ACT ON PATENT ATTORNEYS
Adopted by the Parliament on 21 February 2001
Put into force on 20 April 2001
Chapter 1
GENERAL PROVISIONS
§ 1. Scope of application of Act
The Act establishes the legal base for the activity of a patent attorney.
§ 2. Patent attorney
(1) A patent attorney is a person who provides legal service in the area of industrial property (hereinafter legal service).
(2) A person who has been granted, on the base and pursuant to the procedure provided in the present Act, the profession of a patent attorney for acting in one or both of the areas of professional activity of a patent attorney, may work as a patent attorney.
(3) The areas of professional activity of a patent attorney are:
2) trademark, industrial design and geographical indication.
§ 3. Validity of authorisation
(1) When it is provided by law that a patent attorney may present a power of attorney after performing an action, the date of performance of the action shall be regarded as the date of giving the authorisation, regardless of the date of signing of the power of attorney.
(2) An authorisation expires:
1) when a patent attorney resigns to represent a person in the cases provided in § 5 (4) of the Act;
2) when the registration data of a patent attorney are deleted from the state register of patent attorneys (hereinafter register).
3) upon suspension of the professional activity of the patent attorney;
4) in other cases provided by law.
(4) When a patent attorney dies, is divested of active legal capacity or when the active legal capacity of the patent attorney is restricted, the successor or guardian of the patent attorney, as well as the company of the patent attorney shall forthwith notify the Minister of Economy or the official authorised by the Minister of Economy thereof.
Chapter 2
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY OF PATENT ATTORNEY
AND SUPERVISION OVER PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY OF PATENT ATTORNEY
§ 4. Legal competence of patent attorney
In the area of professional activity, a patent attorney is competent to:
2) represent a person before the state agencies and before the courts as well as in other cases;
3) collect evidences;
4) freely select and apply the means and methods provided by law upon providing legal service to a person;
5) certify translations and transcripts of industrial property documents to be submitted to the agencies.
§ 5. Obligations of patent attorney
(1) A patent attorney is obliged to:
2) notify the person having authorised him or her of the actions executed in the course of providing legal service;
3) conduct a list of actions related to the legal services provided.
(3) A patent attorney may not provide legal service to a person whose interests are in conflict with those of another person to whom the same patent attorney provides or has provided legal service in the same matter, as well as in other cases provided by law.
(4) A patent attorney may, on his own initiative, abandon providing legal service to a person if the person has:
2) repeatedly failed to pay for legal service in time;
3) rendered the provision of legal service to him or her impossible by his activity;
4) abused the name or profession of the patent attorney.
§ 6. Guarantees to professional activity of patent attorney
(1) A patent attorney is independent when providing legal service and is guided by the law, as well as by requirements of professional ethics, good customs and conscience.
(2) The data trusted to a patent attorney are confidential. A patent attorney may not be questioned or demanded explanation about circumstances of which the patent attorney or an employee of the company of the patent attorney has become aware of in the course of providing legal service.
(3) The information carriers obtained in the course of providing legal service may not be taken away from the patent attorney or from an employee of the company of the patent attorney, as well as from the company of the patent attorney.
§ 7. Keeping of professional secret
(1) A patent attorney is obliged to keep secret the business secrets of which he has become aware in the course of providing legal service. This obligation is not limited in time and is also valid after termination of the professional activity of the patent attorney.
(2) The obligation set out in subsection 1 of this section also applies to employees of the company of a patent attorney and to public servants who have become aware of the professional secret of a patent attorney in connection with performing service duties.
(3) A person or the legal successor of a person may release a patent attorney from the obligation to keep professional secret by written consent.
(4) The obligation to keep professional secret does not extend to the collection of expenses for the legal service of a patent attorney.
(5) Disclosure of data to an official exercising state supervision over the activities of a patent attorney shall not be regarded as violation of the professional secret.
§ 8. Forms of professional activity of patent attorney
(1) A patent attorney may act as a sole proprietor, through a company of a patent attorney or, when having the profession of a patent attorney, under an employment contract with another person.
(2) The data of a patent attorney acting as a sole proprietor shall be entered in the commercial register.
(3) A patent attorney acting as a sole proprietor or a company of a patent attorney shall notify the commercial register of his or her contact data and those of the company. Data on patent attorneys acting through a company of a patent attorney shall be communicated to the register by the company. A person who has the profession of a patent attorney and acts under an employment contract with another person shall notify the register of his or her contact data and those of the employer.
§ 9. Company of patent attorney
(1) A company of a patent attorney may only provide legal service.
(2) A company of a patent attorney may merge only with another company of a patent attorney.
(3) The partnership agreement of a company of a patent attorney that acts as a general partnership or limited partnership company, shall be made in writing and enclosed to the company's application for entry in the commercial register.
(4) The business name of a company of a patent attorney or a patent attorney acting as a sole proprietor shall contain the phrase "patent bureau" or "patent attorney".
§ 10. Proprietary liability
(1) A patent attorney shall be liable for proprietary damage caused by a culpable action of the patent attorney when providing legal service.
(2) Where a patent attorney provides legal service through a company of a patent attorney, the patent attorney and the company shall be solidarily liable for the damage specified in subsection 1 of this section.
§ 11. Professional liability insurance of patent attorney
(1) To ensure compensation for the damage specified in § 10 of the Act, a patent attorney or a company of a patent attorney shall enter into a contract to insure the professional liability of the patent attorney.
(2) The minimum insurance amount is one million kroons.
(3) The insurer shall have the right of reclamation against a patent attorney acting as a sole proprietor, against a company of a patent attorney or against a patent attorney, if the insurance benefit has been paid to compensate for damage resulting from a deliberate act of the patent attorney.
§ 12. Advertising of patent attorney
(1) A patent attorney and a company of a patent attorney may not advertise themselves and their activities.
(2) For the purposes of the Act, advertising shall not include information about the name, areas of professional activity and contact data of a patent attorney or a company of a patent attorney, and about the employees of a company of a patent attorney.
(3) The Patent Office shall publish information about the names, areas of activity and contact data of all patent attorneys and companies of patent attorneys in its official publication and on the website of the register.
§ 13. State supervision over professional activity of patent attorney
(1) The Minister of Economy or an official authorised thereby shall exercise state supervision over the professional activity of patent attorneys.
(2) A patent attorney over whose professional activity state supervision is exercised shall, at the request of the Minister of Economy or the official authorised thereby:
2) submit to the Minister of Economy or to the official authorised thereby documents concerning the professional activity of the patent attorney, as well as documents concerning the affairs of the related company of the patent attorney;
3) provide explanations about the professional activity of the patent attorney.
(3) The Minister of Economy or the official authorised thereby may:
2) suspend the professional activity of the patent attorney in the cases specified in § 19 of the Act;
3) adopt a resolution to revoke the profession of a patent attorney in the cases specified in § 20 of the Act.
Chapter 3
GRANTING OF PROFESSION OF PATENT ATTORNEY
§ 14. Conditions for granting profession of patent attorney
(1) The profession of a patent attorney may be granted to a person who:
2) is a citizen of Estonia or a member state of the European Union and whose permanent residence is in Estonia;
3) has university education;
4) has a command of spoken and written Estonian;
5) has been employed, prior to applying for the profession of a patent attorney, by a patent attorney or by a company of a patent attorney for at least the four previous years in the area in which he or she applies for a profession;
6) has a command of two foreign languages to the extent necessary for the professional activity of a patent attorney, at least one of which is the official working language of the European Patent Office;
7) has not been punished pursuant to criminal procedure for intentionally committed criminal offence.
§ 15. Patent attorneys professional qualifications committee
(1) For granting the profession of patent attorney, the Minister of Economy shall set up a patent attorneys professional qualifications committee (hereinafter committee) of at least six members, approve the membership and appoint the chairman thereof.
(2) The members of the committee shall include two officers of the Patent Office and two patent attorneys.
(3) The committee is competent to adopt resolutions if the chairman of the committee, or in the absence of the chairman, the person whom the chairman has appointed to substitute for the chairman, and at least four members of the committee participate in adopting the resolution.
(4) Resolutions of the committee shall be adopted by a simple majority of votes. In case of equal division of votes, the chairman of the committee or the person substituting for the chairman shall have the casting vote.
(5) The Minister of Economy shall establish the statutes of the committee.
(6) The activity of the committee shall be financed from the state budget through the budget of the Ministry of Economy.
§ 16. Application for profession of patent attorney
(1) An applicant for the profession of patent attorney shall submit to the committee:
2) documents evidencing compliance with the requirements set out in § 14 (1), (2), (3) and (5) of the Act;
3) a report of actions performed during employment by a patent attorney concerning the industrial property (hereinafter report); 4) a document evidencing the payment of state fee.
2) the applicant's confirmation of compliance with the requirements set out in § 14 (1) 1), 4), 6) and 7) of the Act.
§ 17. Professional examination of patent attorney
(1) The professional examination of patent attorney (hereinafter examination) is a test of the knowledge of the applicant for the profession of patent attorney in the area of professional activity of a patent attorney in which the applicant applies for the profession.
(2) The examination shall be held as needed, but not less frequently than once a year.
(3) The committee shall determine the date and place of the examination.
(4) The examination is in writing. The examination consists of a test of the theoretical knowledge of the examinee and of solving cases concerning industrial property.
(5) The examination result shall be assessed by a grade of one to ten.
(6) The examination grade is an average of the grades given by the committee members, which is rounded off to an integer. A grade lower than five shall be regarded as unsatisfactory.
(7) When an examinee has received an unsatisfactory grade, the applicant for the profession of patent attorney has failed the examination.
(8) When an applicant for the profession of patent attorney failed the examination, he or she may retake the examination after three months.
(9) An applicant for the profession of patent attorney may retake the examination for a third or subsequent occasion when three years have passed from the latest examination.
§ 18. Resolution
(1) The committee shall adopt a resolution to grant the profession of patent attorney if the applicant for the profession of patent attorney:
2) has confirmed his or her compliance with the requirements set out in § 14 (1) 1), 4), 6) and 7) of the Act;
3) has passed the examination.
(2) The committee shall adopt a resolution to refuse to grant the profession of patent attorney if the applicant does not comply with the requirements set out in § 14 (1) of this Law or fails the examination.
(3) A resolution to grant the profession of patent attorney shall enter into force as from making the entry of registration of the resolution to grant the profession of patent attorney in the register.
(4) A resolution to refuse to grant the profession of patent attorney shall enter into force as from the date of adoption of the resolution.
(5) A copy of the resolution to grant the profession of patent attorney shall be sent to the applicant for the profession of patent attorney and to the register within three working days after adoption of the resolution to grant the profession of patent attorney.
(6) A copy of the resolution to refuse to grant the profession of patent attorney shall be sent to the applicant for the profession of patent attorney within three working days after adoption of the resolution to refuse to grant the profession of patent attorney.
(7) The state fee paid for application for the profession of patent attorney shall not be reimbursed.
§ 19. Suspension and reinstatement of professional activity of patent attorney
(1) The professional activity of a patent attorney shall be suspended when:
2) the patent attorney is a bankrupt;
3) the company of the patent attorney through which the patent attorney provides legal service is a bankrupt;
4) the patent attorney has filed an application for suspension with the register.
(3) The Minister of Economy or the official authorised thereby shall adopt a resolution to suspend the professional activity of a patent attorney within five working days after the date of filing of the application for suspension of the professional activity of the patent attorney, or within 10 working days after the date of arising of the grounds for suspension of the professional activity of the patent attorney.
(4) A copy of a resolution to suspend the professional activity of a patent attorney shall be sent to the patent attorney and to the register within three days after adoption of the resolution to suspend the professional activity of the patent attorney.
(5) For reinstatement of the professional activity of the patent attorney, the patent attorney shall submit to the Minister of Economy or the official authorised thereby an application and documents evidencing that the grounds for suspension of the professional activity of the patent attorney no longer exist.
(6) The Minister of Economy or the official authorised thereby shall adopt a resolution to reinstate or to refuse to reinstate the professional activity of the patent attorney on the basis of the application.
(7) Where the profession of a patent attorney has been suspended for more than five years, the profession of the patent attorney shall be reinstated after passing the examination specified in § 17 of this Law.
§ 20. Revocation of profession of patent attorney
(1) The profession of a patent attorney shall be revoked if the patent attorney:
2) has repeatedly failed to perform the obligations set out in § 5 (1) of the Act;
3) fails to comply with the requirements set out in § 14 (1) of the Act;
4) files an application for renouncing the profession of patent attorney.
(3) Revocation of the profession of the patent attorney shall enter into force as from registering the resolution to revoke the profession of the patent attorney in the register.
(4) A copy of the resolution to revoke the profession of a patent attorney shall be sent to the patent attorney and to the register within three working days after the date of adoption of the resolution to revoke the profession of the patent attorney.
Chapter 4
STATE REGISTER OF PATENT ATTORNEYS
§ 21. Establishment of register
(1) The Government of the Republic shall establish the register.
(2) The Government of the Republic shall establish the statutes of the register.
§ 22. Keeping of register
(1) The Patent Board is the chief processor the register.
(2) The register entries are:
2) entry of amendments to registration data;
3) entry of deletion of registration.
(4) A register entry shall enter into force as of the date of making the entry.
(5) A notice of a register entry shall be published in the official gazette of the Patent Office.
§ 23. Publicity of register and issue of information
(1) The register is public. Everyone has the right to examine the register entries and receive copies thereof.
(2) A state fee shall be charged for issue of written information from the register, except for issue of information for officials entitled to exercise supervision or for courts.
§ 24. Registration data
Registration data are:
2) name, personal ID code and contact data of patent attorney;
3) data on the education of patent attorney;
4) area of professional activity of patent attorney;
5) foreign languages of which the patent attorney has a command to the extent necessary for the professional activity;
6) the date of adoption of the resolution to grant profession of patent attorney;
7) commercial register registry card data, office address and other contact data of patent attorney or the company of patent attorney through which the patent attorney is acting;
8) data on resolutions on suspension of professional activity of patent attorney, reinstatement of professional activity of patent attorney, refusal to reinstate professional activity of patent attorney and revocation of profession of patent attorney.
Chapter 5
FINAL PROVISIONS
§ 25. Application of Act to patent attorneys entered in the register prior to entry into force of the Act
Patent attorneys registered in the state register of patent attorneys of the Republic of Estonia shall be re-registered in the register established on the basis of the Act in the same areas of activity in which they had the right to act prior to entry into force of the Act.
