Research

Types of R&D results

 

Selected results entered and published in the R&D&I research, development and innovation information system (IS VaVaI) are available here

 

A.   Results protected by industrial property rights

  1. Patent
  2. Utility model
  3. Industrial design
  4. Trademark


Patent

Patents are granted for inventions that are new, are the result of inventive activity and capable of industrial application. Not only new products and technologies can be patented, but also chemically produced substances, pharmaceuticals, industrial production microorganisms, as well as biotechnological processes and products obtained through their use. On the contrary, discoveries or scientific theories, computer programmes, new plant varieties and animal breeds, and methods of treating humans and animals cannot be patented.
A patent is an invention for which an exclusive right of use has been granted:
  • for a Czech patent, by the Industrial Property Office under the conditions laid down in Act No. 527/1990 Coll., on Inventions and Rationalisation Proposals, as amended;
  • for a European patent, by the European Patent Office (EPO) under the conditions laid down in the Convention on the Grant of European Patents;
  • for other patents, by the competent patent office under the conditions laid down in the relevant legal order.

The result is a granted patent, which protects the original results of research and development carried out by the inventor or a team of which the inventor was a member.

A patent granted in the Czech Republic is valid for 20 years from the filing of the application and its basic effect is that no one may use it without its owner´s consent. Consent to use the patent is granted by a patent licence agreement. The patent can also be sold. In the event of patent infringement, full civil and criminal liability is established.


Utility model

A utility model is a technical solution that is novel, goes beyond mere technical skill and is capable of industrial application.
Only such technical solutions that are registered by the Industrial Property Office in the Register of Utility Models may be considered as a utility model. The details of the application, filing and validity period of a utility model are set out in Act No. 478/1992 Coll., on Utility Models, as amended.
However, all production methods or work activities and biological reproductive materials are excluded from protection by utility models. As regards the right to utility model protection and the particulars of a utility model application, similar principles apply as in the case of a patent application. The fundamental difference, however, is in the approval process. The utility model approval process is based on the so-called registration principle, where the Office only examines whether the basic requirements for registration are met and enters the utility model in the register, without examining whether the respective object in the application is eligible for protection in terms of novelty and creative level.

The maximum period of utility model validity, when paying renewal fees, is half that of a patent, i.e. 10 years.


Industrial design

An industrial design means the appearance of a product resulting mainly from the lines, contours, colours, shape, texture or materials of the product itself or of its decoration. It is a design solution, i.e. a visually perceptible feature of a product, not its technical or structural principle. The product is an industrially produced or crafted three-dimensional or two-dimensional element, i.e. an industrial or crafted object, including components intended to be assembled into a single composite product, its packaging, finish, graphic symbol and typographic logo.
It is a result protected under Act No. 207/2000 Coll., on the Protection of Industrial Designs and Amendments to Act No. 527/1990 Coll., on Inventions, Industrial Designs and Rationalisation, as amended.

Computer programmes and graphic designs alone without a connection to a specific product are not an industrial design.

The protection of a registered industrial design lasts for 5 years from the date of filing the industrial design application. The industrial design owner may renew the period of protection repeatedly, each time for 5 years, up to a total period of 25 years.


Trademark

The main purpose of a trademark is to identify the product of a particular manufacturer and distinguish it from other identical or similar products of competitors. This removes anonymity and defines the image and reputation of the company´s products. The company thus becomes more credible and reliable in the eyes of the consumer, thereby strengthening its position in the market.
A trademark is any symbol consisting mainly of words, including personal names, colours, drawings, letters, numbers or the shape of a product or its packaging or sounds, provided that it is capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one company from those of another and is capable of being expressed in the trademark register in a manner which enables the competent authorities and the public to specify clearly and precisely the object of protection granted to the trademark owner. An application for a trademark registration may be filed both by a natural person or a legal entity.

The trademark validity is 10 years from the date of filing the trademark application. The validity may be extended for another 10 years at any time based on an application for the trademark renewal filed within the statutory period.

 

B.   Results protected under Copyright Act

  1. Software
  2. Architectural or urban planning work


Software

Software is a programme, or a set of machine instructions used to ensure the operation of a computer or other hardware, including machines and devices, and their interaction with the environment. The condition is the novelty and uniqueness of the software design, which is evidenced by the technical documentation of the result.

In the Czech Republic, software is protected as a literary work under the Copyright Act. However, a different regime of protection is applied for software within copyright law than for other works of authorship. The only condition for protection in the case of software is that the software must be original, in the sense that it must be the author´s own creation. Compared to other works of authorship, no other conditions for protection are examined such as creativity, uniqueness, non-repeatability, etc.

Software can be e.g.:
  • development of new operating systems and languages;
  • design and implementation of search engines based on original technologies;
  • efforts to resolve conflicts within hardware or software based on a system or network transformation process;
  • creating new or more efficient algorithms based on new techniques;
  • creating new and original encryption systems or security techniques.
Software is not:
  • development of business application software and information systems using known methods and existing software tools;
  • adding user functions to existing application programmes (including basic input data functionality);
  • creating websites or software applications using existing tools;
  • using standard encryption, security verification and data integrity testing methods;
  • adapting a product for a specific application, unless knowledge is added during the process that significantly improves the basic programme;
  • routine debugging of existing systems and programmes, unless this is done before the end of the experimental development process.

Therefore, software cannot be owned and cannot be simply transferred to another person due to the non-transferability of personal and proprietary copyrights. The author of the software or the executor of the rights may grant a licence, i.e. an authorisation to exercise the right to use the work (in its original or modified form), to another person.


Architectural or urban planning work

The Copyright Act classifies architectural and urban planning works as works of authorship if they meet the characteristics of author´s work. They may include building designs and spatial planning documentation. A building itself is an expression (reproduction) of the author´s work. The Copyright Act makes a distinction between personal copyright and proprietary copyright. As a rule, architectural and urban planning works are works made for hire or works created by employees.

The contractual relationships may be governed by a licence agreement or a contract for work.

The basic legislation related to construction is the Building Act. According to it, two main areas of creating documentation can be distinguished which can be regarded as a work of authorship (if the conceptual features of the Copyright Act are met):
  1. spatial planning documentation,
  2. documentation prepared in accordance with the Building Code (Part Four of the Building Act).

 

C.   Results protected under the Civil Code, the Criminal Code and the Labour Code

  1. Proven technology
  2. Know-how
  3. Prototype
  4. Certified methodology


Proven technology

It is similar to semi-operation, with the difference that the novelty is applied to the production process (technology). The condition is testing (verification) of the technology, supported by a verification protocol and subsequent application in production. Such a term may, for example, refer to a result that is the subject of a contract for the application of the result concluded between the author of the result (recipient or another participant) and the user of the result.


Know-how

Czech law does not provide any special protection for know-how. However, know-how can be protected as a trade secret, which is an institute regulated by the Civil Code.

An entrepreneur´s interest in keeping know-how as a trade secret can be expressed in different ways, e.g. in employment contracts, unilateral confidentiality agreements, but also in factual secrecy. The actual secrecy of a trade secret may be ensured, for example, by storing materials containing know-how in a safe or bank vault, by prohibiting unauthorised persons from accessing certain workplaces, by access rights to documents containing know-how, by encryption, etc.
In the event of a know-how infringement, protection may be sought not only under the provisions of the Civil Code on unfair competition, but also under the Labour Code or the Criminal Code.


Prototype

A prototype is a more complex industrial product, made as a single piece to verify the properties of a design in practice or on a test bench before putting it into serial or mass production. Only a product the development of which has been the objective of an applied research, experimental development and innovation project or other applied R&D&I activities may be considered as such a result.


Certified methodology

A certified methodology is the result of the author´s development of a methodology (the necessary condition being the novelty of applied procedures) which has been approved and recommended for use in practice by the relevant government authority.