2023 was a very good year to protect intellectual property in Estonia. The number of applications filed for the protection of a trade mark increased by 10% and the number of patent applications filed in Estonia increased more than twice. The Office’s fourth digital yearbook appears before you. Enjoy the reading!
Annual Report 2023
The Estonian Patent Office is a government agency under the Ministry of Justice. The office was established on 23 May 1919.
In 2023, the Estonian Patent Office had the Patent Department, the Trade Mark Department, the Registry Department and the Intellectual Property Law department. The Industrial Property Board of Appeal also operates under the office.
The protection of industrial property is an inseparable part of the constitutional legal order. Industrial property is protected under § 32 of the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia, providing that the property of every person is inviolable and equally protected.
The Estonian Patent Office communicates with WIPO, EPO, EUIPO and the Nordic, Baltic and European Intellectual Property Offices on a daily basis.
Inventions can be protected as patents or utility models on the grounds of the Patent Act and the Utility Model Act, which entered into force on 23 May 1994.
In Estonia, the protection of industrial designs can be applied for on the grounds of the Industrial Designs Protection Act that entered into force on 11 January 1998. From 1 May 2004, legal acts concerning Community designs, including the Council Regulation 6/2002/EC of 12 December 2001 on legal protection of the Community Designs, are also valid in Estonia.
In Estonia, it is possible to apply for the protection of trade marks under the Trade Marks Act that took effect on 1 May 2004 (the first Trade Marks Act entered into force in 1992). From 1 May 2004, the EU legal acts concerning trade marks are also valid in Estonia.
Geographical indication is distinguished from other intellectual property rights by the lack of a specific owner and the indefinite duration of protection.
Since 2021, the Estonian Patent Office performs certain tasks of an applied nature in the field of copyright and related rights.
The Board of Appeal is an independent pre-trial institution that solves appeals filed to contest the decisions made by the Estonian Patent Office in cases prescribed in the legal acts.
Here you will find information about the publications of the Estonian Patent Office, media channels, consultations, website and database usage statistics and events.
The Estonian Patent Office regularly organizes events in order to raise the intellectual property awareness of different target groups.
It is possible to use numerous e-services of the Estonian Patent Office through our website, including filling out and sending new applications for registration of industrial property rights and using the electronic search databases.
On 31 December 2023 there were 58 job positions in the Estonian Patent Office: 43 were civil servants and 13 employees. The percentage of voluntary turnover was 0.
The revenues accrue from the operations of the Estonian Patent Office, which are subject to the payment of the state fee. The rates of the state fees are specified in the State Fees Act. In accordance with the State Budget Act, the operating costs of the Estonian Patent Office are funded by the state budget.