– Patent Law, passed on July 16, 2015, published in the Official Gazette of Montenegro No. 42/15 of July 29, 2015, came into effect on August 6, 2015, with amendments published in the Official Gazette No. 02/2017 of January 10, 2017, in force since July 1, 2017, amendments published in the Official Gazette No. 146/2021 of December 31, 2021, in force since January 8, 2022, and amendments published in the Official Gazette No. 3/2023 of January 10, 2023, in force since January 18, 2023.
– Decree on Procedure for Grant of Inventions, published in the Official Gazette of Serbia and Montenegro No. 2/62 of December 2004, came into effect on January 1, 2005.
– Decree on Ensurance of IP Protection, published in the Official Gazette of Montenegro No. 61/2007 of October 12, 2007, in force since October 20, 2007, with amendments published in the Official Gazette of Montenegro No. 70/2008.

– The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents (Apostille), since June 3, 2006.
– Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, Stockholm Act, since June 3, 2006.
– Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), since June 3, 2006.
– Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), since June 3, 2006.
– Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms, since June 3, 2006.
– Agreement between the Government of Montenegro and the European Patent Organization on extension of European patents, since March 1, 2010 (terminated with the entry into force of the EPC on October 1, 2022, but still applicable to European patent applications filed prior to October 1, 2022, and European patents granted in respect of such applications).
– Patent Law Treaty, as of March 9, 2012.
– WTO’s TRIPS Agreement, since April 29, 2012.
– Strasbourg Agreement Concerning the International Patent Classification, since January 6, 2013.
– European Patent Convention (EPC), since October 1, 2022.

Applicant: the inventor or his legal successor (individual, firm, company).

Foreigners and nationals not living in the country: must appoint a local attorney or a registered agent.

Protection of foreigners: they enjoy the same rights as nationals in accordance with conventions, agreements, or the application of reciprocity principles.

Data on the inventor(s): the patent application must contain the name of the inventor(s), or the inventors’ declaration that he does/(they do) not want to be nominated in the application. In case the application is filed by an individual/company which is not the inventor, the applicant must submit his declaration regarding the legal basis for filing the application in his name.

Patentability: a patent is granted for an invention in any technical field, which is new, which involves an inventive step and which is susceptible of industrial application.

Categories: patents covering a product (e.g. device, substance, composition, biological material (microorganism, culture of plant or animal cells, sequence of genes), or a process as well as the use of a product or a process. A product obtained directly by a method or a process is covered by the method or process claim (product by process protection).

Novelty: an invention is novel if before the filing of the patent application it was not encompassed in the state of the art (absolute novelty). An invention will be considered encompassed in the state of the art if it has been made public by means of a written or oral description, by use, or if it has been included in a prior Montenegrin patent application having an earlier filing date than the subject patent application, and published on the filing date of the subject patent application or after.

Novelty grace period: a grace period of six months is provided for cases of prior demonstration at an official exhibition and for unauthorized publication by a third party.

Exceptions to protection: (1) an invention whose commercial use would be contrary to public order or morality (in particular: processes for cloning human beings; processes for modifying of the germ line genetic identity of human beings; uses of human embryos for industrial or commercial purposes; processes for modifying the genetic identity of animals which are likely to cause them suffering without any substantial medical benefit to man or animal, and also animals resulting from such processes); (2) invention of a surgical or diagnostical method or a treatment method applied directly on a human or animal body, except for products, substances or compositions for use in any of these methods; (3) plant variety or animal species or essentially biological processes for the production of plants or animals, except for biotechnological processes concerning a plant or animal, if the technical feasibility of the invention is not confined to a particular plant or animal variety and for microbiological processes and the products thereof.

Not considered inventions: discoveries, scientific theories, mathematical methods, aesthetic creations, plans, rules and methods for performing mental activities, for playing games or for doing business, as well as computer programs, disclosure of information, as well as the human body, at any stage of its formation and development, and the simple discovery of one of its elements, including sequences or partial sequences of genes (except for an element isolated from the human body or produced by means of a technical process, including the sequences or partial sequences of genes).

Unity of invention: provided for if the inventions are so mutually connected that they realize a unique inventive idea.

Kinds of protection: patent.

Secret patents: only for applications filed by national physical persons and legal entities and concerning inventions of significance for the national defense and security.

Priorities: from filing date of the patent application. Paris Convention priority right (Union priority) must be claimed in the application. The priority must be claimed within three months from the filing date and a certified copy of the priority application(s) must be filed.

Territory covered: Montenegro.

Filing requirements for an application (to be sent to resident agent):
1. Specification (EPO type) and abstract;
2. Drawings (if any);
3. Certified copy of the priority application(s), if any (not required for the national phase of a PCT application);
4. Power of attorney, simply signed; no notarization or legalization is required (can be filed subsequently);
5. Copy of the PCT documentation: PCT publication, International Search Report, Written Opinion (if any), response to the Written Opinion (if any), Preliminary Examination Report and the amended sheets (if any).

Minimum requirements to obtain a filing date: an indication that a patent is being applied for, name (given and family name) or business name and address of the applicant and specification and claims (even if specification and claims do not fulfill all requirements).

Term for filing the missing documents: set after invitation of IP Office.  

Electronic filing: not available. 

Electronic signatures: are not accepted (only wet signatures).

PCT applications: any international application where Montenegro is designated or elected shall be deemed to be an application for extension of the European patent to Montenegro, and the European Patent Office shall act as designated or elected Office under the PCT. Time limit for entering the national phase: 30 months from the priority date.

Extension of European patents: an agreement was signed with Montenegro on February 13, 2009. From March 1, 2010, it was possible to extend to Montenegro the protection conferred by European patent applications and patents directly. This option still exists for all European patent applications filed prior to October 1, 2022, and European patents granted in respect of such applications. European patent validation requirements: (a) appointment of a national representative is required; (b) translation of the claims only into the official language is required, within a non-extendible term of three months after the date on which the mention of the grant of the European patent is published in the European Patent Bulletin; (c) the minimum time period for paying renewal fees due at validation is two months. European patent: a European patent application may be filed with the European Patent Office or the competent authority of Montenegro, and that a European patent application, which is granted a filing date, and which indicates Montenegro, is identical to a valid national patent application. Also, it is prescribed that a European patent indicating Montenegro, provides the same rights as the national patent from the date when the European Patent Office publishes the statement on the grant of the European patent in the European Patent Bulletin. The patent holder is obliged to submit within three months from the grant of a European patent in the European Patent Bulletin, to the competent authority of Montenegro, an application for entry of a European patent in the Patent Register of Montenegro, with a translation of the patent claims into Montenegrin language and pay the publishing fee and the fee for printing translation of the patent claims.

Examination: formal examination, as to whether the application is complete and fulfills the formal requirements, if the subject of the application can be considered as an invention, and if it is susceptible of industrial application.

Amendments: permitted until registration.

Divisions: may be filed before completion of preparations for publication of application.

Restoration: possible by reinstatement to the former condition; the request has to be filed within three months from the day on which the grounds for the omission ceased to exist, but not later than twelve months from the omission.

Appeals: the decision of the IP Office cannot be appealed, but it is possible to initiate an administrative lawsuit with the the Administrative Court (within twenty days from the receipt of the decision).

Publication: after having been formally examined, the application is published.

Registration: by the act of publication of the patent application, the patent shall be granted, and the date of publication of the application shall be the date of grant. The granted patent will be published in the Official Bulletin and entered into the Register of Patents.

Beginning of protection: from the date of publication of the application in the Official Bulletin.

Delivery of document: the patent certificate is issued in paper format.

Duration: the validity of a patent is twenty years from the filing date of the patent application (for PCT applications: from the international filing date).

Supplementary Protection Certificates (SPCs): will be provided for a maximum of five additional years, for medicine for human or animal use or plant protection products, after Montenegro becomes a member of the EU.

Annuities: are due for the third and each following year for patent applications and patents counting from the filing date (for PCT applications: counting from the international filing date).

Annuity grace period: annuities can be paid with 50% fine within six months from the due date.

Amendment of issued patent: not feasible.

Corrections: possible to correct typographical errors.

Opposition to granted patent: not provided for.

Assignment:License: provided for patents and patent applications; can be exclusive or not exclusive; contract must be in a written form and registered to take effect vis-à-vis third parties. provided for patents and patent applications; contract must be in a written form and registered to take effect vis-à-vis third parties.

Working: not compulsory.

Marking of patented goods: not compulsory.

Text of marking: not provided for.

Proof of patentability: the patent owner shall, not later than the expiry of the ninth year of the patent, submit written proof that the invention, protected by the patent, is an invention in any technical field, which is new, which involves an inventive step, and which is susceptible of industrial application. Written proof shall be a certified Montenegrin translation of the specifications of the patent as granted for the same invention in the process of substantive examination of the patent application by the State or interstate PTO Office in accordance with Article 32 of the Patent Cooperation Treaty, or any other PTO Office, which at the time of submission of evidence of patentability, has signed a cooperation agreement with the Montenegro IP Office.

Rights of prior user: a prior user acting in good faith can continue to use the invention in production in his own enterprise or in someone else’s enterprise for his own purposes.

Disputes about ownership: during the whole validity of the patent a lawsuit can be filed with the court to establish the right to the patent/application within three years from the date of publication or if the plaintiff proves that the unauthorized person acted intentionally.

Dispute about inventorship: during the whole validity of the patent the inventor can request, by filing a lawsuit with the competent court, to be declared an inventor and recorded as such in relevant documents and registers.

Expropriation: not provided for.

Cancellation: the patent may be cancelled for reasons of non-payment of taxes, withdrawal of rights, or death of the holder if there is no legal successor.

Nullification: a granting decision can be annulled if it is established that the conditions stipulated by the law were not fulfilled at the time protection was granted. The request can be filed with the IP Office of Montenegro during the whole duration of the patent.

Compulsory license: can be imposed if the patentee, either by himself or through a third party, does not work or insufficiently works the patented invention, or when another invention protected by a patent cannot be worked, either in its entirety or partially, without the use thereof, and the patentee refuses to grant a license to the interested person or imposes unjustified conditions on him. It cannot be imposed if the patentee proves that the non-working or insufficient working of the invention is justified. The request for a compulsory license cannot be made before the expiry of a period of four years from the filing date of the patent application, or before the expiry of a period of three years from the patent granting date, whatever period expires later. A compulsory license in public interest can be issued before expiry of the above term if the use of a patent is of interest because of national defense or protection or other needs (protection of health and alimentary needs of the population, protection of public interest, protection of public interest in fields of vital importance to social, economic and technological development), or the patent is used in a way which has been established to be contrary to the principle of free competition.

Infringement: the court can be requested to issue a declaration of infringement and prohibit the activities which constitute infringement. Preliminary injunctions and securing of evidence are provided for.