General Information | Patents of Invention
Trade & Service Marks | Industrial Designs | Domain Names
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General Information

Area: 51,129 sq. km.
Population: 4,550,000 inhabitants (estimated 2007).
Capital: Sarajevo, with 400,000 inhabitants.
Languages: Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian.
Currency: KM (konvertibilna marka).

GENERAL REMARKS

Bosnia and Herzegovina used to be part of former Yugoslavia. It declared its independence on March 1, 1992.

Bosnia and Herzegovina has joined WIPO, the Paris Convention and the Madrid Agreement on June 2, 1993 and established its Patent Office in Sarajevo as a department of the State Institute for Standardization, Metrology and Patents in October 1992. The country has also become bound by the PCT, and can be designated in PCT applications as of September 7, 1996. Extension of European patents to Bosnia and Herzegovina is possible since December 1, 2004.

The former Yugoslav Industrial Property Law of 1990, was mainly taken over in 1994 (completed with temporary provisions regarding the re-registration of former Yugoslav rights). This Law has been replaced by a new Law on Industrial Property of Bosnia and Herzegovina (published on February 19, 2002), in force as of August 27, 2002.

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Patents of Invention

LEGAL BASIS

• Law on Industrial Property of Bosnia and Herzegovina (effective as of August 27, 2002).

MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

• Paris Convention, Stockholm Act.
• Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), as of September 7, 1996.
• Extension to European Patent (according to Agreement of Cooperation), as of December 1, 2004.

FILING REQUIREMENTS

• Power of Attorney, no legalization (can be subsequently filed);
• Specification, claims (German type) and abstract;
• Drawings, if any;
• Certified copy of the priority application(s) if any.

REMARKS

National Phase of PCT: under Chapter I: 34 months; under Chapter II: 34 months.
Validity: short-term patent -issued after formal examination and valid for 10 years. Patent, valid for 20 years, provided that at the end of the ninth year of validity, written evidence that the invention satisfies the novelty and inventive level requirements is presented.
Annuities: are due starting from the first and each following year for patent applications and patents counting from the filing date (or international filing date for PCT applications).
Opposition: not provided for, but interested parties can notify the Intellectual Property Office about the existence of an identical or similar invention.

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Trade and Service Marks

LEGAL BASIS

• Law on Industrial Property of Bosnia and Herzegovina (effective as of August 27, 2002).

MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

• Paris Convention, Stockholm Act.
• Madrid Agreement, Stockholm Act.
• Nice Agreement concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services.

FILING REQUIREMENTS

• Power of Attorney, not legalized (can be subsequently filed);
• 2 black and white prints (max 8 x 8 cm). If the mark is in color, 2 color prints and 2 black and white prints (8 x 8 cm);
• List of goods and services; grouped according to the international classification;
• Priority document, if any.

REMARKS

Kinds of protection: verbal, pictorial, three-dimensional and other designations or their combination. Service marks are registrable.
Classification: International.
Obligation to use the registered mark: compulsory. Non-use during any five-year period after the publication date may lead to cancellation. Note that trademark registrants are exempt from use requirements for the period of the war, specifically, from March 1, 1992 until December 15, 1995.
Duration - renewals: 10-year period after the filing date. Renewable for further periods of 10 years.
Opposition: not provided for.

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Industrial Designs

LEGAL BASIS

• Law on Industrial Property of Bosnia and Herzegovina (effective as of August 27, 2002).

MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

• Paris Convention, Stockholm Act.
• Locarno Agreement establishing an International Classification for Industrial Designs, as of December 31, 1997.

FILING REQUIREMENTS

• Power of Attorney (no legalization);
• Optional description of the design, optional description of how it differs from other designs and its purpose;
• 3 sets of photographs or formal drawings (min. size 3 x 3 cm, max. size 16 x 24 cm, of professional quality);
• 3 sets of photographs/formal drawings are required for each individual design in a series application;
• Priority document (if any), to be filed within three months from the filing date; a translation is required (if not in English), no legalization.

REMARKS

Duration - renewals: after formal and complete examination: 10 years from the filing date.
Opposition: not provided for.

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Domain Names

LEGAL BASIS

• There is no specific legislation although some regulations on the organization and management of country code top-level domain names do exist.

FILING

• ccTLD: .ba
• Applicant: individuals and legal entities.
• Local Presence: not required. If a foreign legal entity does not have a local representative office then it has to appoint a legal entity or an individual with a local presence.

REMARKS

Duration - renewals: one or two years.
Uniform dispute resolution procedure: none.

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If you wish more detailed information concerning intellectual property protection in this territory please contact us or order Katzarov’s Manual on Industrial Property®.

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