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Patent

A patent is a protection for a new technical solution. A patent gives you the exclusive right to exploit your invention: no one else can manufacture, sell or import it without your permission.

The Swedish Intellectual Property Office (Patent- och registreringsverket, PRV). grants patents for Sweden, but is also an international patent office. You can contact the Swedish Intellectual Property Office when you want to apply for a Swedish patent, and when you want to protect your invention in other countries by either an international application (PCT) or European application.

Do you want to apply for a patent for an invention?

  1. Check that your invention is new before applying for a patent.
    Go to the Swedish patent database
  2. Check that your invention meets the conditions of PRV 
  3. Formulate your application as clearly and completely as possible right from the start.
    Go through the various steps on PRV's website 
  4. Keep the invention secret until you submit the application.
    Read about keeping the invention secret at PRV
  • Keep the invention secret until you have submitted the application.
  • Make sure that your invention is new before you apply for a patent.
  • Formulate your application as clearly and completely as possible from the outset.
  • A Swedish patent application pertains only to Sweden and you submit it to PRV.
  • Submit further applications within a year if you want your invention to be protected in more countries.
  • It can be complicated to prepare a proper patent application on your own. Consider getting professional help from an agent.

Requirements for patents

Must be new

Your invention must be new, in other words it must not already be known when you submit your patent application. It does not matter in what way or where in the world the invention is known. To find out if your invention is already known, contact the Swedish Intellectual Property Office consulting service or search for applications and already granted patents in the Swedish Intellectual Property Office’s database for patents.

The Swedish Intellectual Property Office’s consulting services

The Swedish Intellectual Property Office’s database for patents

Inventive step

The invention must also have an inventive step, which means that it must significantly differ from the inventions previously known.

Industrial applicability

Your invention must be industrially applicable. This means that it must be something tangible, such as an object or a way of producing something. An invention is considered industrially applicable if it can be produced or utilized in any kind of industry. It must also be reproducible, which means that the technical result must be the same every time the invention is used.

How much does it cost to apply for a patent?

Applying for patent protection is subject to an application fee. If your invention is granted protection, you must also pay annual fees for keeping it valid.

Fees and payments at the Swedish Intellectual Property Office

Familiarising yourself with the patent process and calculating your company’s costs  for patents can be difficult and complicated. To help you understand, the Swedish Intellectual Property Office has developed some cost examples.

See examples that illustrate costs for different companies and their patents at the Swedish Intellectual Property Office

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