Slovenia News Archives

May 24, 2010

Slovenia Files Fewer Applications with EPO in 2009

In 2009, Slovenia filed 119 applications with the European Patent Office (EPO), which is 7 percent less compared to the 128 applications filed in 2008. Slovenians were granted 28 European patents in 2009, which is a 15.2 percent decrease compared to 2008, when they were granted 33 patents.

Many European countries were faced with a similar decline in 2009 due to the global economic crisis. Among the 10 countries that entered the EU in 2004, Slovenia is ranked third in terms of the number of applications submitted; Poland and the Czech Republic are first and second with 173 and 136 applications filed in 2009 respectively.

In terms of the number of granted patents, the Czech Republic takes the first place with 40, Hungary is second with 38, Poland third place with 33 and Slovenia takes the fourth place with 28 granted patents.

According to the 2009 Annual Report, EPO received a total of 134,542 applications, which is an 8 percent decrease compared to 2008. Patents have been granted for 13 percent of the applications, which accounts for approximately 52,000 granted patents.

For more information, please contact Masa Lopicic at our Balkan Regional Office.

Source: Slovenian IPO, EPO

February 23, 2010

Slovenian Government Appoints New PTO Director

On January 15, 2010, the Slovenian government appointed Dr. Jurij Žurej as the director of the Slovenian PTO for a period of five years.

Until recently, Dr. Žurej was the acting director of the PTO. He was appointed to this position in October 2009, after the five-year mandate of the previous director Dr. Biserka Strel expired.

For more information, please contact Masa Lopicic in our Balkan Regional Office.

Source: Slovenian IPO

January 20, 2010

Slovenian Industrial Property Bulletin Goes from Bi-monthly to Monthly in 2010

As of January 2010, the Slovenian Industrial Property Bulletin will be issued monthly (formerly bi-monthly).

It will be available free of charge in an electronic format at the Slovenian IPO’s website on the last workday of each month.

The 2010 publication dates are: January 29, February 26, March 31, April 30, May 31, June 30, July 30, August 31, September 30, October 29, November 30 and December 31.

For more information, please contact Jelena Jankovic in our Balkan Regional Office.

Source: Slovenian IPO

Slovenian Patent Applications Increase in 2009

Slovenian Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) reported that the number of national patent applications increased by 22 percent in 2009 in comparison to 2008, despite the global economic crisis. In 2009, SIPO received a total of 399 national patent applications, in comparison to 327 in 2008.

According to SIPO, one of the reasons that may have triggered the increase in patent applications is SIPO’s and University of Ljubljana’s initiative to educate small and medium-sized enterprises about the benefits of intellectual property protection.

On the other hand, the number of national applications for trademark and design protection declined by 17 percent and 28 percent respectively. According to SIPO, 1655 trademark and 86 design applications were filed in 2009, while in 2008 these numbers amounted to 1991 and 119 respectively.

For more information, please contact Masa Lopicic in our Balkan Regional Office.

Source: SIPO

July 21, 2009

Slovenia Sets up Anti-Piracy and Counterfeiting Working Group

On June 12, 2009, Slovenia established an inter-sectoral working group for the fight against piracy and counterfeiting. The group is supposed to facilitate a more effective co-operation between the state authorities in IPR enforcement.

According to the Slovenian Intellectual Property Office (SIPO), some of the main tasks of the group should be to:

1. Raise the level of protection of intellectual property and reduce piracy;
2. Establish coordination among customs authorities, market inspectors, police, courts, chambers of commerce and industry, the Chamber of Crafts, the Association of Patent and Trademark Agents, and SIPO;
3. Amend the Industrial Property Act based on analysis;
4. Set-up a common database;
5. Raise awareness of the public and right holders.

These tasks were also included into the National Action Plan for Cooperation between the SIPO and the European Patent Office (EPO).

The newly established group consists of the representatives of the Office of the State Prosecutor General, General Police Directorate, General Customs Directorate, Market Inspectorate, Ministry of Economy, and SIPO.

The group is presided by the director of SIPO, which performs all administrative tasks for the group.

For more information, please contact Jovana Miocinovic in our Balkan Regional Office.

October 27, 2008

Slovenia to relax domain name rules

The registration authority for the new Slovenian Internet domain .si has announced several modifications to its rules.

Under the new rules, which take effect Nov. 6, 2008, all natural and legal persons will be able to register .si domains, with no requirement of a local presence. The current limit of 20 domain names per holder will also be abolished.

Currently, a domain name registration may be renewed for a period of one year. Under the new rules, it will be possible to renew registrations for up to five years. Domain names consisting of only numbers will also be allowed.

For more information, contact Ms. Judith Goeke in our Balkan Regional Office.

December 04, 2007

Slovenia and Macedonia IPOs Sign Cooperation Agreement

On November 16th, the Slovenian Intellectual Property Office and the State Office of Industrial Property of the Republic of Macedonia Signed a Cooperation Agreement.

The two IPOs agree to promote protection of intellectual property through activities such as exchange of information, exchange and training of staff and joint activities aiming at raising awareness of intellectual property. The Agreement replaces a similar 1996 Agreement between the two IPOs.

For more information, please contact our Macedonia representative.

Slovenia IPO National Action Plan for Cooperation with EPO Confirmed

On November 26th, 2007, The National Action Plan for Cooperation between Slovenian Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) with the European Patent Office (EPO) was confirmed. The plan is intended to cover the period between August 1, 2007 and July 31, 2010.

The main cooperation activities include:

• Further Development of SIPO’s IT Support System

• Development of a Comprehensive Information Providing System

• Establishing Inter-Sectoral Coordination for More Efficient Enforcement of IP Rights (National IP Forum)

• Setting Up a Network for Cooperation with Universities and Schools in the field of Intellectual Property (IP Focal Points)

• Raising Public Awareness of the Importance of Intellectual Property

• Requiring Higher Qualification for Slovenian Patent Agents in Proceedings Before the EPO

For more information, please contact our Slovenia representative.

June 24, 2005

EPO’s INPADOC Database Provides Legal Status for Slovenia Patents

As of April 2005, the EPO’s INPADOC database provides legal status of all patent applications pending in Slovenia, as well as all patents in force from 2005 onwards.

The Slovenian legal status comprises national patents, post-grant information for European patents and PCT entry into the national phase.

For more information, please contact our Slovenia representative.

January 25, 2005

Slovenia - Payment of the 3rd Annuity for European Patents

Until 18 November 2004, the Slovenian Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) did not request payment of the 3rd annuity for European Patents. Indeed, no payment for the 3rd annuity was foreseen in the relevant regulations (Decree on Fees of 7 January 2002).

However, due to faster prosecution at EPO, SIPO started receiving requests for extension of European Patents within a period shorter than three years after the filing date. The prescribed fee would be then paid by SIPO to EPO, without receiving the necessary payment from the applicant.

In order to be able to request this payment from the applicant, SIPO issued a Circular Letter on 18 November 2004, explaining its new interpretation on payment of renewal fees for extended and validated European Patents in Slovenia. According to said Circular Letter, a Transitional Provision of Decree 7 January 2002, which was not initially laid down for this specific situation, would be applicable: “For the maintenance fee for the 3rd year, former Decree has to be applied for those patents, for which only maintenance fee for the first two years has been paid”.

Consequently, in case of national patents and PCT patent applications, the filing fee includes maintenance for the first three years. For European patents, however, the filing fee only covers the costs for publication and translated claims and therefore it is necessary to pay the 3rd annuity separately.

For more information on the payment of the 3rd annuity for European patents, please contact our Slovenia representative.

May 18, 2004

Major Ruling on Counterfeiting in Slovenia

The Appellate Court of Slovenia follows the reasoning of the European Court of Justice.

In a landmark decision relating to the largest amount of counterfeit cigarettes ever seized by the Slovenian Customs Authorities, the Appellate Court of Slovenia overturned the lower court decision and established a new interpretation of the Slovenian Industrial Property Act by following the reasoning of the European Court of Justice.

The case was brought by the trademark owner before the Slovenian Circuit Court, which ruled that no action could be brought against the Defendant because the freight forwarding agents could not be liable for the infringement of trademarks.

On appeal, the lower court decision was overturned and the Slovenian Appellate court held, by following the reasoning of the European Court of Justice, that the freight forwarding agents might in fact be responsible for the infringement of trademarks. The Appellate Court decided that all who assist in the process of placing the goods on the market can be held liable for infringing the trademark and prevented from continuing such activities.

In the same decision, the Appellate Court of Slovenia also held that a mere transit of counterfeit goods through Slovenia might constitute infringement of trademarks. This approach is based on the reasoning that if transit proves to be an essential link to placing the goods on the market, then it can be regarded as an infringement. The court concluded that it is not necessary that all actions relating to placing the goods on the market take place in one jurisdiction.