Croatia Amends Patent Legislation

Earlier in the summer, the Croatian Parliament passed the Patent Act and the Act on Amending the Patent Act (Official Gazette No. 76/2013) on an urgent basis ahead of Croatia’s EU accession, which took place on July 1, 2013. The amendments to patent legislation entered into force in Croatia on June 29, 2013.

The amendments were made with respect to the provisions on supplementary protection certificates and compulsory licensing. The amending Act establishes a competent body and its tasks relating to the implementation of the:

• Regulation (EC) No. 469/09 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 May 2009, concerning the supplementary protection certificate for medicinal products intended for humans or animals, as amended (Official Journal of the EU (OJ) L 152, 16.6.2009, containing all the amendments);

• Regulation (EC) No. 1610/96 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 1996, concerning the creation of a supplementary protection certificate for plant protection products, as amended (OJ L 198, 8.8.1996, containing all the amendments); and

• Regulation (EC) No. 816/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 May 2006, on compulsory licensing of patents relating to the manufacture of pharmaceutical products for export to countries with public health problems, as amended (OJ L 157, 9.6.2006, containing all the amendments).

In line with the new amendments, the minister responsible for the work of the Croatian IPO passed the new Patent Regulations and Regulations on Amendments to the Patent Regulations (Official Gazette No. 85/2013) that entered into force on July 4, 2013.

By: Anamarija Stancic Petrovic

For more information please contact Anamarija Stancic Petrovic.