Serbian Draft Laws on Copyrights, Industrial Designs and Integrated Circuit Topographies Up for Discussion

Public discussions on Serbian draft laws on copyrights and industrial designs are taking place between April 29 and May 15, 2009.

The public discussion on the draft law on integrated circuit topographies is taking place between May 6 and May 20, 2009.

Officials of the Serbian Intellectual Property Office have invited all interested parties to attend public discussions.

The three draft laws intend to bring Serbian IP legislation in line with the international and European regulations, namely the TRIPS Agreement, the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement, and various EU directives.

The draft Law on Copyright and Related Rights is to replace the existing law that entered into force on December 24, 2004. The most important changes are introduced in relation to collective exercise of copyright and related rights.

According to the draft law, copyright collectives will no longer be able to determine the fees unilaterally. Instead, they will have to negotiate the fees with licensees. It was decided that such a solution is more just because it takes into consideration licensees’ financial situation.

In case copyright collectives and licensees fail to reach an agreement on the fees, a new body – the Commission for Copyright and Related Rights – will recommend the fees.

The draft Law on Industrial Designs will replace the existing one that entered into force on January 1, 2005. The draft law introduces the term “industrial design”, instead of the previous term “right to a design.”

The introduction of the term “industrial design” will help distinguish more clearly between the designs intended for industrial production, and designs with solely aesthetic characteristics.

Another important novelty concerns the introduction of the right to appeal. The existing law does not stipulate the right to appeal first-instance administrative acts of the Serbian IPO. This means that, until now, the parties could initiate only administrative disputes against such acts.

The draft Law on Integrated Circuit Topographies will replace the existing law that came into force on January 1, 2005.

For more information, please contact Jovana Miočinović in our Balkan Regional Office.