The Law on Patents is amended
02/09/2010
In its 143rd meeting, held on February 1st 2010, the Kosovo Government approved the Draft law on Patents. This draft law aims to determine the conditions for protection of inventions through the use of patents, profit, volume, and duration of protection, exclusive rights, registration procedures, changing, continuing, implementing patent rights, ending the validity and cancelling a patent.
All people and legal entities, including the ones who are not citizens of the Republic of Kosovo or do not have a residency of their business in Kosovo, are entitled to equal rights regarding protection of inventions. The Office for Intellectual Property is the responsible body established based on Administrative Directive No. 2007/06. This body deals with the legal protection of inventions, trademarks, industrial designs, denominations of origin, geographical pointers and topographies of integrated circuits, as well as other issues which derive from international agreements which are signed by the Republic of Kosovo. Hence, this Office will complete all the necessary procedures related to issuing of patents, supplementary certificates for protection of inventions, and it will also publish an official gazette entitled The Official Bulletin for Industrial Ownership in Kosovo, which contains data on the application process and provides information of the rights issued for industrial ownership, etc.
Additionally, this draft law specifies the punitive provisions where it is foreseen that in cases of violation from the author of the act, while exercising their business activity, uses the patent provisions without the authorization of the patent owner, they will be fined from 3,000 € up to 5,000 €. Other fines will range from 200 € to 5,000 € depending on the weight of the act of act completed by the violator.
After approval by the Kosovo Assembly, this draft law will nullify Law No. 2004/49 'On Patenting” as well as other legal acts which are in contradiction with this draft law.
