Kosovo News Archives

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.