EC: Serbia Made Moderate Progress in IP Area in 2010

As part of its Enlargement Package for 2010, the European Commission has recently issued a progress report on Serbia, part of which concerns the protection of intellectual property rights. According to the report, Serbia has made moderate progress in the IP field this year.

Among positive developments, the report notes the education and information centre that the IPO opened on its premises, aimed to assist in the overall development of the national IP system. Serbia has acceded to the European Patent Convention and become European Patent Organization’s member state. Furthermore, the recently adopted Strategy for Scientific and Technological Development is expected to help increase the number of patent applications. The law on patents will be adopted soon.

New legislation on industrial design, topography of integrated circuits and geographical indications has been adopted, in line with the Interim Agreement on Trade and Trade-Related Matters that Serbia and the EU signed. A new copyright law was adopted in December 2009, followed by the implementing legislation.

In terms of IP rights enforcement, the country has set up specialized enforcement units, the frequency of raids has increased and the number of cases filed before the courts has decreased. The customs administration and the market inspection have made significant progress in IP rights enforcement and seizures of counterfeit goods, but the inadequate storage space for illegal goods remains a problem.

Better cooperation among government bodies having the authority in the area of IP rights protection is needed, as well as significant investment into the training of judges. The report also notes that there have been discussions on the long-term financial sustainability of the IPO, but that no solution has been found yet. The law on optical discs has yet to be adopted and the national IP strategy needs to be finalized.

For more information, please contact Jelena Jankovic at our Balkan Regional Office.

Source: Serbian IPO