Subregional Capacity-Building Seminar on the

Commercialization and Enforcement of Intellectual

PropertySkopje, FYR Macedonia, 1-3 April 2009Prepared by: Miodrag Novaković, Senior

Advisor, Ministry for Economic Development, Montenegro

IPR status in Montenegro

• Area of IPR is new • Interest of broad and expert public

increases recently• This is result of actions undertaken by

Government of Montenegro (through Ministry for Economic Development, (abbrv. MED) and activities started by Intellectual Property Office of Montenegro (abbrv. IPOM)

Government’s actions – Institutional framework

• Government of Montenegro recognized the need for IPR protection and created respective institutional framework

• Industrial Property Unit formed within Department for Internal Trade and Competition in the Ministry for Economic Development

• Intellectual Property Office established, officially started on May 28th, 2008

Legislative framework

• Law on geographical indications of origin passed by Montenegrin Parliament

• Law on patents passed by Montenegrin Parliament• Other industrial property laws (trade marks, designs and

topography of integrated circuits) undertaken from ex State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, as well as the Law on author’s and related rights

• Regulation on provision of the rights in the IP area adopted by Montenegrin Government

• Priorities in legislation: development of other industrial property laws; development of the Law on authors and related rights; drafting relevant bylaws; drafting National IPR Strategy

Current activities in IPOM

• Employing new staff

• Staff training

• Completion of technical equipment

• Introduction of IPAS

• From the offical starting date, OPIM received applications: for trade marks 1280, patents 915, designs 10

Commercialization

• Insufficiently achieved • Due to the existing level of economic development,

incomplete legislation framework, newly established institutional framework, generally insufficiently developed relevant infra-structure

• Activities to raise awareness on IPR importance, provision of IPR information and other services to be available for broad public and potential users

• Actions to build capacities and improve cooperation among all IP stakeholders (MED, IPOM, courts, customs, police, inspection)

IPR at University of Montenegro

• Currently, IP present in curriculum of the Faculty of Law

• Tendency to involve industrial property rights into the curricula of Technical Faculties

Technology transfer

• Techno park exists in non-governmental sector

• Plans to encourage development of business incubators and research organizations

• Results still poor

Regional cooperation

• Carried out through communication and cooperation with the countries in the region bilaterally, and within regional projects

• Current project: IPA Regional Programme on Intelelctual and Industrial Property Rights for Western Balkans and Turkey

• Tendency for further improvement

International cooperation

• Cooperation with World Intellectual Property Organization Cooperation

• Cooperation with European Patent Office (Extension Agreement signed on February 13, 2009; IPA Regional project)

Expectations of assistance from cooperation with the UN

• Further assitance (seminars, trainings, etc)

• Further cooperation

• Improvement of cooperation

• Provision of certain training programmes for IPR stakeholders from Montenegro

THANKS FOR YOUR ATTENTION