Berin, intellectual property agency, IP, trademarks, industrial design, copyright, patents

DAMJANSKI and ILIEVSKI REPRESENTED MACEDONIAN EP ATTORNEYS AT the 93-rd EPI Council

23.10.2022

The 93rd meeting of the Council of the European Patent Institute (epi) was held on 21 and 22 October 2022. Thecouncil meeting was held as a physical meeting in Fuengirola nearby Malaga (Spain). The meeting was attended by 132 delegates out of a total of 14,000 European patent attorneys from 38 countries, including Vancho Damjanski, Executive Director at BERIN doo and Bogoljub Ilievski, Head of the Patent Office at BERIN doo.

The day before the Council meeting, Bogoljub Ilievski, in his capacity as Vice President of the European Patent Institute (epi), attended a working meeting and an informal dinner of the Presidium with Mr. Max Brunner from General Secretariat - European and International Affairs Ministry of Justice as well as an official meeting of the Presidium members held the next day.

The work of the Council was preceded by a seminar "Latest developments in the Unitary Patent System and the European Patent Court". The delegates of the council adopted the reports of the president and vice-presidents of EPI, the general secretary and the treasurer. Also, the members of the election commission for the 2023 Council Elections were elected. The epi council did not approve the board's request to independently initiate disciplinary proceedings before the EPO without consulting the disciplinary committee. Vancho Damjanski, an active member of the disciplinary commission, actively participated in this, at times, heated discussion.

The main event in afternoon session of the work of the council was the presentation of the vice-president of the European Patent Organization, Mr. Stephen Rowan, regarding the strategic development plan EPO 2023. Rowan additionally answered the questions of the members of the council who were most interested in the status of introduced measures to improve the quality of EPO products and services.

The evening part of the meeting was dedicated to the report of the committees. Bogoljub Ilievski took an active part in the debate about the work of the European Patent Practice Committee, who emphasized the role of European patent attorneys in communication with the EPO and asked for the active participation of the joint newly formed epi-EPO bodies responsible for improving the quality of services.

The debates continued at the joint dinner of the council delegates, followed by delicious Andalusian specialties as well as a local Flamenco show. Representatives from Berin did not miss the opportunity to strengthen old friendships and business ties and open new ones.

ISTANBUL TURKEY-Regular autumn meeting of ANIPA

17.09.2022

The regular autumn meeting of ANIPA (Association of National Institute of Patent Attorneys) was held in Istanbul on September 17th. Although the Macedonian Association of Patent Attorneys is not a member of ANIPA, this meeting did not pass without a representative from our country. Bogoljub Ilievski from Berin, in the capacity of Vice-President together with President Francis Leider and General Secretary Olga Sirakova constituted the delegation of the European Patent Institute (epi). At the meeting, which was the first physical meeting after the pandemic, reports were first given on the activities of the representatives of the association in the bodies of the European Patent Office (EPO) and the European Union Trademark Office (EUIPO). Delegates from certain countries informed about the latest developments and the expcted changes in Industrial Property laws. Within the framework of the meeting, epi representatives held a series of presentations on the latest developments in EPO. Bogoljub Ilievski, presented and informed about the latest development of events regarding changes to Article 126(2) EPC, quality of products and services provided by the EPO, as well as the newly established Ombuds office service within the EPO. In addition, epi President Francis Leider presented on the latest developments and regarding the Unitary Patent (UP) and the Unitary Patent Court (UPC) which is due to come into force and operate with work in spring 2023. In addition to hard work, ANIPA meetings are also quite social and offer an opportunity for meetings and good company. Accordingly, thanks to colleagues from Turkey (in the role of hosts), this meeting ended with a cruise on the Bosphorus Strait and a wonderful dinner in a fish restaurant. The next meeting of ANIPA is scheduled for the end of April in Bordeaux and will be hosted by the French Association of Patent Attorneys.

PARTICIPATION AT THE 40-TH ECTA CONFERENCE BY BERIN REPRESENTATIVE VANCHO DAMJANSKI

19.06.2022

Under the slogan "Designing the future" in Copenhagen, Denmark, from 15-th to 18-th of June, 40th annual conference of ECTA was held which and the representative of Berin Vanco Damjanski was one of the attendiies.
After one skipped as well one held under hybrid regime, in the land of advanced Nordic design, over 670 professionals in the field of trademarks, industrial designs and designation of origin, attended this important jubilee conference.
In addition to the regularcommittees meetings and the procedural report on the past working year of the organisation , the conference began with an address by the Director of the Danish Patent and Trademark Office Sune Sorensen and an introduction to current developments in WIPO and EUIPO. Educational sessions followed in which participants had the opportunity to learn about current issues in terms of data protection and usage, alternative approaches to resolving disputes and tips and tricks in protection in the fashion industry.

Additional topics that were covered and discussed at panels and educational sessions included: food and restourant bussines IP protection, as well as, the challenges and IP considerations in drafting of cooperation contracts and of the intellectual property rights of startups and spin-off companies in cooperation with academic institutions.
Apart from the educational part, the networking between the colleagues took place at the social events organized in several venues.
Also for the first time special event was introduced for the participants who are attending the conference for the first time in order to get acquainted with the possibility of participation in the work of the organization.
The conference ended with passing of the Presidential Medal, by the current President Mrs. Annette Rasmussen to the new President, o[Mladen Vukmir, which took place in the first European circus building Axeltorv.

"BERIN" AT "CEFTA" PANEL DISCUSSION ON "INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN BOOSTING OF TRADE AND INVESTMENT"

20.12.2021

On 16.12.21 was held a panel discussion entitled "Intellectual Property Rights (IP) in boosting to trade and investments" within the Conference "CEFTA Week 2021 - 15 years of trade", which took place in Skopje, MK from 13-16 December 2021. This panel was addressed by prof. Dr. Gjorgji Filipov, founder of the Agency "Berin"; Mladen Vukmir, MA, Head of the CEFTA IPR Project (Zagreb); Jasmina Suljović, Lawyer (Sarajevo); Ignacio de Medrano Caballero, Head of the Office for International Cooperation, European Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), (Alicante); Dragana Ranitović, Director of IP, Ministry of Economic Development, (Podgorica) and Marija Božić, Institute of IP, (Belgrade). The discussion was moderated by Aurelia Iseanu from the Secretariat of the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) (Brussels). The conference was attended by colleagues: Liljana Filipova, co-founder and European patent attorney of "Berin International GmbH", Vienna; DI Bogoljub Ilievski, head of the Patent Department in "Berin", vice president of the European Patent Institute; M.Sc. Marija of the Sector for Trademarks and Ivona Sekulovska, MA, Representative for IS and about fifty representatives from all CEFTA countries.

The first part of the panel discussed the importance of IPR in encouraging trade in CEFTA and how it can generate economic growth, attract investment and new areas of development. Aurelia Iseanu gave a brief introduction and then asked questions to each of the panelists. Common questions were: 1. Why do we need to take seriously the role of IPR in economic development, trade promotion and investment attraction? and 2. How can we ensure that common rules and minimum standards for the protection and enforcement of IP rights between CEFTA Parties serve the purpose without creating unnecessary costs and potential barriers to trade? How to deal with business concerns that rights acquired in one market do not apply to another CEFTA market?

The representative of MK, Dr. Filipov, was asked a special question: "Recently, the Investment Forum for the Six Chambers of the Western Balkans published a report indicating that IS is ranked among the non-tariff barriers, which are considered an obstacle to do business in the region. “Given that your company offers a range of IP services in the region and beyond, including the EU countries, what do you think is added value for the business if it protects its IP rights while ensuring that no additional barriers to trade are created?"

In the second part of the panel, the discussants initiated a series of questions where Dr. Filipov talked about the not so common, but very unpleasant, situations when some domestic offices for IS or EUIPO when assess whether to recognize a trademark application and register it, instead the provisions of the law, international conventions and agreements use as a criterion for decision the affiliation of the company, which seeks protection in the country before which the Office has been filed or which is in the EU or outside the EU. Filipov also referred to the disputes over geographical names, with EUIPO representative Medrano Caballero responding that such disputes exist between interested companies from the EU itself, which is not unusual, and EUIPO must make a decision if no compromise solution was found between the parties to the dispute.

The moderator, Ms. Iseanu, stressed that the purpose of the Discussion is to discuss the next steps to enhance cooperation on IP rights within CEFTA, possible recommendations, feasible solutions that could be implemented in CEFTA. On this topic, Filipov proposed to consider the possibility of creating a joint "Office for Trademarks and Industrial Designs" for all CEFTA members, following the example of Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg. This would eliminate the obstacles and barriers to free trade caused by protectionism in the IP, which, although not a major obstacle, still, according to polls, participates with a 15% share in the total non-tariff barriers.

Having in mind that besides the panel discussion, the European Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) held a technical workshop for the employees of the CIS offices of the CEFTA member countries, we evaluate CEFTA Week 2021 in North Macedonia as a successful event.

PATENT

PATENT is a set of exclusive rights granted by the state to the owner of the patent (inventor or holder) for a specified period in exchange for regulated disclosure of certain details of the invention, which may be a new device, process, method or composition . These can make an inventive contribution and be useful and industrially applicable.
Berin LTD offers services in the field of protecting patents in North Macedonia in the following areas .

Searches in patent databases
Creation and processing of patents for inventions in all fields of technology (pharmaceuticals, mechanical engineering, chemistry, electrical engineering and the like).
Registration of patents
International Application for Patents : Filing PCT Applications
Representation before the European Patent Office ( EPO ) : Carrying out the proceedings for granting of a European patent before the EEuropean Patent Office
Validation of European patents
Extension of European patents before the associate members of EPO
Professional translation of patents from and into Macedonian, English, German, Albanian, Serbian, Croatian, Slovenian, Bulgarian, Turkish, Romanian, Greek, Russian and French.
Processing of patent specifications and preparation of responses to appeals and oppositions after examination .
Annuities: maintenance of patents
SPC : procedure for obtaining of additional certificates ( Supplimenrary Patent Certificate) for extending the validity of patents
Licenses : Preparation and registration of license agreements for the use of patents
Estimates : evaluation of patents and inventions
Transfer of rights

For the provision of these services in other countries, we have cooperations with our contractual partners who have the respective national professional power of representation .
Berin International GmbH (branch in Austria) only offers the submission of patent applications and the representation of parties in patent grant proceedings as well as in opposition and appeal proceedings before the European Patent Office. Services that are reserved for a professional party representative in accordance with the Austrian Patent Law are not offered in Austria. We would be happy to provide you with our Austrian colleagues from Austrian Patent Chamber.
* The term PATENT is derived from the Latin word "patere" and it means "to be open" (to be presented to the public) and from the term "Letters Patent" which originally means the transfer of a noble regulation that gives the exclusive rights to a certain Person or activity meant.

TRADEMARK

TRADEMARK PROTECTION is the right of industrial property that relates to a person, organization or legal person for individual labeling of their products and/or services in front of consumers, as well as for the differentiation of their products from those of other manufacturers.
Berin LTD offers trademark protection services in North Macedonia in the following areas .
[In the administrative procedure]

Research in national and international databases;
Registration of trademarks
International trademark registration ;
Market surveillance and official publications ;
Consulting services in connection with the protection of trademarks in;
Oppositions, Filing, and Responding;
Preliminary rejections - answering and submitting proposals;
Cancellations ,
Procedures for changing the registers (transfer agreements, change of name and address);
Licenses : Creation and registration of license agreements for the use of trademarks .

[With judicial protection and enforcement]

Litigation;
Mediation : procedure for resolving disputes;
Requests for customs measures;
Inspection viewing, viewing and taking action;

[other services]

Monitoring of the market and publications;
Consulting services in connection with the protection of trademarks ;
Assessments : Review of trademarks

For the provision of these services in other countries, we have cooperations with our contractual partners who have the respective national professional power of representation.
Berin International GmbH (branch in Austria) does not offer any services under Austrian law before Austrian authorities with regard to trademark rights. We would be happy to make our Austrian colleagues available to you for this matter.

* trademark is typically a name, word, sentence, graphic logo, symbol, appearance, image, or a combination thereof. The ® mark is used to identify the marks that are registered with the right to the trademark. It is synonymous with the symbol TM used in the area of North America.

LEGAL REPRESENTATION

Berin LTD is entitled to carry out the following legal representations in North Macedonia before all administrative and judicial authorities, before the European Patent Office and WIPO in all phases of the realization and protection of intellectual property . By continuously monitoring all changes in the law and practice in cooperation with our customers, we achieve the optimal result of all procedures initiated:
Representation before administrative authorities includes:

Representation before the State Office for Industrial Property
Representation before the customs authorities in the procedure for customs measures in the field of industrial property
Representation before the state market inspectorate
Representation in front of the body for the protection of competition
Mediation: processes for resolving disputes
Representation in litigation
Advice in specific areas of intellectual property
Analysis of laws and regulations in relation to areas that relate to the interests of our customers and their transactions.
In-depth technical and legal analysis of technical solutions with patent protection
Analysis of the changes and additions to the laws and regulations that are relevant for users and authors

Berin International GmbH (branch in Austria) does not offer any of the above services in Austria. These are reserved for a professional party representative. We would be happy to name one of our cooperation partners in Austria for you.
Legal acts of Berin International GmbH representation can only be carried out before the European Patent Office.
The representatives of Berin have experience in the oral proceedings before Examining division of the European Patent Office (EPO).

INDUSTRIAL DESIGN

INDUSTRIAL DESIGN is the right to industrial property relating to a particular appearance or shape of a body, image, drawing, contours, the composition of colors, texture or a combination thereof that meets the requirements of novelty and individuality compared with those of the goods previously known to the public. Industrial design is a right that gives the products for which it is intended, a certain visual, aesthetic, ergonomic and practical purpose or a quality of use that distinguishes them from the rest of the products on the market.
Berin LTD offers services in the field of industrial design protection in Macedonia in the following areas .
[In the administrative procedure]

Research in national and international databases;
Registration of industrial design ;
International registration of industrial design ;
Market surveillance and official publications ;
Consulting services for the protection of industrial design;
Oppositions , Filing, and Responding;
Preliminary rejections - answering and submitting proposals;
Cancellations ,
Procedures for changing the registers (transfer agreements, change of name and address);
Licenses : Creation and registration of license agreements for the use of trademarks

[In judicial protection and enforcement]

Litigation;
Mediation : procedure for resolving disputes;
Requests for customs measures;
Inspection insight, viewing and taking action;

[other services]

Monitoring of the market and publications;
Consultancy in connection with the protection of industrial design ;
Assessments : Assessment of industrial designs

For the provision of these services in other countries, we have cooperations with our contractual partners who have the respective national professional power of representation .
Berin International GmbH (branch in Austria) does not offer any of the above services in Austria. These are reserved for a professional party representative. We are happy to name one of our cooperation partners for you.

COMPANY

Profile

The Intellectual Property Agency BERIN ® LTD Skopje is an international company that was founded in 1992. Initially, the company primarily served domestic customers and over time it has grown into one of the leading intellectual property protection (IP) companies in North Macedonia and the Southeastern Europe region (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Greece, Kosovo, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Turkey and Cyprus) .

BERIN ® is a specialized company of Macedonian Industrial Property Representatives (patents, industrial designs and trademarks) and European Patent Attorneys.

BERIN ® is an experienced company for filing applications and maintaining patents, industrial designs, trademarks, copyrights and related rights for individuals and companies in the process of transfer of intellectual property rights, technology transfer, franchise, know-how or licensing in North Macedonia, IP Consulting as well as (through a network of experienced colleagues) in the 38 countries, members of the European Patent Organization ( EPO ).

It also provides services to its business partners in the settlement of legal disputes, arbitration, mediation, settlement and advice in the field of intellectual property rights. BERIN ® provides services for the payment of license fees and annuities to authors from all areas of intellectual property rights.

These services are provided by its contractual partners in those countries in which BERIN does not have a professional representation.

In the Austrian branch (Berin International GmbH), only services relating to the European patent office are provided.

In BERIN work experts with differentn profiles, engineers from different areas of technology, as well as lawyers and Macedonian representatives for Intellectual Property and European patent attorneys. In addition to their mother tongue and English, each employee speaks at least one other European language. BERIN ® works according to the established ISO 9001 system for effective and efficient implementation and monitoring of the protection of patents, industrial designs , trademarks and copyrights. The ISO 9001 system is introduced and controlled by TÜV Rheinland and thus offers the partner company optimal protection of intellectual property rights.

Today BERIN ® is a symbol for a committed and successful service that is carried out in the interests of business partners. The assured and continuous growth is the proof and guarantee of the quality and professionalism of the services to our customers and colleagues from all over the world.

The list of domestic and foreign business partners of BERIN is growing steadily and also includes large European, American and Asian companies. BERIN ® is ready for the world's cooperation in the field of intellectual property with agents and companies.
If you are interested in getting in contact with us, we look forward to your inquiry and contact.

1992
1993
1993
1994
1994
1995
1996
1997
2001
2004
2005
2009
2010
2012
2014
2015
2016
2017

1992 : Founding
Georgi Filipov decided to initiate proceedings to establish a company
1993 : Registration
Decision on establishment of enterprise for marketing, research and development BERIN LTD Skopje
1993 : Patents
Filing of the first application for granting patent rights
1994 : Partnership
Liljana Markovska Filipova joined the company as co-owner
1994 : First Industrial Design and Trademark Applications:
Submission of the first application for recognition Industrial Design and Trademark registration
1995 : First PCT Application
Submission of the first international patent of inventor from Republic of Macedonia under the PCT (Treaty Extending Patents)
1996 : Promotion of Inventions
Participation on the International Fair for Inventions and conquering the Grand Prix Eureka 1999
1997 : International Trademarks
First application filed under the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks
2001 : International Protection of Industrial Designs
First application before the WIPO under The Hague arrangement for registration of industrial designs
2004 : Representation before the EPO
Start of representation before the European Patent Office
2005 : Representation before the OHIM
Start of representation before the OHIM
2009 : Representation before the EPO
Start of representation before the European Patent Office
2010 : Certification
Implemented and certified system for quality management ISO 9001: 2008
2012 : International Fairs
First solo participation on the International Fair of Intellectual Property in Munich- Visit of deputy director of EPO Mr. Željko Topić at the stand of Berin
2014 : Expansion
Founding of Berin International GmbH in Vienna, Austria
2015 : Software
Introduction of (Paperless) completely electronic administration of procedures
2016 : First Macedonian Patent to EPO
First Macedonian Patent recognised in European Patent Organisation
2017 : 25th Anniversary
11 employees, 2 Offices, 3702 Trademarks, 2954 Patents, 278 Industrial designs and 2500 authors

Terms of use

The following provisions, terms and conditions apply to the use of the official website of the Intellectual Property Agency BERIN LTD Skopje, Macedonia (www.berin.mk). We reserve the right to occasionally change or update these Terms of use depending on the needs. By using our website you agree to be bound by the Terms of Use in their current version posted on the website.

Contents

The content of this website may be comprised of information and / or materials, including news, opinions and articles published on our web site, intended for informational purposes in the field of industrial property. The content is not always an attitude or legal advice of the Intellectual Property Agency BERIN LTD, so visitors to the website regarding their needs and interests and about the Content of the Web page are encouraged to consult legal experts.

Copyrights

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Limitation of Liability

By linking to a website or web page to a third party does not mean that the Intellectual Property Agency BERIN LTD approves such website or webpage. You are responsible for taking the necessary precautions to protect yourself and your computer systems from viruses harmful or destructive contents. We disclaim any responsibility for any damage might arise by your use of websites and web pages of third parties. We are not responsible for the quality, reliability, completeness and / or accuracy of additional facts, unexpected developments or adoption of new laws that are part of the content of third parties.

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Applicable law and jurisdiction

This website content and these Terms of Use are governed by national legislation. All disputes that might arise by the use of our website, content or relating to these Terms of Use, including their validity, interpretation and application shall be submitted for resolution by the competent court in Skopje.

GJORGJI FILIPOV AT THE 8TH DANUBE ACADEMIES CONFERENCE (September 21 – 22, 2017)