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

Area: 88,361 sq. km.
Population: 10,645,000 inhabitants (estimated 2008).
Capital: Belgrade, with 1,580,000 inhabitants.
Language: Serbian, may be written in both the Latin and Cyrillic alphabet.
Currency: Serbian dinar.

GENERAL REMARKS

Formerly called Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the country officially changed its name to the Union of Serbia and Montenegro on February 4, 2003, and was then dissolved into two separate countries on June 3, 2006. The IP Office of Serbia and Montenegro now operates as the Intellectual Property Office of Serbia. Industrial property rights registered or applied for registration in the Union of Serbia and Montenegro continue to be valid in Serbia and revalidation is not required. .

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Patents of Invention

LEGAL BASIS

• Patent Law, passed on December 26, 2011, in force since January 4, 2012.
• Rules on Procedure for Protection of Inventions, passed on December 24, 2004, in force since January 1, 2005. (Note: new Rules should be passed by July 4, 2012).

MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

• Paris Convention, Stockholm Act.
• Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), as of February 1, 1997.
• European Patent Convention – designation of Serbia and Montenegro possible as of November 1, 2004, and of Serbia since October 1, 2010.

FILING REQUIREMENTS

• Power of Attorney, no legalization (can be subsequently filed);
• Specification (EPO type) and abstract;
• Drawings, if any, in triplicate;
• Certified copy of the priority application(s) if any;
• The applicant's Declaration on the legal basis for filing the application in his name (can be filed subsequently).

REMARKS

National Phase of PCT: under Chapter I and Chapter II : 30 months (31 with additional fee).
Validity: issued after a formal and full examination - valid for 20 years.
Annuities: are due for the third and each following year for patent applications and patents counting from the filing date.
Opposition: not provided for.

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Trade and Service Marks

LEGAL BASIS

• Trademark Law, passed on December 11, 2009, in force since December 24, 2009.
• Rules on Procedure for Acknowledgement of Trademark Rights, passed on June 17, 2010, in force since July 3, 2010.

MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

• Paris Convention, Stockholm Act.
• Madrid Agreement, Stockholm Act.
• Madrid Protocol.

FILING REQUIREMENTS

• Power of Attorney, not legalized (can be subsequently filed);
• 3 prints (except for word marks), size: min. length 1.5 cm, max. 8 x 8 cm;
• 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. Besides the original version, filing of word mark applications in the Cyrillic alphabet is highly recommended.
Classification: International.
Obligation to use the registered mark: compulsory. Non-use during any five-year period after the publication date may lead to cancellation.
Duration - renewals: 10-year period after the filing date or last renewal date.
Opposition: not provided for. Interested persons can only notify the IP Office about the existence of an identical or similar sign or other reasons for refusal.

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Industrial Designs

LEGAL BASIS

• Law on Protection of Industrial Designs, passed on December 11, 2009, in force since December 24, 2009.
• Rules on Procedure for Acknowledgement of the Right to Industrial Designs, passed on June 17, 2010, in force since July 3, 2010.

MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

• Paris Convention, Stockholm Act.
• Hague Agreement, Stockholm Act and Geneva Act.

FILING REQUIREMENTS

• Power of Attorney, not legalized (can be subsequently filed);
• Applicant’s Declaration;
• Specification of the design without claim, but the novelty has to be pointed out in the specification;
• Photographs or drawings in duplicate, size 16 x 16 cm;
• Priority certificate, if any.

REMARKS

Duration - renewals: after formal and complete examination: 25 years from the filing date.
Opposition: not provided for. Interested persons can notify the IP Office that the application for a design does not fulfill the legal requirements and submit evidence in support.

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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: .rs and .срб (.srb in Cyrillic)
• Applicant: individuals and legal entities.
• Local Presence: not required (foreign registrants must, however, provide a local administrative contact).

REMARKS

Duration - renewals: one to ten years, renewable for like periods.
Uniform dispute resolution procedure: available (variation of UDRP) before RNIDS.

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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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