Filing the Application
The Hungarian Intellectual Property Office acts as a receiving office in case of applications filed in the framework of the Treaty, where at least one of the applicants is Hungarian citizen or the residence or seat of at least one of the applicants is in Hungary. The application may also be filed with the International Bureau of WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) in Geneva, or with the European Patent Office in The Hague, Munich or Berlin.
The application has to be filed according to the formal requirements defined by the Treaty and in a manner described in the Treaty, in one of the languages accepted by the competent searching authority, which has been selected by the applicant.
The international application must contain three copies of the following elements: request, description, claim or claims, one or more drawings (where drawings are necessary for the understanding of the invention), and abstract.
Where the international application is filed with the Hungarian Intellectual Property Office as receiving Office, the applicant may choose between the European Patent Office and the Visegrad Patent Institut to carry out international searches and accordingly the international application must be filed in English, French, German or English, Hungarian language. The international application may be filed in Hungarian too with the Hungarian Intellectual Property Office as receiving Office, but in this case if the choosen Searching Authority is the European Patent Office a translation in the corresponding language of the international application must be furnished within thirty days after the filing. If the choosen Searching Authority is the Visegrad Patent Institut the translation must be furnished within 14 months from the priority date, on any language of publication which the receiving Office accepts.
In connection with the international application a transmittal fee fixed by the Hungarian Intellectual Property Office an international filing fee and a search fee fixed by the Treaty are to be paid.
During the international phase, following the transmittal of the international application to the International Bureau and the International Searching Authority the applicant can communicate either with the Receiving Office or with the International Bureau.
By entering in the national phase the applicant can communicate with the national (or regional) Offices only.