Patent registration in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bosnia and Herzegovina, shortened BiH or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often identified informally as Bosnia, is a country in South and Southeast Europe, settled within the Balkans. Bosnia and Herzegovina is a developing country and ranks 73rd in human development. Its economy is dominated by industry and agriculture, followed by tourism and the service sector. Tourism has increased significantly in recent years. The country has a social-security and universal-healthcare system, and primary- and secondary-level education is tuition-free. Accordingly, many businesses want to enter this market and one of the most important preparations a business needs to take before expanding to this country is to learn the procedure of patent registration in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Patent in Bosnia and Herzegovina
A patent in Bosnia and Herzegovina is temporary ownership of an invention. During the patent’s term, the patentee will have the right to exclude third-party actions related to the protected subject such as manufacture, commercialization, use, and others.
To protect an invention through patenting means to prevent its unauthorized exploitation by competitors who were not involved in nor bore the invention’s research and development costs.
To be patentable in this country, an invention must meet the requirements of novelty, inventiveness, and industrial applicability.
On the other hand, Bosnia and Herzegovina has also regulated that the following subjects shall not be regarded as inventions: discoveries, scientific theories and mathematical methods, aesthetic creations, schemes, rules, and methods for performing mental acts, playing games or doing business, computer programs, and presentation of information defined by the content of such information itself.
Necessary documents for patent registration in Bosnia and Herzegovina
The necessary documents for patent registration in Bosnia and Herzegovina include:
- The request to grant a patent (patent application);
- Detailed information on the applicant(s) including the applicant’s and inventor’s names, addresses, citizenships, etc.;
- A description of the invention;
- A signed and stamped power of attorney by the applicant(s);
- A copy of the amendments (if any);
- Priority documents (if any).
- Other required documents.
The procedure for patent registration in Bosnia and Herzegovina
To obtain a patent in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the applicant needs to file their patent application to the Bosnia and Herzegovina IP Office – the Institute for Intellectual Property of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Institute maintains the Register of Patent Applications and the Register of Patents.
The application is filed in written form, directly or by mail, by telefax, or electronically to the official e-mail of the Institute, provided that within 15 days from the date of its receipt by the Institute for Intellectual Property of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Each invention must be filed a separate application.
The patent application will undergo a formal examination. If there are no problems, it will be published in the Official Gazette of the Institute, available in paper and electronic forms on the Web site of the Institute www.ipr.gov.ba.
Within six months from the publication date of the patent application in the Official Gazette, the applicant needs to file a request for the grant of the patent.
The decision to grant the patent in Bosnia and Herzegovina can be based on the basis of a substantive examination of the patent application in the Institute, or on the basis of the submitted results of a substantive examination of the patent application carried out by some other authority or on the basis of the deferred examination of the patent application and the grant of a consensual patent.
You can see a list of Bosnia and Herzegovina IP firms here.