Hungarian Intellectual Property Office

Glossary of Industrial Property Terms

Patent number 5792

You do not even guess why this is the registration number of the first Hungarian patent, do you? The patent system of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was amended by an open order of the emperor in 1852; thenceforward patent application could be also submitted in Hungarian language. In 1867 a temporary convention gave competence of granting patents to the Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture, Trade and Industry. According to the custom and trade union with Austria the Hungarian ministry was entitled to grant patent with the permission of the Austrian Ministry of Trade and vice versa. Hungary regain its freedom of legislation in the field of custom and trade matters on January 1, 1894 when the Act No. XVI of 1893 entered into force. Since that date the two countries became totally independent in granting patents. Up to the establishing of the Patent Office the granting procedure was managed by the Hungarian Ministry of Trade on a blue paper. The name of the so called "blue patent" originated from that period and the current patent register started with the patent register number of 5792, the "Wound-protecting cover" patent of Márton Pitsch (Charlottenbourg) manufacturer, continuing the common patent register.