Trademark Regulations in Croatia
Trademark protection in Croatia is regulated by the Croatian Trademarks Act and Trademark Regulations.
Trademark application fees in Croatia
Fees associated with filing trademark applications in Croatia as well as other trademark fees are available in the fee calculator.
Multiple-class Trademark applications
Multiple-class trademark applications are possible in Croatia.
Minimum Trademark Application filing requirements in Croatia
– Request for registration of a trademark in Croatia;
– information about the applicant;
– list of the goods or services for which the registration is requested;
– representation of the trademark.
Requirements to the Power of Attorney in Croatia
A signed Power of Attorney is sufficient for the accomplishment of trademark registration in Croatia, without legalization or notarization. The POA must be filed within 60 days upon receipt of the official invitation from the Croatian IP Office.
Priority document for application
The certified copy of the priority document must be translated into Croatian and certified by the court interpreter. It must be submitted to the patent office within three months from the application date.
Opposition period for application
Opposition against trademark application in Croatia may be filed within three months from publication of the application.
Validity term and trademark renewal in Croatia
A trademark in Croatia is valid for ten years from the date of filing. The registration of a trademark may be renewed for periods of ten years each, provided that the holder of the trademark files a request for renewal of the trademark registration in the last year of the ten years of protection. The request for renewal of the registration of a trademark may be submitted within the additional period of six months following the expiry under the condition of payment of a surcharge. A Power of Attorney is not required if the agent stays the same.
Use requirement
Trademark registration in Croatia may be revoked if, within a continuous period of five years following the date of registration, it has not been put to genuine use in the Republic of Croatia about the goods or services in respect of which it is registered, (or if such use has been suspended during an uninterrupted period of five years) and there are no justified reasons for non-use.
Representation by a Croatian trademark attorney
Foreigners must perform a trademark prosecution in Croatia through an agent, a registered Croatian trademark attorney.
What can be registered as a Croatian trademark
Any sign capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one undertaking from goods or services of another undertaking may be registered as a trademark in Croatia. Particularly, words, including personal names, designs, letters, numerals, the shape of goods or their packaging, three-dimensional forms, colors, patterns, sounds, multimedia, holograms as well as the combinations of all the above-indicated signs.
Notes
1. Online Search Databases: Croatian Trademarks, EU Trademarks, International Trademarks.
2. Trademark protection in Croatia may also be obtained via registration of a European Union Trademark.
3. The time limit of 4 months from the date of the refusal is provided to the applicants for filing a response to the provisional refusal of an international registration in Croatia. The office is allowed to request the extension of the 4-month time limit. The language of the response is Croatian. It is necessary to appoint a local representative, a Croatian patent attorney. A request to review as well as an appeal to the refusal can additionally be filed only after the response has been submitted, within 30 days.
If you have any queries related to the Trademark Filing in Croatia, please contact IIPLA team. We will be more than happy to resolve your queries free of cost.