Kosovo News Archives
January 27, 2012
Administrative Instruction on Accelerated Examination of Trademark Applications Enters into Force in Kosovo
One of the most important novelties introduced by Kosovo’s new Law on Trademarks, in force as of September 8, 2011, is the possibility to request the accelerated examination of a trademark application. The Administrative Instruction, which was approved by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) on January 12, 2012 and entered into force on the same date, spells the procedure and the grounds for requesting the accelerated examination, as well as the official fees.
The accelerated examination is only available if there has been an alleged infringement of trademark rights. When requesting such examination, the applicant must indicate the trademark filing details and submit:
- Copy of the trademark application as filed;
- Documents evidencing that a civil or a customs action was duly initiated;
- Documents evidencing trademark rights and the alleged infringement of such rights;
- Proof of payment of the official EUR 50 (USD 63) fee per trademark, regardless of the number of classes.
The accelerated examination request may be submitted at any time after the filing date, as no time frame is specified. The IPO will decide to grant or reject the accelerated examination request within 15 days from the filing date. The examination is to be performed under the provisions of the Law on Trademarks.
For more information, please contact Jelena Jankovic at our Balkan Regional Office.
Source: Kosovo IPO
New Copyright Law Enters into Force in Kosovo
The new Law on Copyright and Related Rights entered into force in Kosovo on December 15, 2011. The first Law on Copyright and Related Rights, adopted in 2006, had never been implemented in practice.
The new law does not introduce any changes in the substantive copyright law. It rather clarifies the role and activities of the Office on the Copyright and Related Rights, operating under the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports.
According to the new copyright law, the Office’s main activities are to:
- License copyright collective societies;
- Revoke licenses issued to copyright collective societies;
- Supervise the activities of copyright collective societies;
- Provide the needed information to authors and other copyright owners with respect to the rights covered by the law;
- Keep abreast of international legal developments and provide recommendations with regard to copyright and related rights.
The new law excludes the possibility for copyright holders to deposit the copies of the works and the subject matter of the related rights works with the Office. This was possible under the former law and was done in order to preserve evidence or for any other reason.
For more information, please contact Jelena Jankovic at our Balkan Regional Office.
Source: Kosovo IPO
November 29, 2011
Kosovo Patent Granting Procedure Update
Following the entry into force of the new patent law in Kosovo in September, there have been changes regarding the patent granting procedure affecting the holders of all new patent applications filed in Kosovo as well as all Serbian re-filings, which are considered to be new applications with a priority date of the Serbian filing date.
In accordance with Article 78 of the new patent law, the holder of a new patent application or one that is being re-filed has to submit written evidence on patentability of the invention before the end of the ninth year of the patent term.
Since the patent term is calculated from the filing date or the priority date, if claimed, in some cases the ninth year of the patent term might have already expired. If this is the case, the applicant must submit written evidence on patentability as soon as possible. If the decision to grant the patent has been issued, the applicant must submit the evidence immediately upon expiration of the 15-day appeal period.
The written evidence on patentability must be translated into Albanian and an official fee of EUR 40 (USD 54) must be paid. When the evidence on patentability is filed, the holder is obliged to inform the IPO in case the patent claims have not been granted as initially filed.
Any patent for the same invention granted by the European Patent Office, or any other patent office which is acting as an International Preliminary Examining Authority under the Patent Cooperation Treaty, will be accepted as evidence of the granted patent.
If the patent has not been granted by the relevant Patent Office (i.e. EPO) before the end of the ninth year of the patent term, the applicant must, before the end of the same term, inform the IPO about this fact. The IPO may extend the deadline for another 90 days counting from the day the relevant office issues the grant decision.
For more information, please contact Jelena Jankovic at our Balkan Regional Office.
Source: The local text of the law
National IP Council Established in Kosovo
The State Intellectual Property Council has recently been formed in Kosovo, following the Kosovo IPO’s initiative. The Council aims to increase cooperation and coordination among all institutions and stakeholders involved in the implementation of IP rights in Kosovo.
Isa Dukaj, head of the Industrial Property Office at the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), within which the Kosovo IPO operates, has been appointed Chairman of the Council.
The Council’s board members include representatives of various institutions including the Kosovo IPO, the Copyright Office, Kosovo Customs, Department of Economic Crimes and Corruption within the Kosovo Police, Market Inspectorate, the Judicial Council, the Prosecution Council, the Medicines Agency, Veterinary and Food Agency and the Environmental Protection Agency.
For more information, please contact Jelena Jankovic at our Balkan Regional Office.
Source: Kosovo’s Ministry of Trade and Industry website
October 28, 2011
Kosovo Customs Destroy Counterfeit Nike Soccer Balls
On September 28, 2011, the Kosovo customs officials organized the destruction of 600 soccer balls found to infringe the intellectual property rights of Nike.
The balls bearing the Nike mark were seized last month at the Vermnice border crossing point with Albania. They were cut with scalpel knives at the Vermnice customs premises. Their value is estimated at EUR 1,500 (USD 2,070).
For more information, please contact Jelena Jankovic at our Balkan Regional Office.
Source: Kosovo Customs
September 23, 2011
Kosovo New Patent and Industrial Design Laws Explained
The new patent and industrial design laws, which entered into force in Kosovo on September 13 and September 5 respectively, introduce important novelties, which we explain below.
The Law on Patents
The new Law on Patents introduces the possibility for an invention belonging to a citizen of the Republic of Kosovo to be kept secret for such period of time as the national interest requires. The Security Council of the Republic of Kosovo is expected to set forth the criteria and the procedures to be applied under these circumstances.
According to the new law, the patents, as objects of property, may not only be assigned or licensed to other parties, but may also be pledged, levied in execution or be subject to bankruptcy proceedings.
The new law for the first time introduces provisions on compulsory licenses for pharmaceutical products for export to countries with public health problems, as well as supplementary protection certificates for pharmaceutical and plant products. When deciding on the grant of such a compulsory license, the court must take into consideration the Decision of the World Trade Organization (WTO) General Council of 30 August 2003 on the Implementation of Paragraph 6 of the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health. These provisions will not enter into force until the Republic of Kosovo joins the European Union.
The law introduces the possibility for the applicant to restore the priority rights provided (1) the request is filed within two months following the expiration of the 12-month priority period, but before the completion of the technical preparations for the patent application publication (2) proof is provided that the applicant failed to meet the deadline despite the exercise of due care, and (3) the prescribed official fees are paid.
Under the former patent law, the Kosovo IPO had to perform a formal and a substantive examination before publishing a patent application in the Official Gazette. If the patent application met the formal criteria and it was a patentable subject matter, at first sight, as provided in Articles 7, 8 and 9 of the former law, the patent application would be published in the IPO’s Official Gazette. Once a patent application was published, the IP holder had a six-month deadline to file a request for the issuance of the decision. The IP holder could, along with the request for the issuance of the decision, submit a copy of the grant decision issued by any International Preliminary Examining Authority. If the copy of the grant decision was not submitted within six months from the publication of the patent application because the decision had not been issued, the IP holder, in accordance with Article 40, had to submit a confirmation of the granted patent within ten years from the date of application.
Under the new law, the Kosovo IPO will also perform a formal and a substantive examination of the patent application, primarily in order to establish whether an invention, at first sight, is novel on the global level, involves an inventive step and is industrially applicable. However, under the new law, if the patent application complies with the formal and substantive requirements, the IPO will issue the grant decision, which will be entered in the IPO’s Register of Patents and published in the Official Gazette. The IP holders will not be obliged to file a request for the issuance of the decision within six months from the publication of the patent application. The IP holder will only be obliged to submit to the IPO the written evidence confirming the patentability of the subject matter. Such evidence must be submitted no later than on the date of expiration of the ninth year of the patent term. Any patent for the same invention granted by the European Patent Office, or any other patent office which is acting as an International Preliminary Examining Authority under the Patent Cooperation Treaty, will be accepted as an evidence of the granted patent. For the patent applications already published in the Official Gazette, the patent examiner will send official notifications to the right holders on how to proceed.
Appeals of IPO’s decisions can be filed within 15 days from the receipt of the decision. The law requires that the Ministry of Trade and Industry, under which the IPO operates, establish a commission, which will have the authority to review the appeals. There is a 30-day deadline to file a lawsuit against the commission’s decision before the competent court. Before the new law entered into force, the rules of the Law on Administrative Procedure applied.
The new law for the first time allows foreign legal entities or natural persons to file patent applications, receive notifications from the IPO and pay official fees directly to the Kosovo IPO provided a local address for correspondence is communicated to the IP Office. The foreign legal or natural persons can also submit the patent application in a language different from the official languages in Kosovo provided they file the translation of the patent application within six months from the filing date.
The Law on Industrial Designs
The new Law on Industrial Designs entered into force on September 5, 2011. The law is intended to be in line with the corresponding EU regulations. The most important change concerns the industrial design registration procedure. According to the new law, the Kosovo IPO will perform a formal examination only, in order to determine whether the object is genuinely a design as defined by the law and whether it contradicts the public rules. The substantive examination has been left out. As a result, the IPO will not examine the novelty and the individual character of an industrial design. Unlike the previous law, the new law also excludes the possibility for a legal person to be considered as the designer; the designer can only be a natural person.
Considering all these changes and novelties introduced by the three new laws, the Law on Trademarks, the Law on Patents and the Law on Industrial Designs, it is important to emphasize that the provisions of the mentioned new laws will also apply to all procedures pending on the date of entry into force of these laws. Therefore, all pending trademarks, patents and industrial design applications filed under the provisions of the previous laws, will be examined and registered in accordance with the procedures outlined in the new laws.
For more information, please contact Jelena Jankovic at our Balkan Regional Office.
Source: Local Kosovo texts of the laws
Kosovo Customs Destroy Gant, Lacoste, Puma, Prada Counterfeits
On September 13, 2011, the Kosovo customs authorities organized the destruction of sweaters, wristwatches and labels found to infringe the intellectual property rights of several well-known trademarks.
The destroyed goods, worth EUR 6,670 (USD 9,127), included 77 Gant sweaters, 21 Lacoste and Puma wristwatches and 177 Prada, Chanel, XL and Valentino labels.
For more information, please contact Jelena Jankovic at our Balkan Regional Office.
Source: Kosovo Customs
August 30, 2011
Kosovo New Trademark Law Introduces Important Novelties
The new Law on Trademarks was published in the Official Gazette on August 24 and will enter into force on September 8. The Law was approved by the Kosovo Assembly along with two other industrial property laws, the Law on Industrial Designs, which will enter into force on September 5, and the Law on Patents, which will enter into force on September 13.
The three new laws aim to bring Kosovo IP legislation in line with the European Union legislation. All three laws have introduced important novelties. Below are crucial changes introduced by the new law on trademarks. Explanations regarding the other two laws will follow.
Acquisition of Rights
The former trademark law granted trademark rights to companies even if they did not register their trademarks. The owner of an unregistered trademark was able to enforce his rights if a trademark was commonly and generally known in trade because the mark was in continuous use in Kosovo, or if it was a well-known trademark as provided by Article 6bis of the Paris Convention. According to the new law, trademark rights are acquired through registration only. Therefore, it has become even more important to have the rights registered with the Kosovo IPO.
Declaration of Use or Intention to Use the Mark
The new law abolishes this U.S-influenced requirement. When filing a trademark application, under the former law the right holder had to declare the use or the intent to use the mark in Kosovo. According to the new law, the trademark holders do not need to declare the use or the intent to use the mark at the time the application is filed.
Observation Procedure Introduced
Along with the opposition procedure, the new law introduces the observation procedure. Essentially, if an interested party opposes a trademark registration on absolute grounds, it can file an observation within three months from the publication of the application in the Official Gazette. However, the third party will not take part in the proceedings.
Possibility to Appeal IPO Decisions
Appeals of IPO’s decisions can now be filed within 15 days of the receipt of the decision. The law requires that the Ministry of Trade and Industry, under which the IPO operates, establish a commission, which will have the authority to review the appeals. There is a 30-day deadline to file a lawsuit against the commission’s decision before the competent court. Before the new law enters into force, the rules of the Law on Administrative Procedure apply.
Possibility to Request Accelerated Examination of Trademark Application
One of the most important novelties introduced by the new law is the possibility to request an accelerated examination of a trademark application. The procedure to request such examination and the official fees to be paid will be settled through an Administrative Instruction, which is to be approved in the near future by the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
Provisions Regarding Protection of Well-Known Trademarks Left Out
The new law leaves out a number of provisions regarding the protection of well-known trademarks. The old law was indeed very generous with respect to protection of unregistered well-known trademarks. According to the old law, an earlier well-known trademark, whether registered or not registered, was protected with respect to identical and/or similar goods, as well as for dissimilar goods or services. There was no need for the owner of a well-known trademark to have an application with the local IPO.
According to the new law, the owner of a well-known trademark may not oppose an application or revoke a trademark registration with respect to identical and/or similar goods/services unless the proprietor also owns a pending application or registration with the Kosovo IPO. The new law specifically says that for a well-known trademark to be considered an “earlier trademark”, the mark must be well known in the Republic of Kosovo on the date the application was filed or on the priority date, if claimed. Moreover, the owners of unregistered well-known trademarks with reputation cannot oppose an application or cancel a registration for different goods and/or services.
There are no provisions on whether the owner of an unregistered well-known trademark can prevent third parties from using a trademark.
Relative Grounds for Refusal
As for the relative grounds for refusal of trademark applications or revocation of registered trademarks, the law repeals protection for trademarks with reputation in Kosovo for goods and/or services that are not identical or similar to goods and/or services for which the reputed trademark is registered.
According to Article 7.3 of the new law, goods and/or services will need to be similar even in case the earlier trademark has a reputation in the Republic of Kosovo and the use of the trademark without due cause would take unfair advantage of, or be detrimental to the distinctive character or reputation of the earlier trademark.
No Invitations to Renew Trademarks
Under the new law, the Kosovo IPO has no obligation to officially send an invitation to the trademark owner to renew the mark, as it was the case under the old law.
Cancellation, Invalidation and Revocation Actions Possible Only Before the IPO
According to the old law, a cancellation, revocation or invalidation notice could be filed either before the competent court or with the Kosovo IPO. The new law does not provide trademark owners with the possibility to choose; the IPO is now the only authority that can decide on a cancellation, revocation or invalidation notice at the first instance.
For more information, please contact Jelena Jankovic at our Balkan Regional Office.
Source: Local Kosovo texts of the laws
Kosovo Establishes First Copyright Collective
The first copyright collective in Kosovo – The Association of Authors, Producers and Interpreters (APIK) has recently been established with an aim to curb the widespread copyright infringement and piracy.
The organization has been founded to deal with the collective management of musical works, including the collection of royalty payments from users of copyrighted works and distribution to copyright owners.
APIK is expected to soon get a license from the Copyright Office operating under the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports.
Although the Law on Copyright and Related Rights has been in force since 2006, it has never been implemented in practice. A new copyright law, approved by the Kosovo Government, is awaiting the approval by the Kosovo Assembly.
For more information, please contact Jelena Jankovic at our Balkan Regional Office.
Source: Kosovo Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports
August 12, 2011
Kosovo Approves Three New IP Laws
On July 29, 2011, the Kosovo Assembly approved three new laws in the field of industrial property:
The Law on Trademarks No. 04/L-026 approved by the Kosovo Parliament on July 29, 2011 and promulgated by the President’s Decree DL-017-2011 on August 9, 2011
The Law on Patents No. 04/L-029 approved by the Kosovo Parliament on July 29, 2011 and promulgated by the President’s Decree DL-016-2011 on August 9, 2011
The Law on Industrial Designs No. 04/L-028 approved by the Kosovo Parliament on July 29, 2011 and promulgated by the President’s Decree DL-013-2011 on August 9, 2011
The laws will enter into force 15 days after they are published in the Official Gazette. It is estimated that these laws will enter into force early September.
More details about the new laws will follow by the end of this month.
For more information, please contact Masa Lopicic at our Balkan Regional Office.
Source: Kosovo Assembly
July 25, 2011
Kosovo Patent Applications Update
Our Kosovo office has recently received an official notification from the patent examiner regarding the procedure to be followed after a pending patent application, including the re-filing of a patent application, is published in the Official Gazette of Kosovo.
In accordance with Article 38 of the Kosovo Law on Patents, once a patent application is published, the IP right holder has a six-month deadline to file a request for the issuance of the decision. Along with this request, an official fee of EUR 40 (USD 57), regardless of the number of claims, must be paid.
A copy of the grant decision issued by any International Preliminary Examining Authority should also be submitted. If this decision has not been issued, the Kosovo IPO will issue the grant decision but the applicant will be obliged, in accordance with Article 40, to submit a confirmation of the granted patent within ten years from the date of application. Any patent for the same invention granted by the European Patent Office, or any other patent office which is acting as an International Preliminary Examining Authority under the Patent Cooperation Treaty, will be accepted as a confirmation of the granted patent.
If the right holder fails to submit necessary paperwork as outlined above, the patent and the application on which it is based will be deemed never to have had the rights provided by the Law on Patents.
For more information, please contact Jelena Jankovic at our Balkan Regional Office.
Kosovo Customs Destroy Counterfeit Apparel, Footwear, Labels
The Kosovo customs officials have recently organized the destruction of a significant quantity of counterfeit apparel, footwear and labels, originating in Turkey and China.
On June 29, 2011, 1,743 pieces or pairs of fake textile products and footwear bearing the marks of Timberland, Abercrombie & Fitch, Levi’s, Tommy Hilfiger, Lacoste and Puma were destroyed with a press cutting machine at the premises of the Rilindja printing and publishing house in the capital of Prishtina.
On July 14, 2011, 300 Nike, 200 Adidas and 200 Puma labels were destroyed with scalpel knives and scissors at the customs premises in the town of Kosovo Polje.
For more information, please contact Jelena Jankovic at our Balkan Regional Office.
Source: Kosovo Customs
June 21, 2011
Kosovo Customs Destroy Nike Counterfeits
On June 10, 2011, the Kosovo customs officials and Nike’s legal representatives organized and witnessed a destruction of a significant quantity of goods found to infringe the intellectual property rights of Nike.
The counterfeit goods, including 5,163 pairs of sneakers, 3,804 pairs of socks and 154 tracksuits, were destroyed by a press cutting machine at the premises of the Rilindja printing and publishing house in the capital of Prishtina. The Kosovo customs officials detained the fake Nike goods in the period March-May 2011 at various Kosovo border crossings.
The goods were destroyed following the fast-track procedure under the Kosovo Law on Customs Measures, which enables the right holders to avoid the lengthy and costly court procedures.
For more information, please contact Jelena Jankovic at our Balkan Regional Office.
May 26, 2011
Kosovo Customs Destroy Nike, Gant Counterfeits
On April 20, 2011, the Kosovo customs officials organized a destruction of 104 T-shirts and tracksuits found to infringe the intellectual property rights of Nike and Gant.
The goods were cut with scalpel knives at the customs premises in Hani i Elezit, border- crossing point with Macedonia, in the presence of the rights holders’ legal representatives. The goods were detained in March 2011 at the same border crossing point.
The goods were destroyed following the fast-track procedure under the Law on Customs Measures, which enables the right holders to avoid the lengthy and costly court procedures.
For more information, please contact Nahide Saliaga-Maliqi at our Kosovo office.
Source: SDP KOSOVE
April 27, 2011
OHIM Assists Kosovo IPO with Design Guidelines
During the past two months, the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) has been assisting the Kosovo IPO in drafting guidelines for the examination and registration of industrial designs, in line with the EU practice.
The project is funded by the EU, managed by the European Commission Liaison Office in Kosovo and implemented by the European Patent Office.
The Kosovo IPO was established in November 2007 and since then has received a high volume of trademark, patent and industrial design applications.
For more information, please contact Nahide Saliaga-Maliqi at our Kosovo office.
Source: OHIM
Kosovo IPO Launches its Second Official Gazette
On April 12, 2011, the Kosovo IPO issued its second Official Gazette, listing patent applications, registered patents, registered trademarks, as well as renewed trademarks.
The proprietors of the published patent applications, as per Article 38 of the Law on Patents, have a six-month deadline to file the Request for the grant of a patent. If this request is not filed within the prescribed deadline, the patent application will be deemed withdrawn.
The Official Gazette, the content of which is in Albanian only, can be downloaded in the PDF format on this web page.
For more information, please contact Nahide Saliaga-Maliqi at our Kosovo office.
Source: Kosovo IPO
March 24, 2011
First Counterfeit Goods Seized, Destroyed in Kosovo
The first seizure and destruction of counterfeit goods under the provisions for the enforcement of intellectual property rights contained in the Law on Customs Measures, in force as of January 2010, has recently taken place in Kosovo, a jurisdiction where counterfeit goods are rampant.
On February 3, 2011, the Kosovo customs officials organized a destruction of apparel and wristwatches found to infringe the intellectual property rights of Timberland, Gucci and Abercrombie & Fitch. The seizure of these goods took place on November 29, 2010 at the border point with Albania, called Vermnice.
The local importers of counterfeit goods, as well as the representatives of companies authorized by the trademark holders, were present at the destruction.
The destroyed goods included 127 pants, 44 shirts and 79 sweatshirts found to infringe the IP rights of Timberland; 43 wristwatches and 38 jackets found to infringe the IP rights of Gucci; and 27 shirts and 334 sweatshirts found to infringe the IP rights of Abercrombie & Fitch.
Furthermore, in March 2011, the following seizures were reported on behalf of Nike: 3036 pairs of socks, 4080 pairs of shoes and a small quantity of apparel.
The fake Nike goods were detained at different border points in Kosovo, most of them at the Adem Jashari airport in Prishtina, the capital of Kosovo. The counterfeit goods were intended for the Kosovo market.
The customs representatives encourage all companies importing genuine products to file a customs surveillance application with the Kosovo Customs to prevent import of counterfeit goods.
For more information, please contact Kujtesa Nezaj-Shehu.
Source: SDP KOSOVE
January 20, 2011
Kosovo PTO Launches its First IP Gazette
On December 9, 2010, the Kosovo PTO launched its first Official Gazette, which contains information on all registered patents and trademarks as well as renewed trademarks.
The Gazette, the content of which is in Albanian only, can be downloaded in the PDF format on this web page.
For more information, please contact Nahide Saliaga-Maliqi.
Source: Kosovo PTO, PETOŠEVIĆ
October 19, 2010
Kosovo PTO Now Accepts Search Requests
The Kosovo PTO has recently started to accept trademark availability search requests.
The official search covers pending trademark applications and trademark registrations. The official fee is EUR 20 (USD 28) per search. It may take up to 10 working days to receive search results.
Please note that it is currently possible to conduct wordmark searches only. The Kosovo PTO does not have a sophisticated trademark database. Therefore, the searches for figurative trademarks are not possible yet.
For more information, please contact Kujtesa Nezaj-Shehu.
September 21, 2010
Kosovo Parliament Approves New Trademark and Industrial Design Laws
On September 8, 2010, the Kosovo parliament approved two new laws in the field of intellectual property, the Law on Industrial Design and the Law on Trademarks.
The new Law on Industrial Design will replace the 2005 Law No. 2005/02-L45, while the new Law on Trademarks will replace the 2006 Law No. 2006/02-L54, currently in force in Kosovo.
To enter into force, the new laws will have to be promulgated by the President of the Republic of Kosovo, which is expected in the near future.
Furthermore, on September 1, 2010, the Kosovo government approved the Draft Law on Patents, which has been submitted to the parliament for further discussion and approval.
More details about the new laws are to follow soon.
For more information, please contact Kujtesa Nezaj-Shehu.
August 24, 2010
Kosovo Law on Customs Measures to be Implemented
On July 30, 2010, Administrative Instruction No.07/2010 entered into force. The Administrative Instruction addresses implementation of Kosovo’s Law on Customs Measures for Protection of Intellectual Property Rights, which entered into force on January 8, 2010. We wrote about the new law back in January. More details can be found in our article here.
The Administrative Instruction defines procedures for filing a Customs Watch Application with the Customs of the Republic of Kosovo, the necessary documents to be submitted with the Application, the official fee involved, the procedure of filing the liability declaration, and the deposit of the guarantee.
For more information, please contact Kujtesa Nezaj.
Source: PETOSEVIC
June 23, 2010
Copyright Office to Open in Kosovo
On May 26, 2010, the Kosovo government approved the Regulation establishing the Copyright Office in Kosovo.
The regulation provides that the Office will be within the authority of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports. The Law on Copyright was enacted in 2006.
The Deputy Minister of Culture Lirie Kajtazi stated that the duties of the Office will include certifying and supervising the associations representing the copyright and related rights holders, as well as other legal subjects specialized in administering copyrights, which meet the criteria set by the law.
Kajtazi added that the Office will soon be functional and staffed, but did not give an exact opening date.
For more information, please contact Nahide Saliaga-Maliqi.
Source: Koha DItore
January 21, 2010
Kosovo New Law on Customs Measures for Protection of Intellectual Property Rights
On December, 29, 2009, the Parliament of Kosovo approved the Law on Customs Measures for Protection of Intellectual Property Rights.
The new regulation will enter into force 15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Kosovo, following its ratification by the President of Kosovo, which is expected within the next few weeks.
The new regulation replaces the previous regulation, Implementing Customs measures regarding goods Infringing Intellectual Property Rights, and brings it in line with the corresponding EU regulations.
The new regulation provides advantages to IP right holders. According to the new regulation, IP right holders are not required to go to court in order to obtain approval for the destruction of counterfeit or pirated goods, as long as the consent of the importer is obtained.
With respect to the filing of customs application, the new regulation does not explicitly establish the obligation to submit certificates of registrations with the customs application. This is an important point as the Kosovo PTO may not be able to promptly issue the necessary certificates of registration, at least not in the near future, due to the extremely high volume of applications received since its opening in November 2007.
In the absence of a certificate of registration, IP right holders may support their rights before the Customs authorities by other means provided by the new Customs Regulations, such as the well-known mark argument.
Source:The Law on Customs Measures for Protection of Intellectual Property Rights; Parliament of Kosovo website
For more information, please contact Florentina Grubi.
November 24, 2009
Kosovo Seminar on Patents
A seminar on patents, which was organized by the European Patent Office (EPO), was held in Prishtina, Kosovo, on October 28 and 29.
The seminar, which was attended by approximately 20 participants, focused on EU patent filings and included topics such as: patentability, exclusions according to the EU system, the Inventive Step, patents descriptions, claims, and drawings.
The participants were shown how to file patents with the EPO through practical examples and were acquainted with the esp database (an EPO patent database).
For more information, please contact Asdren Iberhysaj.
October 21, 2009
Kosovo Working on New Customs Regulations for Protection of IP Rights
The government of Kosovo has been working with the EU’s rule of law mission in Kosovo (EULEX) and the EU’s project Technical Assistance to Customs and Tax Administrations (TACTA) on new customs regulations regarding goods infringing intellectual property rights.
As part of this project, the legal experts are drafting an amendment to the IPR Regulation 2008/22 in order to bring it fully in line with the EU Regulation 1383/2003. One of the main points to be addressed in the amendment is the fast track procedure, which would allow fast destruction of counterfeit goods.
Under the EU Regulation, it is possible to destroy counterfeit items without any need to go to the court, in case the owner or the importer of the goods gives consent, whereas in Kosovo, it is necessary, under the current regulations, to go to the court to obtain the right to seize and destroy the counterfeits.
The government of Kosovo is currently reviewing the draft after which it will require the parliamentary approval.
For more information, contact Ignacio Lazaro in our Brussels Office.
Update on Kosovo Issuing IP Certificates
We reported last month that Kosovo’s Intellectual Property Office held an official ceremony to mark the issuance of its first certificates for intellectual property rights.
The certificates issued are certificates of registrations confirming revalidations in Kosovo of the registered IP rights in the former Yugoslavia.
It is unlikely that the IPO will be able to issue a large number of these certificates any time soon since the office employs only a few people.
The issuance may also be problematic because the certificates only show basic data of the rights revalidated in Kosovo, but no details such as the lists of goods.
Kosovo’s IPO has not yet issued any registration certificates for new trademarks, patents or designs.
The basic trademark database should be completed soon and the searches possibly enabled in early 2010.
For more information, please contact Slobodan Petosevic in our Brussels Office.
October 14, 2007
MONTENEGRO and KOSOVO UPDATE
For the latest IP developments in Montenegro and Kosovo, please submit your Request for Information here and a Montenergo and Kosovo representative will get back to you shortly.
MONTENEGRO and KOSOVO UPDATE
For the latest IP developments in Montenegro and Kosovo, please submit your Request for Information here and a Montenergo and Kosovo representative will get back to you shortly.
September 01, 2006
Kosovo: End of Summer Update
Over the summer a much anticipated law on trademarks was finally promulgated by the Special Representative of the Secretary General of the UN. The new law came into force in Kosovo on June 28, 2006.
The law, although in compliance with most international norms and standards, does not provide for any sunrise period or the possibility of any revalidation of Serbian trademark registrations, as expected.
A Patent and Trademark Office has yet to be established in this province which is seeking full independence from Serbia but which already functions as an independent state.
In the meantime, we advise our clients to ensure that they have valid applications and registrations in the surrounding countries of Macedonia and Albania. Unlike Serbia, these two countries have close ties with Kosovo and it is possible that Kosovo will allow for revalidation of registrations that are valid in these two countries once the Patent and Trademark Office is opened.
In addition, it is important to note that it is already possible to enforce IP rights in Kosovo and that a few enforcement cases are underway. The legal basis for enforcement may vary from case to case but enforcement is nonetheless possible.
Lastly, we have reviewed the draft of the Kosovo Customs Regulations. One of the more interesting parts of the draft is the definition of “counterfeit”. According to the draft, counterfeits include goods bearing trademarks identical to a trademark validly registered in “any country”. This means that the enforcement of these regulations would not be dependant on the establishment of a working PTO in Kosovo.
The future of the province, which is seeking full independence from Serbia, is still set to be determined by the end of 2006.
For more information on Kosovo, please contact Slobodan Petosevic or Kathryn Szymczyk.
June 06, 2006
Montenegro's Separation from Serbia, Recent Developments in Kosovo: How Are Your Intellectual Property Rights Affected?
Montenegro
The former Yugoslav republic of Montenegro declared independence on Saturday when its parliament adopted the May 21st national referendum decision to end its union with Serbia.
Negotiations between Serbia and Montenegro on how to disentangle the two states, including the laws and court systems, are expected to begin shortly.
The separation of the union will have significant effects on IP owners’ rights. Currently, Montenegro does not have its own Patent and Trademark Office or its own intellectual property laws. New legislation in Montenegro is likely to closely resemble the relevant Serbian laws. Based on the experience following the breakup of the former Yugoslavia into 5 countries, we anticipate a six to twelve month period of time for IP owners to revalidate rights registered under the old union in Montenegro. In the meantime, joint government agencies, such as the Patent and Trademark Office in Serbia, will operate under the same rules and regulations as before the independence declaration.
Kosovo
Kosovo, an enclave in Serbia with an Albanian majority, is presently jointly governed by Provisional Institutions of Self-Government and the UN Interim Administrative Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). The future of the province is set to be determined by the end of 2006.
A comprehensive legal framework for the self-government for Kosovo was established on May 15, 2001. Since 2001, new laws have been promulgated to replace some of the laws of Serbia, including some laws on intellectual property rights. The amendments to the law on patents, which would allow the Ministry of Trade to establish a Patent and Trademark Office, are presently being reviewed by the Office of the Prime Minister and are expected to be approved shortly. In addition, the promulgation of a trademark law is expected in the near future. Once a Patent and Trademark Office is established in Kosovo it will likely be necessary to revalidate the existing IP rights. Like in Montenegro, we anticipate that there will be a six to twelve month time frame within which an IP owner can revalidate their existing IP rights registered under the old union.
Although the situation in both Montenegro and Kosovo is in flux, the enforcement of intellectual property rights is possible with the use of good strategy and timely action.
For more information on Montenegro and Kosovo, please contact Slobodan Petosevic or Kathryn Szymczyk.