Procedure

Slovakia

Urgent injunction proceedings: These can be initiated prior to, simultaneously with, or after the commencement of the main proceedings. If the injunction is ordered prior to the main proceedings, the court will determine the time limit within which the action must be filed; upon the expiry of that time limit, the injunction will be lifted.
Proceedings on the merits: The main proceedings can be initiated after, simultaneously with or without filing a request for a preliminary injunction. The trade mark proprietor can request that the court declare that the infringement has been committed, order the infringer to refrain from infringing or provide reparation, order the infringer to return the enrichment of infringement, or order the seizure, recall and destruction etc of the infringing goods. The court may also impose a financial security to be set over the claimant’s assets to secure the recovery of damages which may be caused to the defendant by the enforcement of the interim injunction.

Cease and desist letter: Sending a standard cease and desist letter to the infringer is usually the first step taken bythe trade mark holder, however such a letter is not mandatory.

First instance: Trade mark disputes are heard exclusively by the competent civil court, the Banská Bystrica District Court which has sole jurisdiction over trade mark cases.

Court of Appeal: First instance decisions may be appealed to the competent higher regional court, the Banská Bystrica Regional Court within 15 days after delivery of the injunction issued.

Any means of proof lawfully obtained under Slovakian law is admissible in the main proceedings eg witness testimony, expert opinion, written documents. In injunction proceedings, the level of burden of proof of the infringement is lowered. The court orders the injunction based on description of the decisive facts that support a conclusion that there is a need to issue the urgent injunction.

Before, during or after the main proceedings, the trade mark holder can initiate seizure proceedings to obtain evidence of the infringement. The trade mark owner may obtain either goods or a sample of goods that infringe or threaten to infringe an intellectual property right of the trade mark holder, materials and tools used in the manufacture or distribution of the goods referred to, or documentation relating to the goods referred to.

The burden of proof lies with the trade mark holder, the claimant in the proceedings who bears the burden of proving the infringement.

There is no discovery process in Slovakian trade mark law. Still, the trade mark owner can claim that the evidence necessary to prove the infringement is in the opposing party's possession and can request the court to order its delivery.

Urgent injunction proceedings: According to statutory law, the court must decide on the application for an urgent injunction within 30 days. This period of time, however, constitutes the maximum time limit, whereas it is generally justified by the circumstances of the case to order urgent measures within shorter time limits.

Main proceedings: There is no statutory time limit within which the court must decide. However, considering the case load of the trade mark court or the complexity of the case, especially if the court conducts an evidentiary procedure eg expert evidence, time to first instance judgment in main proceedings can take up to three years.

The court fee for filing a legal action in trade mark cases is EUR470. If the action is submitted electronically, the court fee is reduced to EUR420.

The court fee for filing an urgent injunction application is EUR50. If the injunction is submitted electronically, the fee is reduced by half to EUR25.

The decision on costs is issued along with the outcome of the main proceedings. The court will order the unsuccessful party to pay the other party's costs, including attorneys' fees and court fees incurred with the proceedings, according to its overall success in the case. However, the attorney's fees are calculated pursuant to statutory tariffs stated in the Decree of the Ministry of the Interior.