WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION  
ORGANISATION MONDIALE DU COMMERCE  
ORGANIZACIÓN MUNDIAL DEL COMERCIO  IP/N/1/HRV/L/2 
30 November 2010 
 (10-6448) 
Council for Trade-Related Aspects 
of Intellectual Property Rights Original:   English/ 
 anglais/  inglés 
 
  
MAIN DEDICATED INTELLECTUAL PR OPERTY LAWS AND REGULATIONS 
NOTIFIED UNDER ARTICLE 63.2 OF THE AGREEMENT 
 
CROATIA 
 The present document reproduces the text
1 of the Act on the Protection of Topographies of 
Semiconductor Products and the Ac t Amending and Supplementing the Protection of Topographies of 
Semiconductor Products Act, as notified by Croa tia on 26 July 2010 under Article 63.2 of the 
Agreement (see document IP/N/1/HRV/2). 
 
 
Conseil des aspects des droits de propriété intellectuelle qui touchent au commerce  
PRINCIPALES LOIS ET RÉGLEMENTATIONS CONSACRÉES À 
LA PROPRIÉTÉ INTELLECTUELLE NOTIFIÉES AU TITRE 
DE L'ARTICLE 63:2 DE L'ACCORD 
 
CROATIE 
 Le présent document contient les textes
1 de la Loi sur la protection des topographies de 
semi-conducteurs et de la loi modifiant et complé tant la Loi sur la protection des topographies de 
semi-conducteurs, notifiées par la Croatie le 26 juillet 2010 au titre de l'article 63:2 de l'Accord (voir 
le document IP/N/1/HRV/2). 
 
 
Consejo de los Aspectos de los Derechos de Propiedad 
Intelectual relacionados con el Comercio 
 
PRINCIPALES LEYES Y REGLAMENTOS DEDICADOS A LA 
PROPIEDAD INTELECTUAL NOTIFICADOS EN VIRTUD 
DEL PÁRRAFO 2 DEL ARTÍCULO 63 DEL ACUERDO 
 
CROACIA 
 En el presente documento se reproduce el texto1 de la Ley sobre la Protección de las 
Topografías de Productos Semiconductores y de la Le y por la que se modifica y complementa la Ley 
sobre la Protección de las Topografías de Productos Semiconductores, que Croacia ha notificado el 
26 de julio de 2010 en virtud de lo dispuesto en el párrafo 2 del artículo 63 del Acuerdo (véase el 
documento IP/N/1/HRV/2). 
                                                      
1 In English only./En anglais seulement./En inglés solamente.   
   
  IP/N/1/HRV/L/2 
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Act on the Protection of Topogra phies of Semiconductor Products 
 
   
And 
    
ACT AMENDING AND SUPPLEMENTING THE PROTECTION  
OF TOPOGRAPHIES OF SEMICONDUCTOR PRODUCTS ACT*/** 
 
   
 
    
 
    
 
     
 
NN 173/2003, in force from January 1, 2004 
*NN 76/2007, in force from July 31, 2007 
**NN 30/2009, in force from March 17, 2009 
 
Zagreb, December 2009 
 IP/N/1/HRV/L/2 
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I. GENERAL PROVISIONS 
 
SUBJECT MATTER OF THE PROTECTION 
Article 1 
 
This Act regulates the protection of topographies of semiconductor products.  
 
DEFINITIONS 
Article 2 
 
For the purposes of this Act:   (1)  A Semiconductor product means the final or  an intermediate form of any product:  
 
a)  Consisting of a body of material which includes a layer of semiconducting material, 
and  
 b)  Having one or more other layers composed of conducting, insulating or 
semiconducting material which have been arranged in accordance with a predetermined three-dimensional pattern, and  
 
c)  Intended to perform an electronic function, exclusively or together with other 
functions.  
 (2)  The topography of a semiconductor product (hereinafter: topography) means a series of 
related images, however fixed or encoded:  
 
a)  Representing the three-dimensional pattern of the layers of which a semiconductor 
product is composed, and  
 b)  In which series each image has the pattern or part of the pattern of a surface of the 
semiconductor product at any stage of its manufacture.  
 (3)  Commercial exploitation of a topography mean s the sale, rental, leasing or any other method 
of commercial distribution of the topography , including its offer for any of these purposes. 
First commercial exploitation shall not include exploitation under conditions of 
confidentiality to the extent that no further distribution to third parties occurs.  
  
II. PROTECTION REQUIREMENTS AND RIGHT 
TO PROTECTION 
 
PROTECTION REQUIREMENTS 
Article 3 
 
(1)  The topography shall be protected by an ex clusive right in accordance with the provisions of 
this Act if it is the result of its creator's ow n intellectual effort and is not commonplace in the 
semiconductor industry.  
 (2)  Where the topography consists of elemen ts that are commonplace in the semiconductor 
industry, it shall be protected only to the extent that the combination of such elements, taken as a whole, fulfils the conditions referred to in paragraph (1) of this Article.   IP/N/1/HRV/L/2 
 Page 5 
 
 
   
RIGHT TO PROTECTION 
Article 4 
 
(1)  Right to protection shall apply in favour of natural persons who are the creators of the 
topographies. Where several persons have jointl y created a topography, the right shall jointly 
apply in favour of all of them.  
 (2)  Where a topography is created in the course of the creator's employment, the right to 
protection shall apply in favour of the creator 's employer unless otherwise provided by the 
employment contract.  
 (3)  Where a topography is created under a contract other than a contract of employment, the right 
to protection shall apply in favour of a party to  the contract by whom the topography has been 
commissioned, unless otherwise provided by the contract.  
 
(4)  Where a topography is created in accordance w ith paragraphs (2) and (3) of this Article, the 
right to protection of a topography shall apply in favour of:  
 
a)  Natural persons who are nationals of the Republic of Croatia or who have their 
domicile or habitual residence on the territory of the Republic of Croatia;  
 
b)  Companies or other legal persons who have their principle place of business on the 
territory of the Republic of Croatia.  
 (5)  The right to protection shall also apply in  favour of the successors in title of the persons 
mentioned in paragraphs (1) to (4) of this Article.  
 
Article 5 
 
Foreign legal and natural persons not having their principle place of business, or a domicile or a 
habitual residence on the territory of the Republic of Croatia shall enjoy the protection provided by 
this Act, if it results from international treaties bi nding the Republic of Croatia or from the application 
of the principle of reciprocity.    
III. THE REGISTRATION PROCEDURE 
 
COMMON PROVISIONS ON THE 
PROCEDURE BEFORE THE OFFICE 
Article 6 
 
(1)  The procedures for registration and declar ation of the decision on the registration of a 
topography null and void shall be carried out by  the State Intellectual Property Office of the 
Republic of Croatia (hereinafter: the Office).  
 (2)  Against the decisions made by the Office no appeal shall be allowed, but an administrative 
lawsuit may be initiated.  
 
(3)  The Act on General Administrative Procedure shall apply to certain matters concerning the 
procedure which are not regulated by this Act.  
 IP/N/1/HRV/L/2 
Page 6  
 
  FILING OF THE APPLICATION 
Article 7 
 
(1)  The procedure for registration of a topography shall be initiated by an application containing 
a request for the registration of topography and ot her relevant elements prescribed by this Act 
(hereinafter: topography application).  
 (2)  A topography application shall contain:   
a)  A request for the registration of a topography, which must clearly and concisely 
identify the topography by its name or specification of the product range,  
 b)  Indications allowing the identity of the applicant to be established,   c)  Sufficient data to contact the applicant or his representative, if any, by mail,  
 
d)  Written statement as to the date of the first commercial exploitation if that date 
occurred before the filing date of the application,  
 e)  Data and supplements identifying the topography:  
 
i)  Drawings or photographs of layo uts for the production of a semiconductor 
product, or  
 ii)  Drawings or photographs of layouts or the parts thereof for the production of 
semiconductor product, or  
 
iii)  Drawings or photographs of individua l layers of the semiconductor product.  
 (3)  The following may be attached  to the material referred to in paragraph (2) (e) of this Article: 
data carriers, their printouts, the semiconductor product for the topography of which the registration is applied for, or a detailed description.  
 
(4)  A separate application shall be filed for each topography.   (5)  The Minister responsible for the work of th e Office, upon the proposal made by the Director 
of the Office, shall enact the Regulations defining the form of the application and the manner 
of drafting and filing thereof.  
 
Article 8 
 
(1)  The applicant has the right to mark any of th e required materials or any of the parts thereof as 
a trade secret, in which case these parts shall not be made available to the public.  
 
(2)  The court may order the disclosure of the materi als referred to in paragraph (1) of this Article 
only to persons involved in litigation concerning the validity or infringement of the exclusive 
rights referred to in Article 14 of this Act.  
 
EXAMINATION OF TOPOGRAPHY APPLICATION 
Article 9 
 
(1)  The Office shall examine whether the filed t opography application contains all the elements 
referred to in Article 7, pa ragraph (2) of this Act.   IP/N/1/HRV/L/2 
 Page 7 
 
 
   
(2)  If the application does not contain all the elem ents referred to in Artic le 7, paragraph (2) of 
this Act, the Office shall invite the applicant to  remedy the deficiencies within a time limit, 
which shall not be shorter than one mont h and not longer than three months.  
 
(3)  If the applicant remedies all the deficiencies w ithin the time limit referred to in paragraph (2) 
of this Article, the date of receipt of the corr ect application shall be deemed as the filing date 
of the application.  
 (4)  If the applicant does not remedy all the defi ciencies within the time limit referred to in 
paragraph (2) of this Article, the Office sha ll reject the application by a decision.  
 
REGISTRATION OF TOPOGRAPHY AND PUBLICATION OF  
THE REGISTERED TOPOGRAPHY 
Article 10 
 
(1)  If the application contains all the elements refe rred to in Article 7, paragraph (2) of this Act, 
the Office shall issue to the applicant a deci sion on the registration of the topography.  
 (2)  The topography shall be entered in the regist er of topographies and the data from the register 
shall be published in the Official Gazette of the Office.  
 
REGISTER OF TOPOGRAPHIES 
Article 11 
 
(1)  The register of topographies shall be kept by the Office.  
 
(2)  The register referred to in paragra ph (1) of this Article shall be public.  
 (3)  For each topography the following data shall be entered in the register of topographies:  
 
a)  Registration number of the topography,  
 
b)  Filing date of the application,   c)  Date and number of the decision on the entry into the register,   
d)  Name of the topography,  
 e)  Data on the applicant: the family name  and the first name, as well as the domicile, 
and the nationality of the applicant, if it is a natural person, or the name and principle 
place of business of the applicant if it is a legal entity, whereas the data concerning legal entities shall correspond to those contained in the court register,  
 
f)  Data on the creator: the family name, the first name and the title; the indication of the 
town and the country shall be sufficient,  
 g)  Date of the first commercial exploitati on of the topography, if the topography has 
already been commercially exploited,  
 h)  Data on a representative, if any,   IP/N/1/HRV/L/2 
Page 8  
 
  i)  Data on changes referring to: the transfer of the right, license, declaration of nullity, 
expiration and other changes relevant for the legal status of the registered topography.  
 (4)  The Minister responsible for the work of th e Office, upon the proposal made by the Director 
of the Office, shall enact the Regulations prescr ibing the form and the manner of keeping the 
register of topographies.  
 
PAYMENT OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE 
FEES AND PROCEDURAL CHARGES 
Article 12 
 
(1)  The acts performed in the course of the admi nistrative procedure for the registration of a 
topography shall be subject to the payment of the fees in compliance with special regulations.  
 (2)  Should the prescribed fees not be paid within  the prescribed time limit, the application shall 
be deemed withdrawn.  
 
DECLARATION OF THE DECISION ON THE REGISTRATION  
OF A TOPOGRAPHY NULL AND VOID 
Article 13 
 (1)  The decision on the registration of a topography  shall be declared null and void if it has been 
established:  
 
a)  That the topography does not meet th e requirements referred to in Article 3, 
paragraph (1) of this Act,  
 
b)  That the application was filed by a natu ral person or a legal entity not entitled to the 
protection,  
 c)  That the application was not filed within the prescribed terms referred to in Article 19 
of this Act,  
 
d)  That the identification of the register ed topography is not possible on the basis of 
layouts relating to it.  
 (2)  The procedure relating to the declaration of the decision on the registration of a topography 
null and void may be initiated by the Office ex officio, or upon the proposal of any natural 
person or legal person or by the state attorney  on the grounds prescribed in paragraph (1) of 
this Article, during the entire duration of the validity of a topography  
  
IV. EFFECTS OF PROTECTION AND LIMITATIONS 
 
EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS 
Article 14 
 
(1)  The exclusive rights referred to in Article 3 of  this Act shall include the right to authorize or 
prohibit any of the following acts:  
 
a)  Reproduction of the topography,    IP/N/1/HRV/L/2 
 Page 9 
 
 
  b)  Import, sale or other forms of putti ng into circulation the topography or the 
semiconductor product manufactured by using the protected topography, as well as the products incorporating the semiconductor product containing the protected topography.  
 
(2)  The exclusive rights referred to in paragraph (1 ) of this Article shall not  apply to any concept, 
process, system, technique of production of th e topography, or any in formation embodied in 
the topography, but to the topography as such.  
 
LIMITATIONS OF EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS 
Article 15 
 
Without the authorisation of the holder of the ex clusive rights conferred by a protected topography, 
the following shall be permitted:   
(1)  Reproduction of the protected topography  for private purposes and non-commercial aims,  
 (2)  Reproduction of the protected topography for the purpose of analysing, evaluating or teaching 
the concepts, processes, systems and techni ques embodied in the topography or the 
topography itself, and  
 
(3)  Commercial exploitation of a new topography wh ich has been created on the basis of research 
and analysis of the protected topography which is a result of personal creative effort of its 
creator and is not commonplace in the semiconductor industry.  
 
Article 16 
 
(1)  A person who, when he acquires a semiconductor product, does not know, or has no 
reasonable grounds to believe, that the product is  protected by the exclusive rights conferred 
by protected topography, shall not be prevente d from commercially exploiting that product.  
 (2)  For the commercial exploitation of a se miconductor product occurring after the person 
referred to in paragraph (1) of this Article has known, or has reasona ble grounds to believe, 
that the product is protected by the exclusive rights conferred by a protected topography, an adequate remuneration shall be determined by the court unless the parties resolve the issue by 
negotiation, mediation, or binding arbitration.  
 
(3)  The provisions of paragraphs (1) and (2) of th is Article shall also apply to the successors in 
title of the person who has acquired a semiconduc tor product protected by the exclusive rights 
conferred by a protected topography.  
 
EXHAUSTION OF RIGHTS 
Article 17 
 
The exhaustion of the exclusive rights to authoris e or prohibit the acts specified in Article 14 
paragraph (1) of this Act shall come into effect at the moment of putting the protected topography or 
the semiconductor product produced by using the pr otected topography on the market in Republic of 
Croatia by the holder of the exclusive rights conf erred by the protected topography or with his 
authorisation.  
 IP/N/1/HRV/L/2 
Page 10  
 
  V. DURATION OF EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS 
 
COMING INTO EXISTENCE 
OF EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS 
Article 18 
 
The exclusive rights conferred by a protected topog raphy shall come into ex istence on the earlier of 
the following dates:   1.  The date when the topography is first comme rcially exploited anywhere in the world, or  
 
2.  The date when an application for registra tion has been filed to the Office in due form.  
 
EXPIRY OF EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS 
Article 19 
 
(1)  The exclusive rights shall come to an end upon the expiry of a 10 year period from the earlier 
of the following dates:  
 
a)  The end of the calendar year in which the first commercial exploitation of the 
topography has started anywhere in the world; or  
 
b)  The end of the calendar year in which the application for the registration of the 
topography has been filed in due form.  
 (2)  Where a topography has not been commercia lly exploited anywhere in the world, any 
exclusive rights in existence shall expire within  15 years from its first fixation or encoding, 
unless an application for registration in due fo rm has been filed within that period.  
 
Article 20 
 
An application for the registration of a topography sh all not be filed after the expiration of a period of 
two years as from date on which the first commercia l exploitation of the topography has started.  
 
MARKING OF TOPOGRAPHY 
Article 21 
 During the existence of the exclusive rights, the holde r of a registered topography shall have the right 
to mark a semiconductor product produced by usin g the registered topography with a capital letter 
"T".   
 
VI. CIVIL PROTECTION 
 
Article 22 
 
(1)  A holder of the exclusive rights conferred by the protected topography whose rights have 
been infringed may claim, in addition to th e compensation for damages, the ordering of 
measures to prevent further infringement of his exclusive rights.  
 (2)  A person infringing the exclusive rights confe rred by the protected topography shall be liable 
to compensate for the damage incurred, in accordance with the general principles on the 
compensation for damages.   IP/N/1/HRV/L/2 
 Page 11 
 
 
   
(3)  The provision referred to in paragraph (1) of this Article shall also apply to the successors in 
title of the holder of the protected topography.  
  
VII. TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS 
 
Article 23 
 
The provisions of the Patent Act concerning the re presentation, the holders of the joint rights to a 
protected topography, the procedure for the declaration of the decision on the registration of a 
topography null and void, the time limits for bringi ng civil action on the grounds of the infringement 
of the right, the transfer of the right, and licence agreements shall apply mutatis mutandis  to the 
topographies of semiconductor products which are the subject matter of this Act.   
Article 24 
 
The provisions of this Act shall apply only to the topographies created after its entry into force.  
 
Article 25 
 Upon the proposal made by the Director of the Offi ce, the Minister responsible for the work of the 
Office shall enact the Regulations prescribing the matte rs referred to in Article 7, paragraph (5) and 
Article 11, paragraph (4) of this Act up to the da te the application of this Act shall start.  
 
Article 26 
 
The Act on the Protection of the Layout-Designs of In tegrated Circuits (Official Gazette Nos. 78/99 
and 127/99) shall cease to be in force on the date the application of this Act starts.  
 
Article 27 
 This Act shall enter into force on the eighth day fro m the day of its publication in the Official Gazette, 
and shall be applied as of 1 January 2004.  IP/N/1/HRV/L/2 
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ACT AMENDING AND SUPPLEMENTING THE PROTECTION OF TOPOGRAPHIES OF 
SEMICONDUCTOR PRODUCTS ACT 
 
Article 1 
 
In the Protection of Topographies of Semiconductor Products Act (Official Gazette No. 173/03), in 
Article 4, following the paragraph 4 a new paragraph 5 is added to read:  
"(5) Where the right to protection does not exist purs uant to other provisions of this Article, the right 
to protection of a topography shall also apply in fa vour of the persons referred to in paragraph 4, 
subparagraphs a) and b) of this Article, if:  
a) they have first commercially exploited in the territory of the Republic of Croatia a topography, 
which has not previously been commercially exploited anywhere in the world,  b) they have been exclusively authorized to comme rcially exploit a topography in the European Union 
by the person entitled to transfer the rights in it."  
In present paragraph 5, which sha ll be renumbered into paragraph 6,  number "4" shall be replaced by 
number "5".   
Article 2 
 
Article 6 is amended to read:  
"(1) The Office shall carry out the administrative proceedings for registration of a topography and 
declaration of the decision on the registration of a topography null and void, and perform other administrative and professional tasks concerning the protection of the topographies of semiconductor products.  (2) The administrative decisions rendered by the Offi ce in the first instance may be appealed and the 
appeals shall be decided on by the Board of Appeal  in accordance with the provisions of this Act.  
(3) The provisions of the General Administrative Pr oceedings Act shall apply to particular matters 
concerning the procedure referred to in paragraphs 1 a nd 2 of this Article, not regulated by this Act.  
(4) The administrative decisions rendered by the Board of Appeal in the second instance may be 
challenged in the administrative dispute accord ing to the Administrative Dispute Act."  
 
Article 3 
 
Article 11, paragraph 4 is deleted.   
Article 4 
 
In article 12, paragraph 1, a sec ond sentence is added to read:  
"If the prescribed administrative fee and procedural charges have not been paid within the prescribed 
time limit, the application shall be considered as withdrawn."  Paragraph 2 is amended to read:  "(2) The filing of an appeal shall be subject to payment of the administrative fee and procedural 
charges in accordance with special regulations. If th e administrative fee and procedural charges have 
not been paid before the expiry of the appeal peri od, the appeal shall not be considered as filed."  
 
Article 5 
 Article 17 is amended to read:  
"The placing on the market in the territory of the Republic of Croatia, or following the accession of 
the Republic of Croatia to the European Union in th e territory of a European Union Member State or a 
Contracting State of the Agreement creating the Eu ropean Economic Area, of a protected topography 
or a semiconductor product manufactured by using the protected topography by the holder of the  IP/N/1/HRV/L/2 
 Page 13 
 
 
  exclusive right conferred by the protected topography or with his/her express authorization, shall 
exhaust for the territory of the Republic of Croatia , the exclusive rights conferred by the protected 
topography."   
Article 6 
 
Article 23 is amended to read:  "The provisions of the Patent Act concerning the representation, the holders of the joint rights, the procedure for the declaration of nullity, the bringing  the claim because of the infringement of rights, 
the claim for establishing the infringement and its term ination, the claim for damages, the proceedings 
concerned with the infringement of rights, other ma tters concerning the civil enforcement of rights, 
the transfer of rights, the licence contracts, the a ppeal, the appeal proceedings , the Board of Appeals, 
and the administrative dispute, shall apply mutatis mutandis  to the topographies of semiconductor 
products regulated by this Act."   
TRANSITORY AND FINAL PROVISIONS 
 
Article 7 
 
The procedures concerning the protection of rights conferred by the registered topography of a semiconductor product, pending on the date of the entr y into force of this Act, shall be completed 
pursuant to the provisions of the Act which was in fo rce before the entry into force of this Act.  
 
Article 8 
 
The Regulations referred to in Article 25 of the Protection of Topographies of Semiconductor 
Products Act (Official Gazette No. 173/03) shall be ha rmonised with the provisions of this Act by the 
Minister responsible for the work of the Office, at the proposal of the Director General of the Office, 
not later than within three months following the entering into effect of this Act.  
 
Article 9 
 This Act shall enter into force on the eight day foll owing the day of its publication in the Official 
Gazette, except for:   -  the provisions of Article 1 of this Act whic h shall enter into force on the day of accession of 
the Republic of Croatia in the European Union and  
 
-  the provisions of Article 2 of this Ac t which enter into force on 1 June 2008.  IP/N/1/HRV/L/2 
Page 14  
 
   
THE ACT ON AMENDMENTS TO THE ACT ON THE PROTECTION OF 
TOPOGRAPHIES OF SEMICONDUCTOR PRODUCTS  
 
Article 1 
 
In the Act on Amendments to the Act on the Prot ection of Topographies of Semiconductor Products 
(OG 173/03 and 76/07) in Article 14, paragraph (1), item b), the words: "import, sale or other forms 
of putting into circulation", are replaced by the words: "commercial exploitation or import for these purposes".  
 
Article 2 
 
Article 17 is amended to read:  "The exclusive rights to authorise or prohibit the acts referred to in article 14, paragraph (1), item b) 
of this Act, shall be exhausted for the territory  of the Republic of Croatia, after the protected 
topography or semiconductor product, manufactured by  using the protected topography, is placed on 
the market in the territory of the Republic of  Croatia, or, upon the accession of the Republic of 
Croatia to the European Union, respectively, in th e territory of any of the States of the European 
Union, or any of the States that are parties to the Agreement Creating the European Economic Area, 
respectively, by a person entitled to authorise commer cial exploitation of a topography, or any other 
person with his/her consent".  
 
TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS 
 
Article 3 
 
This Act shall enter into force on the eighth day fo llowing the publication in the "Official Gazette".  
  
__________