Serbia adopts a new Law on Trademarks
Newsletter 120
In adopting the new Law on Trademarks, the Republic of Serbia has continued to harmonise its domestic regulations in the field of intellectual property in accordance with European Union Directives. Further information on harmonisation is available in our Newsletter 111 and 118.
The Law on Trademarks introduces quite a few reforms to the national trademark protection system, however on this occasion, we will highlight those that we found to be particularly interesting.
1. The Appearance (Representation) of the Sign
The Law on Trademarks no longer dictates that a trademark can only consist of a sign that is capable of being represented graphically. This opens the door to possibilities offered by modern technologies. A trademark can now consist of any signs, which can be represented in any form, in any manner that renders them capable of being represented in the Trademark Register, that is, which enables the public and competent authorities to clearly and precisely determine the subject matter of the protection.
In light of these new developments, we anticipate applications for entirely new types of trademarks, such as sound trademarks, motion picture trademarks, multimedia trademarks, etc.
2. Opposing the Registration of a Trademark
Certainly, one of the most significant innovations that the new Law on Trademarks has brought is the introduction of the opposition procedure, which has existed in the trade mark protection systems of European States for years.
The purpose of the opposition is to give interested parties (more precisely, the holder of an earlier right) an opportunity to oppose the registration of a certain trademark, through the established legal procedure, if they consider that the registration in question threatens or violates their rights and interests.
