(REPUBLIC OF CROATIA)

(WIPO code: HR) (last revised October 2023)

by KORPER & PARTNERI, Law and IP Firm, Zagreb and KATZAROV SA, Geneva, Switzerland

General Information

Area

56,594 sq. km.

Population

3,871,833 (2021).

Capital

Zagreb, with 767,131 inhabitants (2021).

Language

Croatian.

Currency

euro (EUR) as of January 1, 2023.

Leading export industries

Chemicals, textile, oil and gas, food processing, production of leather and footwear, furniture and machinery.

General Remarks

Croatia, one of the ex-Yugoslav most developed republics, declared its independence on October 8, 1991. The President of the Republic of Croatia has simultaneously signed a number of ordinances by which a number of the ex-Yugoslav laws were taken over as Croatian Laws. The Yugoslav Law on the protection of invention, technical improvements and distinctive signs (in force in Yugoslavia as of July 28, 1990), came into force as Croatian Law on October 8, 1991. The Law was slightly amended, and made possible the re-registration of the ex-Yugoslav intellectual property rights.

The six new Croatian Intellectual Property Laws were adopted by the Croatian State Parliament on June 30, 1999, and became effective on January 1, 2000. According to the obligations due to the Stabilization and Association Agreement (Interim Agreement) between the Republic of Croatia, and the European Union member States, Croatian IP legislation had to be harmonized with EU requirements. The above-mentioned laws had been amended, and became effective on January 1, 2004. In 2005, the Patent Law was amended in accordance with the Patent Law Treaty and in 2007 was amended in order to be entirely harmonized with EU directives and to implement provisions concerning the European Patent Convention and provisions relating to the appeal procedure against Office decisions (second instance). The IP laws were further amended at the beginning of 2009 with the aim of further harmonizing the Croatian IP legislation with that of the EU, and in 2011, because of the introduction of the e-Filing system.

Croatia is a member of the European Union since July 1, 2013.