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

Area: 56,538 sq. km.
Population: 5,000,000 inhabitants (estimated 2000).
Capital: : Zagreb.
Language: Croatian.
Currency: Croatian kuna.

GENERAL REMARKS

Croatia used to be a part of former Yugoslavia. The republic declared its independence on October 8, 1991. The former Yugoslav industrial property rights filed at the Yugoslav Patent Office before that date, could be re-registered at the Croatian Intellectual Property Office until their respective renewal dates.

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Patents of Invention

LEGAL BASIS

• New Croatian Patent Law, effective as of January 1, 2004.
• Patent Rules, effective as of June 1, 2004.

MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

• Paris Convention, since October 8, 1991.
• Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), since July 1, 1998.
• Budapest Treaty (Deposit of Microorganisms), since February 25, 2000.
• Strasbourg Agreement concerning the International Patent Classification, since November 25, 2000.
• TRIPS Agreement, since November 2000.
• European Patent Convention – designation of Croatia is possible as of April 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;
• The applicant's Declaration on the legal basis for filing the application in his/her name (can be subsequently filed).

REMARKS

National Phase of PCT: National phase of PCT: under Chapter I: 31 months; under Chapter II: 31 months.
Validity: patent issued after a formal examination - valid for 20 years. Consensual Patents (as of January 1, 2000): issued after a formal examination - valid for 10 years.
Annuities: are due for the third and each following year for patent applications, from the filing date.
Opposition: --

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Trade and Service Marks

LEGAL BASIS

• New Croatian Trademark Law, effective as of January 1, 2004.
• Trademark Rules, since June 2004.

MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

• Paris Convention, since October 8, 1991.
• Madrid Agreement, since October 8, 1991.
• Madrid Protocol, since January 23, 2004.
• Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services, since October 8, 1991.
• Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks, since January 23, 2004.

FILING REQUIREMENTS

• Power of Attorney, not legalized (can be subsequently filed);
• 10 prints (except for wordmarks), size: min. 1.5 x 1.5 cm, max. 8 x 8 cm; 4 color specimens and 6 black and white prints for marks in color;
• List of goods and services, grouped according to the international classification;
• Priority certificate, 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 registration date may lead to cancellation.
Duration - renewals: 10-year period after the filing date or last renewal date.
Opposition: can be filed at the Intellectual Property Office during the whole duration of the trademark.

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Industrial Designs

LEGAL BASIS

• New Croatian Law on Industrial Designs, effective as of January 1, 2004.
• Industrial Design Rules, since May 2004.

MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

• Paris Convention, since October 8, 1991.
• Locarno Agreement establishing an International Classification for Industrial Designs.

FILING REQUIREMENTS

• Power of Attorney, not legalized (can be subsequently filed);
• Specification of the model without claim, but the novelty has to be pointed out in the specification;
• 3 photographs or 3 drawings, size 16 x 16 cm;
• Priority certificate, if any.

REMARKS

Duration – renewals: after a formal examination: 25 years from the filing date.
Opposition: can be filed at the Intellectual Property Office during the whole duration of the protection.

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Domain Names

LEGAL BASIS

• Regulations regarding organization of the top-level 'hr' Internet domain and the principles of managing the top-level 'hr' domain, effective from January 2002.
• Arbitration Rules for solving sub-domain disputes within the .hr domain, since October 2001.

FILING

• ccTLD: .hr
• Applicant: individuals and legal entities.
• Local Presence: required.

REMARKS

Duration – renewals: one year, renewable.
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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