THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA

STATE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE OF
THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA - ORGANIZATIONAL OVERVIEW

INSTITUTION

The State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) of the Republic of Croatia is a national institution responsible for the protection of intellectual property in Croatia. It is a state administration body in charge of all administrative procedures aimed at granting industrial property rights, and for other issues in the field of intellectual property rights, including copyright and related rights.

It was established in 1991 upon constitution of Croatia as an independent state, as the State Patent Office. By the end of 1996, the responsibility of the State Patent Office was extended to copyright, and the Office was subsequently renamed the State Intellectual Property Office of the Republic of Croatia.

COMPETENCE

SIPO is responsible for:

• carrying out industrial property granting/registration procedures;
• issuing authorizations for the collective administration of copyright and related rights, as well as for supervision over collecting societies to which such authorizations have been issued;
• drafting laws and other regulations in the field of intellectual property;
• activities relating to international cooperation including the implementation of international treaties and agreements in this field;
• information and documentation activities.

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AND PERSONNEL

SIPO currently employs 87 persons, out of whom 48 with university degree (17 legal, 31 technical and other fields).

According to the present organizational scheme, SIPO comprises the following departments:

At the moment SIPO is in the process of defining a comprehensive development strategy and changing its organizational structure, which is supported by National CARDS 2001 - Intellectual Property Rights - Croatia project, particularly Institutional Assessment Component containing recommendations for reorganization.

CARDS IPR Contact Person Ms Antoneta Cvetic State Intellectual Property Office of the Republic of Croatia Ulica grada Vukovara 78 10000 Zagreb, Croatia Phone: +385 (0)1 6106 476 Fax: +385 (0)1 6112 017 E-mail: antoneta.cvetic(at)dziv.hr