Szellemi Tulajdon Nemzeti Hivatala

What Szellemi Tulajdon Nemzeti Hivatala does

Szellemi Tulajdon Nemzeti Hivatala (SZTNH), the Hungarian Intellectual Property Office, is Hungary's designated national authority for the registration and administration of intellectual property rights. Founded in 1896 and headquartered in Budapest, the office registers patents, trademarks, designs, utility models, plant varieties, and geographical indications, and supports copyright-related advisory functions under Act XXXVIII of 1991 and subsequent Hungarian and EU legislation. It operates within the international IP system as a member of WIPO, the EUIPO and EPO frameworks, the Visegrád Patent Institute, and bilateral cooperation agreements (notably with CNIPA and Eurasian/African IP offices), and participates in Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) arrangements that route international filings through Hungary.

The office runs a fee-based registration catalogue and an associated search/examination service portfolio, including novelty and patentability searches, trademark and design searches, and — newly launched on 1 July 2024 — design novelty searches for industrial designs. It also administers value-added services such as the IP Scan advisory tool and the SME Fund (KKV-alap) programme, and maintains online databases (Hungariant patents, trademark, and design libraries, with over 30,000 patents digitized) for public prior-art research. Funding is a hybrid of central state budget appropriation and administrative/filing fees, with a 5-year surge in IP filings and decade-high trademark filings indicating growing demand.

Operationally, SZTNH employs roughly 87 staff and works closely with Hungarian universities, the HUN-REN research network, the Hungarian AI Coalition (of which it became a member in 2024), and regulatory counterparts such as NMHH. The office does not pursue commercial revenue in the conventional sense; its strategic posture centres on regulatory stewardship, international cooperation, and deepening service penetration into Hungary's SME and research-base communities.

Name

Szellemi Tulajdon Nemzeti Hivatala

Legal name

Szellemi Tulajdon Nemzeti Hivatala

Website

https://sztnh.gov.hu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1896

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The Hungarian Intellectual Property Office (SZTNH) is Hungary's statutory national authority registering patents, trademarks, designs and other IP rights, serving Hungarian SMEs, inventors, universities and research institutes via fee-based filing, search and examination services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Intellectual Property Administration

NAICS

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (54), Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (541)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Trademark Prosecution & Brand Protection (BPAHAMAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

IP Search, Watch & Competitive Intelligence (BPAHAMAI), IP Filing, Annuities & Renewals Administration (BPAHAMAJ)

Keywords

• Intellectual property registration
• Patent filing services
• Trademark registration
• Industrial design protection
• Copyright administration

Headquarters

HQ city

Budapest

HQ country

Hungary

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Government budget appropriation: SZTNH is a Hungarian government agency operating under state budget financing. As a public administrative body, its primary funding comes from the national budget allocated by the Ministry for Culture and Innovation.
2. Administrative service fees (IP filing and processing fees): Fees charged for processing intellectual property applications including patent filings, trademark registrations, design registrations, utility model protections, plant variety protections, geographical indication protections, renewals, and miscellaneous procedures. Fees are regulated by government decree (19/2005 GKM decree). Payment is made to the Hungarian Treasury account 10032000-01731842-00000000.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels9 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

The Szellemi Tulajdon Nemzeti Hivatala (SZTNH) is Hungary's national intellectual property office, administering registration and protection services for patents (szabadalom), trademarks (védjegy), industrial designs, utility models (használatiminta-oltalom), plant variety rights, geographical indications, and copyright (szerzői jog). It also provides supporting services including IP Scan diagnostics, novelty and trademark searches, electronic databases, training and education, alternative dispute resolution, and administration of SME Fund vouchers for IP filing subsidies.

Product overview

Szellemi Tulajdon Nemzeti Hivatala (SZTNH) is Hungary's national intellectual property office offering a comprehensive portfolio of IP protection services. The core offering includes patent protection (szabadalom), trademark registration (védjegy), industrial design registration (design/formatervezési minta), utility model protection (használatiminta-oltalom), geographical indication protection (földrajziárujelző-oltalom), plant variety protection (növényfajta-oltalom), and copyright services (szerzői jog). Supporting services include IP Scan for intellectual property diagnostics, electronic databases for patent, trademark, design, and other IP searches, trademark search services, professional library services, and comprehensive training and education programs. The office also publishes the Szabadalmi Közlöny és Védjegyértesítő (Patent Gazette and Trademark Bulletin) and the Iparjogvédelmi és Szerzői Jogi Szemle (Industrial Property and Copyright Law Review). Services are available through national, European (EUIPO, EPO), and international (WIPO Hague, Madrid, PCT) filing routes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Patent Protection (Szabadalmi oltalom) National, European, and international patent filing and registration services for inventors and R&D entities, including Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) and Supplementary Protection Certificate (SPC) services.
• Trademark Registration (Védjegy) Trademark registration services including national, European Union (EUIPO), and international (Madrid System) filings, with trademark search capabilities for businesses and brand owners.
• Industrial Design Registration (Formatervezési minta) Industrial design registration services including national, European Union, and international (Hague System) filings, with Locarno classification support for protecting the appearance of products.
• Utility Model Protection (Használatiminta-oltalom) Utility model protection for technical solutions including procedures for maintenance, cancellation, and non-infringement declarations.
• Geographical Indication Protection (Földrajziárujelző-oltalom) Geographical indication protection for agricultural and industrial products, including craft and artisan goods.
• Plant Variety Protection (Növényfajta-oltalom) Plant variety protection services for new plant varieties.
• Copyright Services (Szerzői jog) Copyright-related services including voluntary registration, orphan works management, collective rights management supervision, and copyright expert board.
• IP Scan (Szellemivagyon-diagnózis) Free intellectual property diagnostic service that helps enterprises identify potential IP rights through personal interviews about their business activities and development plans.
• Industrial Property Databases Electronic research tools including e-search, trademark search, design search, patent search, geographical indication search, and plant variety search.
• Trademark Search Service (Védjegykutatás) Trademark search service providing preliminary search reports on identical and similar registered trademarks and applications in Hungary, with results delivered within 5 working days.
• Design Novelty Search (Design újdonságkutatás) Novelty search service for design/industrial design applications, supporting faster design protection through pre-filing assessment.

Quantifiable outcome

• Five-year surge in Hungarian IP protection activity, with trademark filings reaching a decade high
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and major.

• WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025SZTNH operates as Hungary's designated office under multiple WIPO-administered treaties including the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), Madrid System for trademarks, Hague System for designs, and Lisbon System for geographical indications. WIPO and SZTNH cooperate on training programs for patent application drafting, with an MoU on recognizing WIPO training for Hungarian patent filings. A Hungarian vice-chair was elected to the WIPO Lisbon Working Group.
• EUIPO (European Union Intellectual Property Office)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSZTNH collaborates with EUIPO on seminars, convergence programs for trademarks and designs, the SME Fund (KKV-alap) administration, and harmonized classification databases (DesignClass, TMClass, Nice Classification). SZTNH participates in the EUIPO-managed Harmonized Database of Product Indications (46 IP offices). Joint EUIPO-SZTNH seminars held in Budapest.
• EPO (European Patent Office)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEPO and SZTNH cooperate on patent-related matters including Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) fast-track examination, new fee discounts for micro-enterprises, and international patent filing support. Hungary benefits from above-average growth in European patent applications.
• HUN-REN (Hungarian Research Network)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerRenewed partnership in 2024 for cooperation on IP protection for Hungarian innovations. SZTNH and HUN-REN collaborate on knowledge utilization and IP protection for research outputs.
• CNIPA (China National Intellectual Property Administration)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSZTNH and CNIPA extended the 'SZTNH–CNIPA Contact Point Cooperation' pilot project for bilateral cooperation on IP matters. An MoU renewal was announced in 2025.
• Semmelweis Egyetem (Semmelweis University)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFramework agreement signed between SZTNH and Semmelweis University for cooperation in IP education, research, and knowledge transfer support.
• PTE (University of Pécs)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperation agreement between the University of Pécs and SZTNH for joint IP activities, research support, and knowledge utilization.
• Pázmány Péter Katolikus Egyetem (Pázmány Péter Catholic University)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperation agreement signed between Pázmány Péter Catholic University and SZTNH for IP collaboration.
• NKFI Hivatal (National Research, Development and Innovation Office)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerRenewed strategic cooperation between NKFI Hivatal and SZTNH, coordinating national innovation funding with IP protection efforts.
• NMHH (Nemzeti Média és Hírközlési Hatóság / Hungarian Media and Communications Authority)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperation agreement for strengthening safe online environment between NMHH and SZTNH, focusing on digital content rights and cybersecurity.
• LES Magyarország (Licensing Executives Society Hungary)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperation agreement between SZTNH and LES Hungary for licensing and IP commercialization knowledge sharing.
• Magyar Corvin-lánc Testület (Hungarian Corvin Chain Board)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSZTNH entered professional partnership with the Hungarian Corvin Chain Board for IP-related collaboration.
• Magyar Mesterséges Intelligencia Tanács (Hungarian AI Council)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSZTNH participated in the establishment of the Hungarian Artificial Intelligence Council, contributing expertise on IP and AI intersection.
• Visegrád Patent Institute (VPI)coreTechnology or IntegrationSZTNH cooperates with the Visegrád Patent Institute on patent search services and regional IP cooperation. New patent search service available through VSZI.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@szellemitulajdonnemzetihiv5124
• Facebookfacebook.com/sztnh
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hungarian-intellectual-property-office
• Instagraminstagram.com/sztnh_hu

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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