INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN SERBIA
Opposition Term |
03 Months |
Registration Term |
10 Years |
First Renewal Term |
10 Years |
Subsequent Renewal Term |
10 Years |
Serbian Trademark Law, in force since February 1, 2020 - is the primary law governing the mechanism of trademark registration and protection in Serbia.
For getting a trademark registered in Serbia, an application has to be filed with the Intellectual Property Office of the Republic of Serbia, which administers the entire trademark registration process.
It follows a 'first-to-file’ system, which means that trademark registration is mandatory for protection.
Serbia follows the 11th edition of Nice Classification. Multi-class trademark applications are possible.
The third parties can file opposition actions against a trademark application within three (03) months following the publication of the trademark application.
In Serbia, 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 six (06) months with a 50% penalty fee.
The term for cancellation of a registered trademark based on non-use is five (05) years from the date of registration.
Serbia is a member of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), and the European Patent Convention.
Patent Law, passed on December 26, 2011, in force since January 4, 2012 -deals with the mechanism of patent protection in Serbia.
For seeking patent protection in Serbia, an application has to be filed with the Intellectual Property Office of the Republic of Serbia, which administers the entire process of patent grant.
In Serbia, 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.
In Serbia, pre-grant opposition cannot be raised against a patent.
The patent of invention lasts for twenty (20) years in Serbia. In case of a petty patent (a solution relating to the structure of a product or the layout of its components), the protection term is ten (10) years. Annuities are due for the third and each following year for patent applications and patents counting from the filing date.
The Law on Legal Protection of Industrial Design, adopted on 11 December 2009 - governs and deals with the mechanism of registration of industrial designs in Serbia.
For getting an industrial design registered in Serbia, an application has to be filed with the Intellectual Property Office of the Republic of Serbia, which administers the entire process of registration.
The types of industrial design applications that can be filed in Serbia include Non-Convention Application and Convention Application.
Opposition against an industrial design application can't be raised in Serbia.
The validity term of industrial design in Serbia is twenty-five (25) years from the date of filing.
The maintenance fees for the first five (05) years are payable in a lump sum along with the grant fee. The subsequent annuities (6th- 25th year) are paid annually before the expiry of the last day of the month in which the anniversary of the filing date occurs, but not earlier than six (06) months before the due date.
There is a grace period of six (06) months for late payment of fees.
Serbia is a signatory to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.
Law on Copyright and Related Rights (Official Gazette Republic of Serbia No. 104/2009) - is the basic legislation governing copyright protection in Serbia.
In Serbia, copyright comes into existence as soon as the work is created. There is no formal procedure for registration. However, the Intellectual Property Office of the Republic of Serbia (IPO) carries out the procedure for entry into the voluntary register for the purpose of securing the evidence.
Pecuniary rights last for the life of an author and seventy (70) years after his or her death.
If an author has created a work as an employee in the performance of his or her duties, the employer holds exclusive pecuniary rights on its exploitation for five (05) years from completion of that work. The author then acquires the exclusive pecuniary rights.
Pecuniary rights for an anonymous or pseudonymous work expire seventy (70) years from the date of its disclosure if the author's identity is not revealed during this term.
Copyright on collective works lasts for seventy (70) years from the date of the legal publication of the work.
The term of protection of a film expires seventy (70) years from the death of director, scriptwriter, dialogue author, or the author of the music specifically composed for the film, whoever dies last.
The term of copyright protection expires seventy (70) years from the creation of the work if the term of its protection is not calculated from the date of death of the author or co-author and if it has not been lawfully published during such period of time.