Slovenia belongs to the following patent-related international treaties:

• Paris Convention
• Patent Cooperation Treaty ("PCT")
• TRIPS
• Strasbourg Agreement on the International Patent Classification ("IPC") system
• Patent Law Treaty ("PLT")
• Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure
• European Patent Convention ("EPC")

Inventions protections available in Slovenia include:

• Inventions
• Others: Short Term Patents and Confidential Patents. (1) Short Term Patents are similar to utility models. They can be granted for inventions that are new, susceptible of industrial application and result of creative effort; the creative step replaces the condition of inventive step applicable to patents. Short Term Patents cannot be granted for processes, plant varieties and animal breeds, and cannot be converted into a regular patent. Their maximum term is ten years from the date of filing the application. (2) Confidential Patents: inventions relating to national defense or national security have to be reported to the Slovenian Ministry of Defense. They may be applied for patent protection only if the Ministry does not wish to exploit the respective invention or agrees to the filing of the patent application.  

The following subject matter is excluded from patent protection in Slovenia:

• Methods of medical treatment or diagnosis
• Computer programs
• Business methods
• Others:
  • discoveries, scientific theories, mathematical methods and other rules, plans, methods and procedures for spiritual activity,
  • inventions, the exploitation of which would be contrary to public order or morality,
  • inventions of surgical or diagnostic methods or methods of treatment practiced directly on the living human or animal body, with the exception of inventions relating to products, in particular substances or compositions for use in any of these methods.

Documents and information required for filing a national patent application in Slovenia include:

• Name and address of the applicant(s)
• Name and address of the inventor(s)
• Specification (description, claims and drawings)
• Abstract
• Power of Attorney
• Others:
  • Power of Attorney ("POA"): Applicable when the application is being filed through a representative (which is mandatory for foreign individuals and legal persons having neither residence nor real and effective industrial or commercial establishment in the Republic of Slovenia); an original POA, signed by the official representative of the applicant, should be submitted (no notarization or legalization  is required);
  • an  indication that a patent is sought;  
  • proof of payment of the application fee;
  • text of the application in the Slovenian language (if the application has been initially submitted in a foreign language);
  • the title of the invention in the Slovene language;
  • notification address to which the Slovenian Intellectual Property Office sends the documents and other notices;
  • information about the representative (if the application is submitted through a representative), who must be entered in the register of representatives at the Slovenian Intellectual Property Office;
  • an indication of the declaration of the joint representative where there are several applicants and opt for a joint representative;
  • information on the priority right claimed and the basis for it
  • a certificate of deposit of biological material with an international depository authority, if an invention relates to biological material defined by regulation not available to the public and cannot be described otherwise;
  • an  indication of whether the application is for a short-term patent;
  • an indication of whether the applicant wants the application to be published early;
  • an indication of whether exclusion from the previous application is requested and an indication of the number of the previous application.

Yes, it is possible to request early publication or deferment of publication in Slovenia. Whereby the period may not be shorter than three months from the date of the filing (or, if priority has been claimed, the date of priority), otherwise, the patent applications are published within eighteen months from the date of the filing (or, if priority has been claimed, the date of priority)

Yes, the applicant has a provisional right upon publication of an application in Slovenia. Prior to the patent grant, the applicant has the right to compensation, conditional upon the patent ultimately being granted. In order to secure its right to compensation, the applicant has to inform the alleged infringer of the unpublished patent application. Following the patent grant, the enforceability is still limited (except for short-term patents) pending the issuance of a declaratory decision (i.e., a decision declaring that the patent fulfills patentability conditions). An infringement action may be started, but the court will stay the proceeding pending the issuance of the declaratory decision.

It is possible to file voluntary amendments in Slovenia at the following times:

• A patent application may be amended up until publication and grant of the patent (with the exception of amendments broadening the scope of the originally filed application).

No, it is not required to file a request for substantive examination in Slovenia. 

No, there is no third-party opposition procedure upon publication or after grant in Slovenia. 

The time period from application to grant in Slovenia is within 18 months from the day of the filing  (together with the grant of the patent, or, if priority has been claimed, the date of priority). 

Yes, there is a process for accelerated examination of an application in Slovenia. On the applicant’s request, the application can be published earlier, but not sooner than three months after the filing (or, if priority has been claimed, the date of priority).

Yes, it is required to pay an annuity to maintain the validity of a patent in Slovenia. 

Yes, late payment of an annuity is permissible in Slovenia. Late payments must be made in the period of six months from the due date of the annuity, the fee for the late payment amounts to an extra 50% of the total amount of the annuity.

Available enforcement methods in Slovenia include: 

• Civil enforcement
• Administrative enforcement
• Criminal enforcement
• Border measures

Slovenian patents are not substantively examined: the Slovenian IP Office does not verify if the patent is new, at the inventive level and industrially applicable. However, there is an obligation to provide before the expiry of the ninth year of validity of the patent or when enforcing the patent in court, if earlier, a written proof (as specified by law) that the patented invention meets all the patentability requirements.