal products.
MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS
- Paris Convention, Stockholm Act.
- Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), since June 27, 1980.
- European Patent Convention, since January 1, 2003
FILING REQUIREMENTS
- Power of Attorney, simply signed by the applicant, no legalization required (can be filed later);
- Assignment (if the applicant is other than the inventor(s)), no legalization required (can be filed later);
- Application documents can be filed in any language (exceptions: the indication that a patent is sought and the identification of the applicant should be given in Hungarian) comprising specification and abstract; Hungarian translation thereof can be filed within four months, but this term is twelve months if the specification and abstract were filed in English;
- Formal drawings, if any;
- Priority document(s), if any, generally without translation, but the HIPO has the right to request a translation. The priority document should be filed within four months from the filing date; no extension of term is possible).
REMARKS
National Phase of PCT: under Chapter I: 31 months; under Chapter II: 31 months.
Validity: 20 years from the filing date.
Annuities: are accumulated and due on the day of publication.
Opposition: not provided for.
TRADE AND SERVICE MARKS
LEGAL BASIS
- Act No. 11 of 1997 on the Protection of Trade Marks and Geographical Indications, in force as of July 1, 1997; last comprehensive revision by Act XLI of 2023, in force since January 1, 2024.
MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS
- Paris Convention, Stockholm Act.
- Madrid Agreement, Stockholm Act.
- Madrid Protocol, since October 3, 1997.
FILING REQUIREMENTS
- Name and address of applicant;
- Specification of goods and/or services (International Classification);
- Power of Attorney, signed by the applicant (no legalization, late filing possible);
- Representation of the mark (for device marks: 1 print);
- If priority is claimed, priority document must be filed within two months after filing date.
REMARKS
Kinds of protection: trademarks comprising a word or device or a combination of both, two- and three-dimensional designations. Service marks are registrable.
Classification: International.
Obligation to use the registered mark: compulsory. Non-use during any five-year period of effective registration allows any interested party to require cancellation of the registration. Cancellation ex officio on the basis of non-use is excluded.
Duration – renewals: 10-year period from the filing date, renewable for further periods of 10 years.
Opposition: possible within three months from the publication date but on relative grounds only and by persons concerned by the cited prior right.
INDUSTRIAL DESIGNS
LEGAL BASIS
- Law No. XLVIII of 2001 on Protection of Industrial Designs.
- Decree No. 19/2001 (XI.29), (IM) of the Minister of Justice on Rules of Formal Requirements in Industrial Design cases.
MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS
- Paris Convention, Stockholm Act.
- Hague Agreement, since April 7, 1984, Geneva Act, since May 1, 2004
FILING REQUIREMENTS
- Defining the name of the design and preferably the class according to the Locarno Agreement;
- Power of Attorney, simply signed by applicant, no legalization;
- Assignment of priority right;
- 1 copy of drawings or photographs in the size between 3 x 4 cm and 9 x 12 cm, showing the design in the required number of views for identification (in case of electronic filing: up to 100 views in JPG format each having a max. size of 250 kbyte may be uploaded); if colors are significant, then the drawings (photographs) must be colored. Description or written specification is not allowed;
- Priority document (see patents).
REMARKS
Duration – renewals: 5 years. Can be extended for four additional 5-year periods.
Opposition: not provided for.
DOMAIN NAMES
LEGAL BASIS
- Domain Registration Policy, in force as of March 20, 2025.
FILING
- ccTLD: .hu
- Applicant: citizens or legal entities of any country. An applicant who is not: (a) a legal person or a national of a Member State of the EU, the EEA or EFTA, or of a country bordering Hungary; or (b) a natural person with a residence permit in Hungary, is eligible to apply if it carries out an economic or other activity that justifies the use of a .hu domain name. Note: for registration under .tm.hu domain, only domain names that are trademarks of the applicant may be registered.
- Local presence: not required.
REMARKS
Duration – renewals: depends on appointed Registrar; usually one year, renewable.
Uniform dispute resolution procedure: none, but an Aternative Dispute Resolution procedure (ADR) is avalailabe.
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