Finland (FI) |
| Read term notes | |
| Current term: | 20 Years |
| From: | Date of Application |
| Discontinuity Dates: | No |
| Term Notes: | Applications pending on the effective date of the amended law (01/10/1980) were extended from 17 to 20 years and are governed by the new provisions. |
| Extension Possible: | Yes Up to 5 years' extension for pharmaceuticals (maximum of 15 years from marketing). See EU Regulation 1768/1992 (Supplementary Protection Certificate). |
| Member of PCT: | Yes (01/10/1980) |
| Region: | EPC (01/03/1996) |
| Country Notes: | PCT regulations have been amended and now allow national
or regional phase entry to be delayed until 30 months from the earliest
priority date. Finland has not yet indicated when this change will be made to
its legislation.
28/02/2004 UPDATE: Article 22(1) of the PCT was amended on 04/10/2001. The amendments took effect on 01/04/2002 from which date the time limit for entry into the national/regional phase will be globally extended from 20 to 30 months. The Intellectual Property Office of Finland is not applying the new time limit. |
| Current Law: | Patent Act as amended 1908, 1985, 1995, 1996, 1997 |
| Effective From: | 01/01/1968 |
| Current Rules: | -- |
| Effective From: | -- |
| Law Notes: | Chemical compounds became patentable per se in 1980, but this did not include pharmaceuticals and foods. However, according to the Patent Decree of 1987, pharmaceuticals and foods are patentable from 01/01/1995. Further amendments to the Patent Law came into effect 01/04/1997, except for that relating to Supplementary Protection Certificates which became effective 01/02/1997. Under the new Act, the pre-grant opposition system was replaced by a post-grant opposition system with an opposition period of 9 months. |
| Database Coverage | |
| Derwent WPI: | Yes From 30/09/1974 All Technologies (Sections A-X) |
| INPADOC: | Yes From 31/05/1968 All Technologies (All Technologies) |