INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

The Trademark Law (in force since January 01, 2011) provides the legal basis for protection of trademarks.
For getting a trademark registered in Bosnia and Herzegovina, an application has to be filed with the Institute of Intellectual Property Rights of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which administers the entire trademark registration process.
It follows a 'first-to-file' system, which means that registration is mandatory for protection.
Bosnia and Herzegovina follows the 10th edition of Nice Classification. Multi-class trademark applications are possible.
The opposition period is three (03) months from publication of the trademark application (non-extendable).
A trademark registration is valid for ten (10) years from the date of application, which is further renewable indefinitely for successive periods of ten (10) years each.
There is a grace period of six (06) months after the expiration date during which the trademark renewal may still be requested upon payment of a late renewal (additional) fee.
The term for cancellation of a registered trademark based on non-use is five (05) years from the date of registration.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is a contracting party to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property and the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).
The Patent Law and the Regulations on Patent and Consensual Patent Grant Procedure form the legal basis of patent protection in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
For seeking patent protection, an application has to be filed with the Institute of Intellectual Property Rights of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
A patent shall be granted for any invention in any field of technology, which is new, involves an inventive step, and is susceptible of industrial application. Process patent and product patent are the two types of patents that can be protected.
The types of patent applications that can be filed include Non-Convention Application and Convention Application.
No formal pre or post-grant opposition is available in the case of patents.
The patent of invention lasts for twenty (20) years from the filing date. Annuities are to be paid annually and before the expiration of the year for which the protection fee has been paid. There is a grace period of six (06) months for late payment of the renewal fees with penalty.

The Law on Industrial Designs, 2010 - governs and deals with the mechanism of registration of industrial designs in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
For getting an industrial design registered in Bosnia and Herzegovina, an application has to be filed with the Institute of Intellectual Property Rights of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The types of industrial design applications that can be filed include Non-Convention Application and Convention Application.
Utility model protection isn't provided under industrial design protection in the nation.
Upon the publication of the application, any interested person may, within three (03) months from the publication, submit to the Institute a written opposition containing an explanation to the effect why a design contained in the published application does not fulfill the conditions laid down.
An industrial design shall be valid from the date of filing the application with the Institute up to five (05) years, with a possibility of extension for the same period four (04) times.
The fees for each subsequent five (05) years are payable during the final year of the previous protection period or up to six (06) months after the expiration of the fifth year with a 50% fine.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is a signatory to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.
Copyright and Related Rights Law and the Law on the Collective Management of Copyright and Related Rights in Bosnia of 2010 govern copyright protection.
The principle according to which copyright is acquired without formalities is applicable. For preserving evidence of his or her creativity or for other various reasons, an author may deposit his or her originals or copies of works of authorship or items of his or her related rights within the Institute for Intellectual Property of Bosnia and Herzegovina. A deposited work is entered into the book of records of authorship works and maintained by the Institute.
Copyright is an exclusive right, and it lasts for the entire lifetime of the author plus a period of seventy (70) years after his or her death.
When it comes to the collective or anonymous works, the term of seventy (70) years starts running from the day of legal publication of the work.
If the subject matter of copyright on a collective work or a computer program is a legal entity, copyright runs for seventy (70) years from the disclosure of the work or the creation of the computer program.