INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN MACEDONIA

The Industrial Property Law No. 21/2009 is the primary law governing the mechanism of trademark registration and protection in Macedonia.
For getting a trademark registered in Macedonia, an application has to be filed with the State Office of Industrial Property (SOIP), which administers the entire trademark registration process.
It follows a 'first-to-file' system, which means that registration is mandatory for protection.
Macedonia follows the 11th edition of Nice Classification. Multi-class trademark applications are possible.
The opposition period is ninety (90) days after the publication of the trademark application in the Official Gazette of the SOIP.
Registered trademarks have a validity of ten (10) years from the date of application, which can be further renewed indefinitely for successive periods of ten (10) years each.
The grace period to renew a trademark after the date of expiry is nine (09) months.
The term for cancellation of a registered trademark based on non-use is five (05) years from the date of registration.

Macedonia is a member of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.
The Industrial Property Law No. 21/2009 and The Regulation on Patent, in force since July 24, 2009 deal with the mechanism of patent protection in Macedonia.
For seeking patent protection in Macedonia, an application has to be filed with the State Office of Industrial Property (SOIP), which administers the entire process of patent grant.
In Macedonia, an invention that is new, involves an inventive step, and is susceptible of industrial application, 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.
In Macedonia, pre-grant opposition against a patent application is not available.
Patents last for twenty (20) years. Annuities are due for the third and each following year for patent applications and patents counting from the filing date.

The Industrial Property Law No. 21/2009 - governs and deals with the mechanism of registration of industrial designs in Macedonia.
For getting an industrial design registered in Macedonia, an application has to be filed with the SOIP, which administers the entire process of registration.
The types of industrial design applications that can be filed in Macedonia include Non-Convention Application and Convention Application.
Opposition against an industrial design application can be filed within ninety (90) days of its publication.
The validity of a design registration is five years from the date of filing and it may be subsequently extended for further five-year periods up to the total term of twenty-five (25) years.
Further renewal fees should be paid within the last year of protection periods or within a grace period of six (06) months together with the payment of a corresponding surcharge.

Macedonia is a signatory to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.
Law on Copyright and Related Rights (2010) is the basic legislation governing copyright protection in Macedonia.
In Macedonia, copyright comes into existence as soon as the work is created. There is no formal procedure laid down for registration of creative works.
Economic rights run for the life of the author and for seventy (70) years after his death, unless otherwise provided.
Copyright of anonymous and pseudonymous works runs for seventy (70) years after the lawful disclosure of the work, unless the identity of the author becomes known during this period.
Where the term does not run from the death of the author or authors, and the work has not been lawfully disclosed, copyright runs for seventy (70) years after its creation.