Union Of Serbia And Montenegro Ends

The Union of Serbia and Montenegro (a creation in 2003 from the remnants of former Yugoslavia) effectively came to an end on June 3, 2006 after Montenegro declared its independence following a referendum.† In addition, Kosovo, a southern province of Serbia, has been under United Nations administration since 1999.

As a result, three new jurisdictions have arisen:† Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo, and intellectual property rights in the Union of Serbia and Montenegro.

Serbia

On September 19, 2006, Serbia declared to the WIPO that it has succeeded to the treaties that were formerly in force with respect to the Union of Serbia and Montenegro, namely:

WIPO Convention,

Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property,

Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works,

Madrid Agreement for the Repression of False or Deceptive Indications of Source on Goods,

Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks,

Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks,

Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs,

Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks,

Locarno Agreement Establishing an International Classification for Industrial Designs,

Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration,

Nairobi Treaty on the Protection of the Olympic Symbol,

Rome Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organisations,

Convention for the Protection of Producers of Phonograms Against Unauthorized Duplication of Their Phonograms,

Brussels Convention Relating to the Distribution of Programme-Carrying Signals Transmitted by Satellite,

Trademark Law Treaty,

WIPO Copyright Treaty,

WIPO Performance and Phonograms Treaty,

Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure,

Patent Cooperation Treaty.

Accordingly, intellectual property rights that were protected in the Union of Serbia and Montenegro as of June 3, 2006 remain protected in Serbia without confirmation or payment.

Montenegro

On December 4, 2006, the Republic of Montenegro deposited with the WIPO its declaration regarding the continued applicability of the treaties that were formerly in force with respect to the Union of Serbia and Montenegro (see list under...