National Patent

A patent protects your invention – that is, a new technical solution to a problem. Specifically, this means that what you have invented 

• must be novel, meaning it must not be part of the prior art 
• must not be obvious to those skilled in the art
• must be of a technical nature, and
• must be industrially applicable 

If your invention meets these criteria, you can protect it with a national patent. In this case, only you are allowed to manufacture, import, sell, or use your invention commercially in Austria – others need your permission or risk legal action from you. You thus receive an exclusive right that is limited in territory and time. The maximum term of protection for a patent is 20 years from the date of filing.

Anything that lacks a technical character cannot be protected by a patent. This includes:

• Things that were not created by humans but already exist in nature without human intervention – because, unlike inventions, discoveries are not patentable. This also applies to the human body and the mere discovery of its components, including the sequence or partial sequence of a gene.
• Purely mental, abstract concepts or activities: This includes scientific theories; mathematical methods; aesthetic creations; schemes, rules, and methods for performing mental acts, playing games, or doing business; and programs for data processing systems or the presentation of information. These cannot be patented on their own, but only within a technical context. In other words: A mathematical method in and of itself is not technical, but a method for controlling a valve that uses the same mathematical method is.

In addition, the following exceptions apply: 

• Inventions that contradict generally accepted laws of nature, such as a perpetual motion machine
• Inventions whose exploitation would violate public order or morality (e.g., human cloning)
• Methods for the surgical or therapeutic treatment of the human or animal body and diagnostic methods performed on the human or animal body

In general, plant varieties or animal breeds, as well as essentially biological processes for the breeding of plants or animals

At the time of filing, an invention must not have been published. Anything that was made public prior to that – anywhere in the world, in any manner, including by yourself – is considered prior art and is no longer novel. Therefore, you can conduct your own preliminary search to determine whether similar inventions already exist.

To evaluate your invention, the Austrian Patent Office compares it with the prior art in its searches. You can rest assured that your information will be treated confidentially.

To be on the safe side, you can also file a provisional patent application. This allows you to secure a filing date – known as priority – at a particularly favorable cost. This is useful if you are already planning to publish your invention in a paper or pitch your business idea.

If you need protection for your invention quickly, filing a utility model could be a good option. It protects your invention in the same way as a patent, but the granting process is shorter because the invention is not examined for novelty or inventive step. However, the term of protection is only ten years.

Supplementary Protection Certificates provide extended protection for approved active pharmaceutical ingredients and plant protection products. They ensure continued protection against imitation even after a patent has expired.

Semiconductor protection is available to protect the internal structure of a microchip.

Less than many people think. In total, you can obtain protection for just a few hundred euros. First, there is the search and examination fee (currently €346 for online applications) and then there is the publication fee for the publication of the patent specification (currently €208). If there are more than ten patent claims, additional claim fees also apply.

To maintain your patent, you must pay an annual fee starting in the sixth year, which rises from the current fee of €104 to €1,775 (in the 20th and final year).

You can find an overview of the fees for a patent application here: Application fees

You can file a patent application in several ways:

• Digitally via our  Online Filing Patent
• Sending the application by mail
• Submission at the Customer Service Center of the Austrian Patent Office

Applications submitted by e-mail are not accepted.

You must include the following with your patent application:

• A detailed description of your invention
• A summary
• Your patent claims – that is, the exact features of your invention for which you are seeking protection
• Any figures or illustrations

The easiest way to file is through our electronic Online Filing Patent. This makes it easier for you to meet the formal requirements. In your own interest, please describe your invention in sufficient detail so that a person skilled in the art could carry it out based on your description. 

Please note that you cannot add technical features to the application later without losing your priority. Additional details would have to be filed as a new application (with a later priority date).

We will assign a file number to your application (for example, A 123/2025), which will accompany it throughout the process and help us quickly find all information related to your application. 

Once you have filed a patent application for your invention, your application documents will be formally examined and your invention will be substantively  examined. You will receive the result in writing in the form of a preliminary decision, on which you may comment within a period of two months. This period may be extended several times.

Within this period, you can remedy any deficiencies or limit your scope of protection based on the prior art we have identified. If you fail to do so, your application will be rejected.

18 months after the priority date, your originally filed application documents will be published, along with the search report (if already available) and the latest version of the claims. From the date of publication, your invention enjoys provisional protection if the application ultimately leads to the grant of a patent. If you wish to have your documents published earlier, you can request this in an informal letter.

If the invention and application meet all requirements, a decision to grant the patent is made. Once you have received it and a subsequent time limit has expired, it becomes final: The patent is officially granted! Patent protection begins with the publication of the grant in the Patent Gazette. At the same time, the patent specification is uploaded to our  see.ip database and a certificate is issued.

If an official deadline is extendable, an extension may be requested. 

In the application process, a request for reinstatement may be filed after an application has been rejected due to a missed deadline. This request must be filed within two months of the notice of rejection being served and the omitted action must be completed. In addition, a reinstatement fee of €156 must be paid. 

Anyone who misses a deadline due to an unforeseen or unavoidable event and suffers a legal disadvantage as a direct result may request reinstatement. This may be done within two months after the obstacle ceases to exist, but no later than twelve months after the deadline has expired. The request must state the circumstances that prevented compliance with the deadline and provide supporting evidence. At the same time as the request is filed, the action that should have been taken within the missed deadline must be completed. An application for reinstatement to the previous status costs €288.

Requests are possible through our Online Filing Patent