Intellectual Property Rights Protection in North Macedonia
Trademark Protection Procedure
The procedure is initiated by filing an application for the grant of a trademark with State Office of Industrial Property of North Macedonia. It is necessary to submit a completed request for the grant of a trademark, accompanying documents, and proof that the costs have been paid.
After receiving the application, the State Office will examine it to ensure that it complies with the requirements of the Industrial Property Law.
Once the application passes the formal examination, the State Office will publish the application in the Official Bulletin. This is to give third parties the opportunity to oppose the registration of the trademark.
The opposition period lasts for 90 days from the date of publication.
If no opposition is filed, or if any opposition is resolved in favor of the applicant, the State Office will proceed with the registration of the trademark. The applicant will then receive a decision and certificate of registration.
The entire process, from application to registration, usually takes between 9 to 12 months, provided that there are no objections or oppositions.
Registered trademarks in North Macedonia have a validity of ten years from the application date and can be renewed indefinitely for further periods of ten years. There is a grace period of nine months after the expiration date during which the trademark renewal may still be requested upon payment of a late renewal fee.
North Macedonia is also a member state to the Madrid Protocol and Madrid Agreement. Thus, the extension of an international registration of a trademark via the Madrid System is possible.
Civil Protection
The person whose right has been infringed by a lawsuit may request the following from the court:
1) establishment of the infringement of the rights;
2) prohibition of the actions specified in the lawsuit that violate the right;
3) compensation for damage caused by intentional or negligent violation of rights;
4) confiscation and destruction of the products that were created or put on the market in violation of the right and the means used for their production;
5) the defendant to provide information on the identity of third parties involved in the production and distribution of goods or services that infringe the rights, as well as on their distribution channels;
6) submission of documentation and data from the person who violated the right;
7) Civil penalty;
8) Publication of the judgement at the defendant’s expense;
9) other requirements.
A lawsuit for the infringement of the rights can be filed within a period of three years from the day on which the plaintiff learned of the infringement and the infringer, and not later than within five years from the day on which the infringement was committed for the first time.
Geographical Indications
A geographical indication is the geographical name of the country, region or place that designates the product whose quality, reputation or other characteristics can essentially be attributed to the geographical origin.
The geographical indication, for a product, can be protected under the condition that the production and/or procedure and/or preparation of the product takes place in a specific place of origin.
Geographical names that do not meet the requirements for protection as designations of origin can be protected as geographical indications.
Patents
The fling procedure of patent
The procedure for granting a patent is initiated by filing the patent application to the Macedonian State Office for Industrial property (SOIP). The date of the receipt of a correct patent application form at the Office is the date when the patent applicant begins to have a right of priority over any other person that will later file an application for the same invention.
Contents of the patent application
The patent application must include:
1) request for grant of patent;
2) description of invention;
3) one or more patent claims;
4) abstract concerning the essence of the invention;
5) drawing (if required) to which the description refers and a patent claim;
6) evidence for paid fee for filing; and
7) translation into Macedonian language if the application was filed in a foreign language.
Examination
The applicant of the patent application should state in the request for grant of patent whether the procedure of examination will be carried out as:
1) a substantive examination in the institutions which have a status of authorised institutions for international search and
2) an examination carried out in the Office.
After registering of the patent application in the Register of patent applications, the Office will perform only formal examination of the patent application. If the patent application does not comply to requirements, the Office will invite the applicant within a period of sixty days, counting from the date of receiving the invitation, to eliminate the identified deficiencies.
If the patent application complies to the requirements, the SOIP shall notify and invite the applicant within 30 days to pay the costs for patent publication in the newsletter of the Office, the costs for issuing a patent certificate and the maintenance fee. If the requirements are fulfilled and if the applicant pays the costs and fees within the specified period, the Office will decide to grant the patent.
The data of the decision for patent granting will be published in the official newsletter of the Office within 90 days at the latest from the date of adoption of the decision.
The duration of the patent right is for 20 years, counting from the date of filing the application. The patent right obtained on only examination carried out in the SOIP will be valid for 10 years from the date of filing the application.
Validation of European Patents
The patent granting procedure may also be initiated by filing an application in compliance with the EPC that Macedonia have joined in January 2009.
The European patent for which protection has been requested in the Republic of Macedonia have the same rights with the national patent, counted from the date of the granting in EPO.
The holder of the European patent should to submit to the Macedonian Patent Office the application for validation of the European patent within 3 months following the date of the publication of the granted European Patent in EPO, also the translation into Macedonian language of the patent claim and the drawings, if the application includes drawings, and to pay the prescribed taxes and charges of the procedure.
Copyright
The principle according to which copyright is acquired without formalities is applicable in most countries worldwide, including MK.
In order to preserve evidence of his or her creativity or for other various reasons, an author may deposit his or her originals or copies of their works of authorship or items of their related rights within a representative or association.
A deposited work is entered into the book of records of authorship works maintained by the a representative or association.
Depositing is not an obligation of the author, nor does it constitute a requirement for acquisition of copyright protection, but it is only a possibility.
Copyright is an exclusive right and it lasts for the entire lifetime of the author plus a period of 70 years after his or her death.
In the event that the term of the author’s work is published in collections, parts, sequels, etc., the term is considered separately for each component part.
If it involves a work of an anonymous author, the term of 70 years starts running from the day of legal publication of the work.
Industrial Design
A procedure for the grant of an industrial design is initiated by filing an application for the grant of an industrial design.
Phases:
1. Filing an application with the State Office of Industrial Property,
2. Formal examination of the application in the SOIP,
3. Publication of the industrial design application in the Official Gazette of the SOIP,
4. Issuing of the industrial design certificate together with a decision to grant the industrial design in the SOIP and publication of the registration in the Official Gazette.,
The term of Industrial design protection is five years from the filing date of the application, provided that it has been registered. The term of protection may be extended four times for the same time period, with the payment of the costs involved and timely filing of a request. An industrial design may last maximum 25 years.
Possibility of protection of new varieties of plants
Administration of North Macedonian for Plant Health Protection formed by Ministry of agriculture, forestry and water economy is the authority for protection of new varieties of plants.
Border Enforcement
Pursuant to the Law on Customs Measures for the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights, the owner of a recognized IP right in North Macedonia may request the customs to implement measures to monitor the entry and exit of goods as well as the transit of goods at border crossings that carry the protected right and which are marked or contain IP protected rights.
In doing so, the holder of the right would be notified of all entry and exit customs procedures that could affect protected right, especially the shipments to, from and belonging to the persons who would be indicated in the submitted request as possible producers, importers or exporters of products that would be violated the registered right that is the subject of the request.
Criminal Liability
Criminal protection of intellectual property rights in North Macedonia belongs to the system of general criminal law, i.e it belongs to the legislative approach that regulates the criminal protection of intellectual property rights in the general part of criminal law, ie in general criminal codes. Тhe Criminal Code of МК contains criminal offenses of copyright infringement and copyright related rights.
