Slovenia News Archives
November 29, 2011
Slovenian Customs Seize EUR 5.5 M Worth of Counterfeits
According to the Slovenian Customs Administration’s recent announcement, in August 2011 the Slovenian customs officials seized EUR 5.5 million (USD 7.5 million) worth of counterfeit perfumes, shoes and apparel bearing the logos of 28 well-known brands.
The officials seized 44,556 perfumes and eaux de toilette, 4,088 pairs of shoes and 6,879 clothing items, bearing the logos of Chanel, Dior, Armani, Hugo Boss, Diesel, Jean Paul Gaultier, Dolce & Gabbana, Kenzo, Gucci, Lacoste, L’Oreal, Prada, among other brands.
The officials discovered the goods hidden among bottled water inside three large containers at the container terminal at the railway station in the capital of Ljubljana. The containers arrived by rail from Turkey and were on their way to the Netherlands and France.
The trademark owners have ordered the destruction of the goods under the Customs supervision.
For more information, please contact Katja Kranjec at our Slovenia office.
Source: Slovenian Customs
March 24, 2011
Slovenian IPO Issues Statements of Grant of Protection for International Trademarks
The Slovenian Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) is to start issuing statements of grant of protection for international trademarks designating Slovenia with the application dates of January 1, 2011 or later, pursuant to the new Rules 18bis and 18ter of the Common Regulations under the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks and the Protocol Related to that Agreement. These rules pertain to the status of international trademarks in relation to designated contracting parties.
When all procedures regarding international registrations have been completed before the SIPO, the SIPO will send official statements to the WIPO that registrations have been granted protection in Slovenia. The SIPO is to start issuing the statements in April 2011, following the three-month opposition period, or at the latest within the prescribed 12-month period.
This change is particularly favorable to international trademark owners who were not formally informed about the status of their international registrations in Slovenia until now. In the past, the international registration became valid on the territory of Slovenia, or any other designated country, if the IPO had not sent a notification of provisional refusal to the WIPO within the 12-month period.
For more information, please contact Sinja Leskovec at our Slovenia office.
Source: SIPO
February 23, 2011
Increase in National Trademark, Patent, Design Applications in Slovenia
In comparison with 2009, in 2010 in Slovenia the number of national trademark applications increased by 14 percent, the number of national patent applications by 17 percent and the number of national design applications by 70 percent.
This increase might be attributed to the government’s measures to promote innovation and the Slovenian Intellectual Property Office’s (SIPO) efforts to raise awareness about the importance of intellectual property protection.
In the report below, only the applications filed with the SIPO were taken into consideration.
In 2010, SIPO received 465 national patent applications, 452 of which were filed by Slovenian residents and 13 by foreign applicants. Furthermore, it received three European patent applications, 76 Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) applications, 15 supplementary protection certificate (SPC) applications and 1738 requests for entry of European patents into the SIPO register.
The total number of national trademark applications was 1885, among which 1563 filed by Slovenian residents and 322 by foreign applicants. The majority of applications involved pharmaceutical, veterinary and medical products and technical aides, as well as advertising and business management items. Moreover, Slovenian residents filed 264 applications through SIPO for the registration of trademarks abroad.
SIPO received 107 national design applications, mainly for clothing articles and footwear, as well as for metal products and materials.
For more information, please contact Sinja Leskovec at our Slovenia office.
Source: Slovenian IPO
November 29, 2010
Slovenian and Slovak Trademarks Added to TMview
On October 13, 2010, TMview, Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market of the European Union (OHIM) database providing free access to data on almost 5 million trademarks, started offering access to data on Slovenian and Slovak trademark applications and registrations.
TMview already provides free access to trademarks held by OHIM, WIPO, as well as the UK, Czech, Italian, Benelux, Portuguese, Danish, Spanish and Estonian PTOs. The aim is for TMview to eventually cover all EU member states.
For more information on TMview, please go here or contact Sinja Leskovec at our Slovenia office.
Source: SIPO
Slovenian Customs Confiscate Pirated Toys, Disks
On October 13, 2010, the Slovenian customs officials in the city of Gruškovje, southeastern Slovenia, seized a considerable quantity of goods of Chinese origin suspected of being counterfeit.
Among the confiscated goods, there were 3,150 children handbags and toys bearing the logo of Hello Kitty and 152,000 empty DVDs and CDs bearing the mark of Verbatim.
The products were discovered in a cargo vehicle with Slovak license plates traveling from the port of Rijeka, western Croatia, to Hungary.
For more information, please contact Sinja Leskovec at our Slovenia office.
Source: Customs Administration of the Republic of Slovenia
Slovenian IPO Grants Authorization to New Copyright Collective
On October 11, 2010, the Slovenian Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) issued authorization to the Institute of Authors, Performers and Producers of Audiovisual Works of the Republic of Slovenia (AIPA), an organization for the collective management of copyright and related rights in the field of audiovisual works.
There are four other similar organizations in Slovenia authorized to operate by SIPO: SAZAS (covering copyright in musical works), IPF (covering related rights in performances and musical phonograms), ZAMP (covering copyright in literary, scientific and publicity works, as well as the translations thereof), and SAZOR GIZ (covering literary, scientific and publicity works and their translations in terms of their reproduction or distribution for the benefit of people with special needs, private and internal use and photocopying beyond the scope of Article 50 of the Copyright and Related Rights Act).
For more information, please contact Sinja Leskovec at our Slovenia office.
Source: SIPO
October 20, 2010
Accented Characters Now Allowed in Slovenian Domain Names, Registration Costs Reduced
The Academic and Research Network of Slovenia (ARNES), a public institute responsible for managing Slovenia’s country code top-level domain (ccTLD) .si, has announced new rules, effective October 20, 2010, governing the registration of internationalized domain names (IDNs).
Until October 20, it was possible to register only .si domain names using the 26 standard Latin alphabet characters (A to Z), the numerals 0 to 9 and hyphens.
Under the new rules, IDNs may also include the accented Latin characters, used in many European languages. For example, the domain names may include characters with a caron used in the Slovenian language - “č”, “š” and “ž”. The accents can change the meaning of a word, e.g. “zima.si” (without the caron) means winter, while “žima.si” (with the caron) refers to horsehair.
Another novelty is the possibility to register two-character domain names, whereas the previous minimum was three characters. The upper limit of 63 characters remains the same.
There will be no sunrise period for trademark owners; the new domain names will be registered on a first-come, first-served basis.
ARNES has also reduced the registration and renewal fees. For the list of authorized registrars, please go here.
Fore more information, please contact Sinja Leskovec at our Slovenia office.
Source: ARNES
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:
- Raise the level of protection of intellectual property and reduce piracy;
- 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;
- Amend the Industrial Property Act based on analysis;
- Set-up a common database;
- 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.