PETOŠEVIĆ

May 2020

Croatia Drafts New Copyright Act

The new draft Croatian Copyright and Related Rights Act was up for public discussion from April 17 to May 17, 2020 via the Croatian government public consultation portal “e-Savjetovanja” (“e-Consultations”).

The draft law intends to implement into Croatian legislation the Directive (EU) 2019/790 on Copyright and Related Rights in the Digital Single Market (EU Copyright Directive) and the Directive (EU) 2019/789 applicable to online transmissions of broadcasting organizations and retransmissions of television and radio programs. Both directives came into force on June 7, 2019, and all EU member states are required to pass appropriate legislation to meet the directives’ requirements by June 7, 2021.

While the EU Copyright Directive did not introduce any new rights for copyright holders, it aims to ensure the digital world abides by certain rules, while also striking a fair balance between the rights and interests of the copyright holders and the users’ freedom of expression. The Copyright Directive centers around the following main topics: online content-sharing service providers’ obligations, press publishers’ rights, cross-border use of educational materials, and text and data mining.

The new Croatian Copyright and Related Rights Act transposes both EU directives into national legislation, and in particular regulates digital and cross-border use of protected content and lays down the rules on the exceptions and limitations to copyright and related rights, as well as the rules for the exploitation of copyrighted works.

Once the new Croatian Act comes into force, the protection of copyright in the digital market will be clearly regulated, with some exceptions and limitations in the areas of teaching, research and preservation of cultural heritage.

Online content-sharing service providers like Google and Facebook will be obliged to obtain an authorization, through a licensing agreement or otherwise, from right holders who should receive appropriate remuneration for the use of their works.

In addition, the new Act lays down the rules on the exercise of copyright and related rights applicable to online transmissions of broadcasting organizations and retransmissions of television and radio programs.

The Act also introduces new rights for press publishers, enabling them to license their work and enforce their rights in the digital environment.

Another important change proposed by the new Act is the new regulation on copyright for works created in the course of employment. In the current Copyright and Related Rights Act, unless otherwise specified in the employment contract or another agreement, the copyright belongs to the author, while according to the new Act, the copyright belongs to the employer.

The proposed Croatian Copyright and Related Rights Act should be adopted by the Croatian Parliament, which was dissolved on May 18, 2020 and will not be constituted until after the parliamentary election scheduled for July 5, 2020, so it is not expected that the Act will enter into force before the end of 2020.

By: Vanja Caratan-Krenedić

For more information, please contact Vanja Caratan-Krenedić at our Croatia office.

Russia Introduces Mandatory Drug Labeling

Starting from July 1, 2020, all pharmaceutical products for medical use in Russia will have to be labelled in accordance with the federal information system for monitoring the circulation of pharmaceutical products. In order to meet the requirements, each pharmaceutical product will have a unique identifier on its packaging, a Data Matrix code, containing information such as the products’s serial number, expiration date, consignment number and manufacturer’s name, thus enabling the monitoring of each product’s circulation from the manufacturer to the end user.

This system intends to minimize the presence of counterfeit and low-quality medicines in the market, control the prices of medicines and prevent the illegal trade of medicines initially provided to hospitals and other institutions free of charge. The online sale of certain pharmaceuticals was recently allowed in Russia, so the new system will also allow consumers to check the origin of the drug they are buying online.

The drug monitoring system was introduced by the Federal Law No. 425-FZ of December 28, 2017, which brought changes to the Federal Law ‘On Circulation of Medicines’. It was first intended to enter into force on January 1, 2020, but the entry into force was postponed until July 1, 2020 by further amendments to the Federal Law ‘On Circulation of Medicines’ introduced on December 27, 2019.

In order to comply with the new requirements, all entities involved in the trade of medicines (including pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, importers and pharmacies) must obtain the technical equipment for creating the codes and for recording the information that will be tracked by the federal information system. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the delays it has caused in the entire sector, many companies are arguing that they have not been able to obtain the necessary equipment and are asking for a delay in the implementation of the new system.

It is uncertain whether the delay will be granted, but the sanctions for failure to comply with the new labelling requirements include fines of up to EUR 3,850 (USD 4,200) and the seizure of counterfeit products. Unlabeled medicines produced before July 2020 may be stored, shipped, sold and used until their expiration date.

By: Julia Zhevid

For more information, please contact Julia Zhevid at our Russia office.

Slovenian Customs Detained EUR 6.1 Million Worth of Counterfeits in 2019

The number of detentions performed by the Slovenian Customs in 2019 was 469, slightly more than in 2018, when there were 435 detentions. The estimated value of the detained items however decreased significantly – it was only EUR 6.1 million in 2019, as opposed to EUR 51.7 million in 2018. The number of detained items is also significantly lower – 324,401 items were detained in 2019, as opposed to 701,048 in 2018.

The table below shows the Slovenian Customs’ statistics on the detentions of IPR infringing goods for the period 2017-2019:

The most prevalent counterfeit goods were clothes, footwear, accessories, car parts, toys and audio/video devices. The majority of counterfeits, as in previous years, arrived by sea through the Port of Koper in southwest Slovenia and by mail. The goods arriving by sea were mostly intended for recipients in other EU countries (Czech Republic, Hungary, Croatia and Austria). The goods arriving by mail were intended for recipients in Slovenia. The majority of the detained counterfeits originated in China, Hong Kong, Turkey, while a part of them originated in Singapore and India. Most of the detained counterfeits were destroyed under the Customs’ supervision.

Prepared by: Maja Žnidarič Plevnik

For more information, please contact slovenia@petosevic.com.

Hungarian Officials Seize Fake Chanel® Shoes

The Hungarian National Tax and Customs Administration (NTCA) officials recently seized 2,400 pairs of shoes infringing the Chanel® trademark.

The shoes, estimated to be worth approximately EUR 285,000 (USD 310,000), were discovered during the inspection of a location in Budapest where they were being transferred from a truck into smaller vans.

Prepared by: Erika Farkas

For more information, please contact hungary@petosevic.com.

Serbian Customs Seize Fake Apparel and Footwear

On May 17, 2020, Serbian customs officials at the Gradina border crossing point with Bulgaria seized apparel and footwear believed to infringe numerous trademarks, including Adidas®, Nike®, Puma®, Polo®, Levi’s®, Replay® and Diesel®.

The goods, estimated to be worth approximately EUR 25,500 (USD 28,000), were discovered during the inspection of a truck travelling from Turkey to Serbia.

Prepared by: Djurdja Krivokapić

For more information, please contact serbia@petosevic.com.

PETOŠEVIĆ Establishes New Office in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan

We are pleased to announce that we have opened an office in Kazakhstan, Central Asia’s largest and economically most dominant country.

Our new office in Kazakhstan’s capital of Nur-Sultan (formerly Astana) is our second office in Central Asia and our fifth office in the Russian-speaking region – a great addition to the offices we already have in Kyiv, Ukraine; Moscow, Russia; Tashkent, Uzbekistan; and Minsk, Belarus.

The new office reflects our clients’ requests for a broader regional coverage through a single firm. After years of working through affiliated offices in Kazakhstan, we are now able to provide direct contact to our clients for all their intellectual property needs.

Head of Office Aliya Madiyarova is a Kazakh Patent, Trademark and Design Agent. With 10 years of experience in all areas of intellectual property, Ms. Madiyarova will supervise the entire range of contentious and non-contentious work for our clients operating in Kazakhstan and represent them before the Kazakh IPO, customs, courts and other state authorities. She will also oversee our growing team in Nur-Sultan, which for now includes:

Junior Associate Ainagul Zhumagulova who will focus on patent, design and trademark prosecution and enforcement and also represent our clients before the Kazakh IPO, customs, courts and other state authorities.

Administrative Assistant Dayana Auezova who will handle administrative and office tasks including correspondence and translations, and assist with the prosecution of applications we handle in Kazakhstan.

PETOSEVIC GROUP Executive Chairman and CEO Slobodan Petošević said: “The decision to proceed with opening our own office in Kazakhstan follows a constantly increasing demand for our services in the challenging region of Central Asia. Our Head of Office is one of the top IP professionals there and our team was carefully selected based on our knowledge of the market, which we accumulated by working through affiliated offices from the moment Kazakhstan became independent. Experience gained by establishing our first Central Asian office in 2017, in Uzbekistan, certainly helped. The increasing demand for affordable but sophisticated and specialized IP services in this region left us with little choice. Despite these uncertain times we are all currently experiencing, we went ahead with our new office and are excited to contribute to the efforts of bringing quality IP protection services to a higher level in Central Asia.”

Contact information:

PETOSEVIC LLP (TOO PETOSHEVICH)
Kunaev Street 12/1
BC Trust
Floor 3, Office 9
010000 Nur-Sultan
Kazakhstan

T: +7 701 765 65 00

For more information, please contact our Regional Manager for the Russian-Speaking Region Dina Petošević or Head of PETOŠEVIĆ Kazakhstan Aliya Madiyarova directly.

IP Stars Ranks PETOŠEVIĆ Offices and Practitioners in Six Jurisdictions

MIP’s IP Stars trademark, general IP and individual practitioner rankings were recently published, recognizing PETOŠEVIĆ offices and individuals for outstanding work in six jurisdictions.

The IP Stars guide is published by Managing Intellectual Property (MIP), a well-respected publisher in the IP industry.

The results feature firms ranked according to practice areas in different tiers, as highly recommended or recommended. The number of tiers varies by jurisdiction, while in smaller countries rankings are not divided into practice areas and sub-practice areas.

PETOŠEVIĆ was ranked as follows:

Bulgaria – Trademark – Tier 3
Croatia – Intellectual property – Tier 3
Romania – Trademark prosecution –  Tier 2
Serbia – Intellectual Property – Highly Recommended
Slovenia – Intellectual property – Recommended
Ukraine – Trademark – Tier 3

The following PETOŠEVIĆ practitioners were ranked:

Dimitar Batakliev – Trademark Star
Aura Campeanu – Trademark Star
Ivan Kos – Trademark Star
Barbara Mencin – Trademark Star
Dina Petošević – Trademark Star, Patent Star
Mihajlo Zatezalo – Trademark Star
Mirjana Živković – Trademark Star, Patent Star

For more information and to read testimonials about PETOŠEVIĆ and our team, please visit our Awards page.