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

PETKOSKA, DAMJANSKI AND FILIPOV FROM BERIN IN THE GROUP OF AUTHORS OF: "EUROPEAN SPC’S UNRAVELLED – A PRACTITIONER’S GUIDE TO SPC IN EUROPE"

13.09.2021

The world-renowned publisher of intellectual property literature Walters Kluver from the Netherlands has published the second edition of the work "European SPCs Unravelled – A Practitioner’s Guide to SPC in Europe", edited by European patent attorneys Oswin Ridderbusch & Dr. Alexa von Uexkuell from Germany. 46 authors from 36 countries have been represented in thесе work prepared for two years, among them three experts from Berin IP Agency (Vancho Damjanski, Irena Petkoska and Gjorgji Filipov). The book was published in August 2021, on 1028 pages, 34 chapters and five annexes with a table of court cases. North Macedonia is in chapter 25 from page 647 to page 661.
 
Although patent laws in all Member States of the European Union, the European Economic Community, or the signatory countries of the European Patent Convention (38 in number) are in line with EU directives and the European Patent Convention, the procedure for supplementary patent protection in the field of pharmacy varies from country to country. After the practice of issuing Supplementary Patent Certificates was established, the situation began to be clarified and each country created its own procedure for issuing the additional certificate.

The representation of Macedonia in the second edition is a recognition of the attitude of country towards the patents from the pharmaceutical industry, which does not lag behind the European one, as well as the readiness of the Macedonian European Patent Representatives and the State Office of Industrial Property to implement the procedures for granting and maintaining the Supplementary Patent Protection (SPC) through the issuance of additional patent certificates.

HAPPY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY DAY - APRIL 26! HELPING SMALLER BUSINESSES THRIVE

25.04.2021

In 1440 Johannes Gutenber from Germany found the printing machine. That event was a spark that ignited the fire of interest in protecting the rights of inventors and authors in general. In 1469 the government of Venice gave the exclusive right to John of Speyer, the first printer, to be the only one allowed to "print letters". Shortly afterwards, in 1474, the Venetian Law was enacted, which is considered to be the first systematic approach to the protection of an invention in the form of a patent, giving the inventor the exclusive right to dispose of the benefits of its use. The English monopoly law from 1624 was the first law that provided a monopoly on an invention with a limited duration. In 1710 in the United Kingdom, the Anne Act was passed, extending the right to print books to the authors not just to the printers. The words invention and patent first appeared in a constitution in 1788. Namely, the US Constitution of that year speaks of inventions and exclusive rights for creators. It was translated into the first Patent Law in 1790. Immediately afterwards, as a result of the French bourgeois revolution, in France in 1791 the first patent law was passed. In 1877 Germany adopted the first patent law which precisely defined the conditions for granting a patent.

The refusal of many inventors to attend the first World Exhibition of Inventions in Vienna in 1873, due to the lack of an international system of protection of inventions, initiated the signing of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (1883). It was signed by only 12 countries including the young Kingdom of Serbia. The convention guaranteed the same rights to the patent owners in all territories that they'd wished to be protected. Industrial property means the ownership of patent rights, trademarks, industrial designs and geographical names. For similar reasons, to guarantee copyrights in different countries, three years later, in 1886 the Berne Convention for Protection of Literary and Artistic Works was concluded. These include works in the field of literature, science, works of painters, performers, phonograms, shows... Works that belong to industrial property and copyright and related works are collectively called intellectual property.

The Paris and Bern Conventions are the base, and today there are more than fifty international conventions and agreements, which specify protection in accordance with the progress in the scientific, technological and artistic development of mankind. Their administration is most often carried out by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

On April 24, 1992, the Ministry of Development of the Republic of Macedonia took over the competencies related to the protection of industrial property and from that date applications for protection of industrial property began to be submitted. The Macedonian Law on Protection of Industrial Property entered into force on 15.07.1993 but the Republic of Macedonia has been considered a member of WIPO since 08.09.1991. The first director of the Institute for Protection of Industrial Property was appointed on November 26, 1993, after which, on December 1, 1993. The Office for Protection of Industrial Property was established. Later, the Office changed its name to the Bureau of IP Protection, and later to the State Office of Industrial Property.

This year, the World Organization WIPO celebrates IP Day with the motto "Helping Smaller Businesses Thrive".

Happy Intellectual Property Day - April 26!

SERBIA MODERNIZES ITS TRADEMARK LAW

07.04.2021

A new trademark law entered into force in Serbia on February 1, 2020 introducing important changes that further harmonize the country’s trademark legislation with the corresponding European Union law. Here are the most important changes:

1. Introduction of the opposition system - One of the most important changes brought by the new trademark law is the introduction of the opposition system. Interested parties can file an opposition within three months from the application’s publication date in the Serbian IPO’s Official Gazette. The deadline for filing oppositions against international registrations is three months from the first day of the month following the date of publication in the WIPO Gazette of International Marks. Only if the two parties make a joint request to that effect, will the Serbian IPO approve a “cooling-off” period, which can last for 24 months at the longest.

2. Grounds For Opposition - Oppositions can be based on two new grounds for refusal which are not examined ex officio and were previously entirely absent from the law. One of these is filing of a trademark application by a trademark owner’s agent or representative without the owner’s authorization. The other is similarity of a trademark to an existing company name.

3. Adopting the principle of international exhaustion - The new Trademarks Act adopts the concept of international exhaustion. Therefore, once the trademark proprietor places, or consents to placing, on the market anywhere in the world goods protected by the trademark, the proprietor has exhausted its right to prohibit further circulation of the goods.

4. Infringement Actions In The Name Of Licensees - Unless otherwise stipulated by the license agreement, the holder of an exclusive license is entitled to file an infringement action if they notified the trademark owner and the latter did not file the infringement action within 30 days from being notified, and the holder of a non-exclusive licence is entitled to file an infringement action only if such an action is authorized by the trademark owner.

5. International Trademark Use - In opposition, infringement, invalidity and non-use cancellation proceedings, the relevant registration date for an international trademark will be one year after the date of notifying WIPO of the request to extend protection to the territory of Serbia.

6. Comparative advertising - Trademark proprietor may now claim trademark infringement if the defendant used the sign in comparative advertising in a manner that is contrary to law.

7. Right to prohibit preparatory acts in relation to the use of packaging or other means - Where the risk of infringement exists, the proprietor has the right to prohibit affixing a sign identical with, or similar to, the protected trademark on the packaging, labels, and other items on which a mark may be placed.

8. Restitutio in integrum -The new Trademark Act now allows for restitutio in integrum in a number of stages in the proceeding before the SIPO.

9. Decisions of the Serbian Intellectual Property Office are final - Once the SIPO takes a decision, the dissatisfied party no longer has the possibility of filing an appeal. However, administrative litigation can be initiated.

10. Trademarks as objects of enforcement -The law makes it explicit that trademarks are suitable as objects of enforcement.

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

All rights in the website and its content are reserved. You are allowed to access, use, reproduce and redistribute any segment of the web site’s content for your non-commercial use under a condition – not to violate our copyrights. An express written permission is required for using any part of the contents for any other purpose.

Links to third parties

Our website may contain links to websites of third parties. We have no control over the websites of third parties and we are not responsible for their content, quality, reliability or their use. None of the content published on the websites of Third Parties is privileged or confidential. This website, its content, and any third-party links are provided "as is".

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.

Privacy Policy

We do not collect or process personal data through our website.

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)