INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN CROATIA

The Trademark Act of February 7, 2019 - is the primary law governing the mechanism of trademark registration and protection in Croatia.
For getting a trademark registered, an application needs to be filed at the Croatian State Intellectual Property Office (CSIPO).
It follows a 'first-to-file’ system; therefore, trademark registration is mandatory for protection. Unregistered marks can be enforced if they are well-known according to Article 6bis of the Paris Convention, or in accordance with the unfair competition regulations.
Croatia follows the 11th edition of Nice Classification. Multi-class trademark applications are possible.
The opposition period is three (03) months from publication of the trademark application.
A trademark registration is valid for ten (10) years from the date of application. The registration is further renewable indefinitely for successive periods of ten (10) years each.
The request for renewal of the registration of a trademark may be submitted within the additional period of (06) six months following the expiry under condition of payment of a surcharge.
A trademark registration in Croatia may be revoked, if within a continuous period of five (05) years following the date of registration, it has not been put to genuine use in the Republic of Croatia.

Croatia is a member of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), and the European Patent Convention.
The Patent Law of the Republic of Croatia, effective as of January 1, 2004 - forms the legal basis for patent protection in the country.
For seeking patent protection in Croatia, an application has to be filed with the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO), which administers the entire process of patent grant.
In Croatia, an invention that satisfies the conditions of novelty, inventive step, and industrial applicability, subjects to patentability. 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. A patent application can also be filed through the European Patent Office.
After the publication of a patent application, any person, within six (06) months, may file with the Office an objection to the grant of a consensual patent or a request for the substantive examination after grant at any time.
The protection term for a patent granted on the basis of the results of substantive examination lasts for twenty (20) years as from the filing date of a patent application, and for a consensual patent, it lasts for ten (10) years.
Annuities are due for the third and every subsequent year counting from the filing date of the application.

The Industrial Design Act, 2004 - governs the protection of industrial designs in Croatia.
For getting an industrial design registered in Croatia, an application has to be filed with the SIPO, which administers the entire process of registration.
The types of industrial design applications that can be filed in Croatia include Non-Convention Application and Convention Application.
The substantive examination of industrial designs in Croatia is not stipulated.
Opposition against an industrial design application cannot be raised in Croatia.
Designs are protected for five (05) years. This can be extended up to four (04) times, to a maximum of twenty-five (25) years.
Late renewal is normally available within six (06) months grace period with surcharge.

Croatia is a signatory to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.
The Copyright and Related Rights Act and Acts on Amendments to the Copyright and Related Rights, 2003 - govern copyright protection in Croatia.
Under the Croatian law, copyright is acquired by the mere act of creation, which means that neither registration nor any other formality is necessary to gain copyright protection. However, one can register his or her copyright as evidence of authorship by depositing a copy of it in the Registry maintained by the Croatian Copyright Agency.
Copyright protection runs for the lifetime of the author and for seventy (70) years after his death, irrespective of the date when the work gets lawfully released.
Copyright in anonymous works runs for seventy (70) years after the work has been lawfully disclosed.
Copyright in pseudonymous works runs for seventy (70) years after the work is lawfully disclosed.