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

Changing intellectual property landscape in Southeast Europe

24.09.2025

Albania and Montenegro are making strategic moves to modernize their intellectual property frameworks, signaling a significant shift in legal approaches to patent protection and international intellectual property standards. These recent legislative changes reflect a broader trend of harmonization with European Union regulations, demonstrating both countries' commitment to creating more efficient and internationally aligned intellectual property systems.

Albania: New Patent Law in force as of 16-Aug-2025

A new Patent Law came into effect on August 15, 2025, aligning with EU directive (98/44/EC) on biotechnological inventions and directive (2004/48/EC) on intellectual property rights.

Annual fees for patents are now calculated based on the application date, with payments starting from the third patent year.
There are grace periods for late payments: a 50% surcharge for the first six months and a 100% surcharge for an additional two months.
A six-month SPC extension for medicines intended for children has been introduced.
The calculation for SPC validity is now more precise, with a maximum duration of 5 years.
Oppositions are no longer allowed; objections can be filed within 2 months of the grant decision.

Montenegro: Accession to the London Agreement

As of August 1, 2025, Montenegro has acceded to the London Agreement.
European patents granted for Montenegro no longer require a full translation into Montenegrin if granted in English, but a translation of the claims is still necessary.
These changes aim to reduce translation costs and do not apply to patents granted before this date unless amended afterward.

Both countries have implemented significant changes to their intellectual property legislation, with Albania modernizing its patent law to align more closely with EU regulations, and Montenegro reducing translation requirements through its accession to the London Agreement. These changes aim to simplify patent processes, reduce costs, and harmonize intellectual property standards with European practices.

source: Dennemeyer

99th EPI Council in Vilnius (LT) and Annual Disciplinary Committee meeting in Milan(IT)

13.06.2025

DYNAMIC PROGRESS AND CONSTRUCTIVE REFORM IN SERVICE OF THE PROFESSION

EPI continues advancing its mission with impactful Council decisions and disciplinary reforms, fostering professional excellence and ethical responsibility.

The European Patent Institute (epi) demonstrated remarkable momentum in shaping the future of the profession at two recent landmark gatherings: The 99th epi Council Meeting held on 10 May 2025 in Vilnius, and the Disciplinary Committee (DC) Meeting convened in Milan on 3–4 June 2025. These meetings underlined the Institute’s enduring commitment to quality, accountability, and inclusion within the European patent profession.
Berin’s managing partner and EP Attorney Mr. Vancho Damjanski participated in both events—serving as a full member of the epi Council in Vilnius and attending the Milan DC meeting—actively contributing to deliberations on legal reform, professional conduct, and disciplinary procedures.
Prior to the Council meeting in Vilnius, members benefited from the Pre-Council Seminar “From Lab to Market and Beyond – Turning Research into Revenue”, underlining the Institute’s dedication to continuous learning and innovation translation.
At the 99th epi Council Meeting in Vilnius on 10 May 2025, the Council adopted a resolution urging the EPO and the Administrative Council to suspend the inclusion of legal practitioners on the representative list, pending further analysis. It also established a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee and approved amendments to the epi Code of Conduct. Additional decisions included the adoption of a position paper on divisional applications and a request for the EPO to continue publishing all relevant Guidelines in both PDF and HTML formats.
This Year DC Meeting in Milan complemented these policy advances by focusing on improving internal procedures and fostering open discussion among its members. The agenda included two high-quality presentations—“Ways to Find the Truth” and “Certain Rules on Natural Justice”—which sparked reflective dialogue on fairness and transparency in disciplinary matters.
These developments reflect epi’s dynamic strategy in responding to evolving challenges—strengthening its structures, enhancing member development, and defending the standards of the profession.

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
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1997
2001
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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.

THE 45TH MAKINOVA AND THE 22ND ECONOVA WERE HELD IN VELES