Now in its twelfth year, Class 46 is dedicated to European trade mark law and practice. This weblog is written by a team of enthusiasts who want to spread the word and share their thoughts with others.
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Is your Montenegrin mark an old Serbian one? If so ...
The Montenegrin parliament is expected to adopt a new trade mark law in early July, which will enter into force on the 8th day following its publication in the Official Gazette. The key provision of the new law affects owners of trade marks registered before the Serbian Intellectual Property Office before 28 May 2008, when the Montenegrin IPO opened. Originally the decree on IPR enforcement, which regulated the validity of Serbian IP rights after 28 May, prescribed continuous validity in Montenegro for trade marks registered in Serbia until their renewal due date, without re-registration or payment of any additional fees. The new law, however, requires trade mark owners to request the admittance of their rights on to the Montenegrin trade marks register within 12 months from the coming into force of this law.
This new provision does NOT apply to trade mark owners who
• Filed a renewal request,• Filed a request for Montenegrin Certificate of Registration,
• Filed a request for change of name/address, or
• Filed an assignment of rights before the Montenegrin IPO after the beginning of its operations.
The requests listed here are regarded as requests for admission to the trade marks register.
In addition, the new trademark law aims to shorten the trademark registration process and achieve full compliance with the relevant EU regulations by abolishing the previous practice of substantive examination on relative grounds and introducing opposition proceedings. Under the new law, a trademark application will be examined on absolute grounds only and if it meets the requirements for registration, it will be published in the Official Gazette of the Montenegrin IPO. Third parties will have three months from the date of publication to file a written opposition.
The new trade mark law is intended to comply with the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), failing which it will not be possible for Montenegro to accede to the World Trade Organization (WTO). One innovation in the new law is the possibility to appeal IPO decisions to the competent ministry, before lodging an appeal with the competent court. Cancellation of registered marks will also now be heard before the competent court, as opposed to a proceeding before the IPO as prescribed by the current legislation.
Source: news bulletin from PETOSEVIC
Posted by: Blog Administrator @ 17.36Tags: Serbia, Montenegro,
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