According to the Regulation of Government
of Montenegro which will be published in the
Official Gazette number 61/2007,
there will be no need for
separate revalidation of national
Serbia-Montenegro and/or
Serbian Intellectual Property Rights.

PATENTS, TRADEMARKS AND DESIGNS:


All the National Intellectual Property rights registered in the Union of Serbia and Montenegro (and in Republic of Serbia as from 3 June 2006) will be automatically valid in Montenegro if registered before the cut-off date, which will be the date of the official inauguration of the Montenegro Intellectual Property Office. There will be no special re-validation procedure and the owners of the national Intellectual Property Rights will only be required to maintain their rights in Montenegro once these become due for renewal. Any application for maintenance (renewal/annuity payment) of national Intellectual Property rights filed in Serbia prior to the inauguration of Montenegro Intellectual Property Office will be accepted in Montenegro.

National rights filed in the Union of Serbia and Montenegro (and in Republic of Serbia as from 3 June 2006) which are not yet registered (i.e. at the application stage) will need to be re-applied for in Montenegro, keeping the original filing/priority date from Union of Serbia and Montenegro (and in Republic of Serbia as from 3 June 2006) . Such rights will continue their examination and registration procedure in Montenegro itself. This applies to all unregistered applications which were filed in the Union of Serbia and Montenegro (before 3 June 2006) and the applications filed in Serbia (between 3 July 2006 and the date of formal inauguration of the Montenegro Intellectual Property Office). The applicants will have to submit within 6 months from the date of inauguration of Intellectual Property Office the proofs of relevant filings with the Serbian Intellectual Property Office, together with all the supporting documents filed at the time.

Therefore, the owners of registered national Intellectual Property Rights in Serbia (previously Serbia and Montenegro) will not be required to take any action in order to have their rights valid in Montenegro, providing that these rights were registered and valid prior to the inauguration of the Montenegro Intellectual Property Office.

It is not expected that the Montenegro Intellectual Property Office will be opened prior to December 2007.

TRADEMARKS:

As stated above, there will be no need for any form of revalidation of National Trademark Rights registered in the Union of Serbia and Montenegro (and in Republic of Serbia as from 3 June 2006), providing that these trademarks were registered and valid before the date of formal inauguration of Montenegro Intellectual Property Office.

Re-application will be required for all the trademarks which were filed but not registered in the Union of Serbia and Montenegro (and in Republic of Serbia as from 3 June 2006) before the date of formal inauguration of Montenegro Intellectual Property Office. The applicants will have to submit within 6 months from the date of inauguration of Intellectual Property Office the proofs of relevant filings with the Serbian Intellectual Property Office, together with all the supporting documents filed at the time.

Holders of International Trademark Registrations designating Serbia and Montenegro (country codes YU and subsequently CS) filed before 3 June 2006 will need to file for continuation of effects in ME (Montenegro) in order to have their rights extended to Montenegro, according to the Rule 39 of the Common Regulation. Holders of International Trademark Registrations designating Serbia filed after 3 June 2006 and before 4 December 2006 (from which date it was possible to designate Montenegro as a separate contracting state) will need to file for revalidation of their rights in Montenegro within 6 months from the date of the inauguration of the Montenegro Intellectual Property Office. The requirements for this revalidation will be Proof of validity of the IR in Serbia issued by WIPO and the payment of the fees prescribed.

PATENTS:

As stated above, there will be no need for any form of revalidation of PCT or EP registered patents in the Union of Serbia and Montenegro (and in Republic of Serbia as from 3 June 2006) providing that these patents were registered and valid before the date of formal inauguration of Montenegro Intellectual Property Office.

Re-application will be required for all the national and PCT patent applications filed but not registered in the Union of Serbia and Montenegro (and in Republic of Serbia as from 3 June 2006) before the date of formal inauguration of Montenegro Intellectual Property Office. The applicants will have to submit within 6 months from the date of inauguration of Intellectual Property Office the proofs of relevant filings with the Serbian Intellectual Property Office, together with all the supporting documents filed at the time.

In case where Serbia and Montenegro was designated by PCT Application but the same has not yet entered into National Stage in Serbia and Montenegro or Serbia, the same would be eligible for entering the national stage in Montenegro, the deadlines for which will be calculated according to the Article 22 or 39(1) of PCT Agreement or 6 months from the date of inauguration of Montenegro Intellectual Property Office.

European Patents (EP) extended to Serbia and Montenegro and to Serbia according to the agreement ratified on 15 June 2004 (by EPO and Serbia and Montenegro) are automatically valid in Montenegro. This applies for all the European Patents whether they have been extended before or after 3 June 2006 (date of Independence of Montenegro). Furthermore, all the European Patents extended to Serbia until the date of ratification of the EPC by Montenegro, will be automatically valid in Montenegro. This also applies to all the maintenance fees paid in Serbia until the date of ratification of EPC in Montenegro (date still unknown). After ratification of EPC by Montenegro, all the subsequent maintenance will need to be filed for in Montenegro.

DESIGNS:

As stated above, there will be no need for any form of revalidation of National Design Rights registered in the Union of Serbia and Montenegro (and in Republic of Serbia as from 3 June 2006) providing that these designs were registered before the date of formal inauguration of Montenegro Intellectual Property Office.

Re-application will be required for all the designs which were filed but not registered in the Union of Serbia and Montenegro (and in Republic of Serbia as from 3 June 2006) before the date of formal inauguration of Montenegro Intellectual Property Office.

The applicants will have to submit within 6 months from the date of inauguration of Intellectual Property Office the proofs of relevant filings with the Serbian Intellectual Property Office, together with all the supporting documents filed at the time.

Holders of Design Registration according to the Hague Agreement designating Serbia and Montenegro filed before 3 June 2006 are automatically valid according to the Hague Agreement.

Holders of Design Registration according to the Hague Agreement designating Serbia filed after 3 June 2006 and before 4 December 2006 (from which date it was possible to designate Montenegro as a separate contracting state) will need to file for revalidation of their rights in Montenegro within 6 months from the date of the inauguration of the Montenegro Intellectual Property Office. The requirements for this revalidation will be Proof of validity of the Hague Agreement Design in Serbia and the payment of the fees prescribed.