November 07, 2019

New amendments to the Patent Law of Serbia enforced

On September 26, 2019, amendments entered into force concerning the Patent Law in Serbia, followed by the publication of the Regulations for the Implementation of the Patents Act on November 1, 2019. These alterations aim to align Serbian and EU legislation.

Significant changes include the provisions regarding IP rights ownership in the course of employment. As per the updated patent law, inventions created through employment must be a product of work carried out specifically in relation to the contract of employment. This, therefore, excludes other variations of agreements between the employer and employee. Inventions of this nature must have been created within the term of employment, or within a one-year period after termination of the contract under certain circumstances. These circumstances include inventions created in connection with employer activity or through the use of technical equipment provided by the employer.

The amended legislation also removes certain provisions which have previously been in force. Under the previous law, remuneration for inventions resulting from employment must have directly correlated to the economic exploitation of the invention. Upon the removal of this provision, inventors under the employment provisions will receive compensation for their invention regardless of economic effect.

Furthermore, the provision stating that additional remuneration would be available for inventors if the patent was licensed to third parties has also been removed.

The publication of the regulations and amended patent act comes a few months after the move by Serbia to allow for e-filing of PCT applications, allowing applicants to pay reduced filing fees. The modernisation of the filing process as well as the harmonisation with EU legislation is set to encourage further patent filings in Serbia.

Author: Danielle Carvey
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