LEGAL BASIS

• Patent Law, passed on July 16, 2015, published in the Official Gazette of Montenegro No. 42/15 of July 29, 2015, came into effect on August 6, 2015 and amendments published in the Official Gazette No. 02/2017 of January 10, 2017, in force from July 1, 2017.
• Decree on Procedure for Grant of Inventions, published in the Official Gazette of Serbia and Montenegro No.2/62 of December 2004, came into effect on January 1, 2005.
• Decree on Ensurance of IP Protection, published in the Official Gazette of Montenegro No. 61/2007 of October 12, 2007, in force since October 20, 2007, with amendments published in the Official Gazette of Montenegro No. 70/2008.

MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

• Paris Convention, Stockholm Act, since June 3, 2006 (ex-Yugoslavia since February 1921).
• Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), since June 3, 2006.
• European Patent Convention (the Agreement on extension of European Patents to Montenegro has entered into force on March 1, 2010. From that date, it is possible to extend to Montenegro protection conferred by European patent applications and patents).

FILING REQUIREMENTS

• Specification, claims (EPO type) and abstract;
• Drawings (if any);
• Certified copy of the priority application(s), if any (not required for the national phase of a PCT application);
• Power of Attorney, no legalization (can be filed subsequently);
• Copy of the PCT documentation: PCT publication, International Search Report, Written Opinion (if any), response to the Written Opinion (if any), Preliminary Examination Report and the amended sheets (if any).

PCT applications: any international application where Montenegro is designated or elected shall be deemed to be an application for extension of the European patent to Montenegro, and the European Patent Office shall act as designated or elected Office under the PCT. Also, the European Patent Office shall act as the competent authority for the searching and international preliminary examination of international applications filed with the responsible authority acting as receiving office under the PCT. Time limit for entering the national phase: 30 months from the priority date (as for the European applications).

Extension of European Patents: an agreement was signed with Montenegro on February 13, 2009. From March 1, 2010, it is possible to extend to Montenegro the protection conferred by European patent applications and patents directly.  European patent validation requirements: (a) appointment of a national representative is required; (b) translation of the claims only into the official language is required, within a non-extendible term of three months after the date on which the mention of the grant of the European patent is published in the European Patent Bulletin; (c) the minimum time period for paying renewal fees due at validation is two months.

REMARKS

Validity: after formal examination - valid for 20 years from the filing date.
Annuities: are due for the third and each following year for patent applications and patents counting from the filing date.
Opposition: not provided for.

LEGAL BASIS

• Montenegrin Trademark Law, passed on November 30, 2010, published in the Official Gazette of Montenegro No. 72/2010 of December 8, 2010, in force since December 16, 2010, with amendments published in the Official Gazettes No. 44/2012 of August 9, 2012, No. 18/2014 of April 11, 2014, No. 40/2016 of June 30, 2016 and No. 02/2017 of January 10, 2017, in force from July 1, 2017.
• Decree on Ensurance of IP Protection, published in the Official Gazette of Montenegro No. 61/2007 of October 12, 2007, in force since October 20, 2007, with amendments published in the Official Gazette of Montenegro No. 70/2008.
• By-Laws regulating application of the Trademark Law will be adopted within six months from the date of coming into force of the Trademark Law. Until then, the By-Laws adopted on the basis of the previous Trademark Law (Official Gazette of Serbia and Montenegro No. 61/04 and 07/05) shall continue to be applied, unless they are contrary to the current Trademark Law.
• Regulation on the Procedure for Recognition, Changes, Renewal of the Validity and International Registration of Trademarks, published in the Official Gazette of Montenegro No. 50/2011 dated October 21, 2011.

MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

• Paris Convention, Stockholm Act, since June 3, 2006.
• Madrid Agreement, Stockholm Act, since June 3, 2006.
• Madrid Protocol, since June 3, 2006.

FILING REQUIREMENTS

• Power of Attorney, not legalized (can be filed subsequently);
• 3 prints (except for word marks); size: min. length 1.5 cm, max. size 8 x 8 cm; or electronic sample;
• List of goods and services, grouped according to the International Classification;
• Priority document, if any.

REMARKS

Kinds of protection: verbal, pictorial, three-dimensional and other designations or their combinations. Service marks are registrable. Besides the original version, filing of word mark applications in the Cyrillic alphabet is highly recommended.
Classification: International.
Obligation to use the registered mark: compulsory. Non-use during any five-year period after the publication date may lead to cancellation.
Duration – renewals: 10-year period after the filing date or last renewal date.
Opposition: can be filed within ninety days from the date of publication of the application by the owner of an earlier mark on relative grounds. Interested persons can only notify the IP Office about the existence of an identical or similar sign or other reasons for refusal.

LEGAL BASIS

• Law on Protection of Designs, published in the Official Gazette of Montenegro No. 80/2010 of December 30, 2010, in force since January 8, 2011, with amendments published in the Official Gazettes No. 27/2012, No. 42/2016 of July 11, 2016, in force since July 19, 2016 and No. 02/2017 of January 10, 2017, in force from July 1, 2017.
• Regulation on the Procedure for Recognition, Changes and Renewal of the Validity of Industrial Design, published in the Official Gazette of Montenegro No. 12/2012 dated February 24, 2012.
• Decree on Ensurance of IP Protection, published in the Official Gazette of Montenegro No. 61/2007 of October 12, 2007, in force since October 20, 2007, with amendments published in the Official Gazette of Montenegro No. 70/2008.

MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

• Paris Convention, Stockholm Act, since June 3, 2006.
• Hague Agreement, Geneva Act, since March 5, 2012.

FILING REQUIREMENTS

• Power of Attorney, not legalized (can be filed subsequently);
• Applicant’s Declaration;
• Description of the design (no longer mandatory);
• Photographs or drawings or design suitable for reproduction;
• Name of product of which a design is a part or on which it is applied;
• Priority document, if any.

REMARKS

Duration - renewals: after formal examination: 25 years from the filing date.
Opposition: not provided for.

LEGAL BASIS

• There is no specific legislation although some regulations on the organization and management of country code top-level domain names do exist.

FILING

• ccTLD: .me
• Applicant: legal entities and individuals.
• Local presence: required for sub-domains only.

REMARKS

Duration – renewals: one to ten years, renewable for like periods.
Uniform dispute resolution procedure: before the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center.