WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION  
ORGANISATION MONDIALE DU COMMERCE  
ORGANIZACIÓN MUNDIAL DEL COMERCIO  IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
30 November 2010 
 (10-6460) 
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 Patent Act and the Act on Amending the 
Patent Act, as notified by Croatia 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 les brevets et de la Loi portant 
modification de la Loi sur les brevets, notifi ées 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 texto
1 de la Ley de Patentes y de la Ley por la que 
se modifica la Ley de Patentes, que Croacia ha no tificado el 26 de julio de 2010 en virtud de lo 
dispuesto en el párrafo 2 del artículo 63 de l Acuerdo (véase el documento IP/N/1/HRV/2). 
                                                      
1 In English only./En anglais seulement./En inglés solamente.   
   
  IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
 Page 3 
 
 
   
    
 
   
Patent Act 
   
 
And 
   
 
THE ACT ON AMENDING THE PATENT ACT */**/*** 
 
   
 
    
 
    
 
     
 
 
NN 173/2003, in force from January 1, 2004 
*NN 87/2005, in force from July 18, 2005 
**NN 76/2007, in force July 31, 2007 
***NN 30/2009, in force March 17, 2009 
 
Zagreb December, 2009 
 IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
Page 4  
 
  Patent Act and 
THE ACT ON AMENDMENTS TO THE PATENT ACT 
  
  
I. GENERAL PROVISIONS 
 
Article 1 
 (1)  This Act regulates the system of protection of an invention by a patent or a consensual patent. 
 (2)  The provisions of this Act shall apply mutatis mutandis  to a consensual patent, unless 
expressly provided otherwise. 
 
Article 2 
 
A patent is the exclusive right protecting a patent owner in respect of the ec onomic exploitation of an 
invention.  
Article 3 
 
Foreign natural and legal persons not having a principal place of business, a domicile or a habitual 
residence in the territory of the Republic of Croatia shall enjoy the protection provided by this Act, if 
that results from international treaties binding the Republic of Croatia, or from the application of the 
principle of reciprocity. 
 
Article 4 
 
A natural or a legal person not having a principal pl ace of business, a domicile or a habitual residence 
in the territory of the Republic of Croatia must be represented before the State Intellectual Property 
Office (hereinafter: the Office) by a representative en tered in the Register of Representatives kept by 
the Office. 
  
II. SUBJECT MATTER OF PATENT PROTECTION 
 
PATENTABLE INVENTION 
Article 5 
 
(1)  A patent shall be granted for any invention, in any field of technology, which is new, which 
involves an inventive step and which is  eligible for industrial application. 
 
(2)  According to the conditions set out in paragr aph (1) of this Article, a patent shall also be 
granted for an invention which concerns: 
 
1.  a product consisting of or containing biological material;  
2.  a process by means of which the biologi cal material is produced, processed or used; 
 3.  a biological material isolated from its na tural environment or produced by means of a 
technical process, even if it previously occurred in nature. 
  IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
 Page 5 
 
 
  (3)  The biological material referred to in paragr aph (2) of this Article shall be any material 
containing genetic information and capable of  reproducing itself or being reproduced in a 
biological system. 
 (4)  According to the conditions set out in para graph (1) of this Article, an invention which 
concerns plants or animals shall be considered  patentable if the technical feasibility of the 
invention is not confined to a particular plant or animal variety and if the process for carrying 
out the invention is no t essentially biological. 
 (5)  A process for the production of plants and anim als referred to in paragraph (4) of this Article 
is essentially biological if it entirely consists  of natural processes such as crossing or 
selection. 
 (6)  The following in particular shall not be consid ered to be the inventions within the meaning of 
paragraph (1) of this Article: 
 
1.  discoveries, scientific theories and mathematical methods,  2.  aesthetic creations,  3.  rules, instructions or methods for pe rforming mental activities, playing games or 
doing business, 
 4.  presentation of information, and  5.  computer programs. 
 
EXCLUSION FROM PATENTABILITY 
Article 6 
 
Excluded from patent protection shall be:  
 1.  inventions which concern animal bree ds, plant varieties and essentially biological 
processes for the production of plants or an imals, with the exception of inventions 
which concern non-biological and microbiological processes and products resulting from such processes, as provided for in Ar ticle 5, paragraph (4) of this Act; a 
microbiological process shall imply, under this Act, any process involving or 
performed upon or resulting in microbiological material. 
  2.  the human body, at the various stages of its formation and development, and the 
simple discovery of one of its elements, in cluding the sequence or partial sequence of 
a gene. An invention relating to an element isolated from the human body or otherwise produced by means of a technical process, including the sequence or partial 
sequence of a gene, may constitute  a patentable invention, even if the structure of that 
element is identical to that of a natura l element. The industrial application of a 
sequence or a partial sequence of a gene must be disclosed in the patent application as 
originally filed. 
 
 3.  inventions which concern diagnostic or  surgical methods or methods of treatment 
practiced directly on the human or animal body, with the exception of the products, in 
particular substances or compositions used in such methods. 
 IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
Page 6  
 
  Article 7 
 
(1)  Inventions shall be considered unpatentab le where their commercial exploitation would be 
contrary to public order or morality. 
 
(2)  The following, in particular, shall be consider ed as inventions referred to in paragraph (1) of 
this Article: 
 
1.  processes for cloning human beings;  
2.  processes for modifying the germ line genetic identity of human beings; 
 3.  uses of human embryos for industrial or commercial purposes; and  4.  processes for modifying the genetic identit y of animals which are likely to cause them 
suffering without any substantial medical bene fit to man or animal, and also animals 
resulting from such processes. 
 
NOVELTY OF AN INVENTION 
Article 8 
 (1)  An invention shall be new if it does not form part of the state of the art. 
 (2)  The state of the art shall comprise everything  made available to the public at the global level 
by means of written or oral description, by use or  in any other way prior to the filing date of 
the patent application. 
 
(3)  The state of the art shall also include the cont ent of all patent applications as filed with the 
effect for the Republic of Croatia, the filing da tes of which are earlier than the date of 
application referred to in paragraph (2) of this  Article, and which were made available to the 
public only on, or after the date of filing the patent application, through the publication 
effected in the manner as provided in this Act. 
 
(4)  The provisions laid down in paragraphs (1) to (3) of this Article shall not exclude the 
possibility for patent protection of substances or  compositions forming part of the state of the 
art, and used in processes referred to in Article 6,  paragraph (3) of this Act, provided that their 
use in the mentioned processes does not form part of the state of the art. 
 
NON-PREJUDICIAL DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION 
Article 9 
 
An invention shall also be considered to be new if not more than six months prior to the filing date of 
the patent application it formed part of the st ate of the art due to or in consequence of: 
 
 1.  an evident abuse in relation to the pa tent applicant or his legal predecessor, or 
  2.  the display at an official or offici ally recognized intern ational exhibition in 
compliance with the Convention on International Exhibitions signed at Paris on 
22 November 1928 and last revised on 30 November 1972, provided that the 
applicant indicates in the patent application, at  the time of its filing, that the invention 
has been so displayed, and submits a corresponding certificate to that effect not later than 4 months from the filing date of the application. 
  IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
 Page 7 
 
 
  INVENTIVE STEP 
Article 10 
 
(1)  An invention shall involve an inventive step if, having regard to the state of the art it is not 
obvious to a person skilled in the art. 
 
(2)  In deciding whether an invention involves an inventive step, the content of the applications 
referred to in Article 8, paragraph (3) of this  Act shall not be taken into consideration. 
 
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY 
Article 11 
 
An invention shall be industrially applicable if its  subject matter can be manufactured or used in any 
kind of industry, including agriculture.  
 
III. RIGHT TO THE ACQUISITION OF A PATENT 
 
PERSONS ENTITLED TO ACQUIRE A PATENT FOR AN INVENTION 
Article 12 
 (1)  The right to a patent shall belong to the inventor or his successor in title. 
 (2)  If the invention has been created jointly by two or more inventors, the right to a patent shall 
belong jointly to the inventors or their successors in title. 
 
INVENTOR 
Article 13 
 
(1)  An inventor shall be the person who has cr eated an invention in the course of his creative 
work. 
 
(2)  Any person who has contributed to the creati on of an invention by providing only technical 
assistance shall not be considered to be the inventor. 
 (3)  The inventor shall have the moral right to be indicated as such in the patent application, in all 
the documents issued in relation to the patent gr ant, and in the Office Register of Applications 
and Register of Patents. 
 (4)  The inventor's moral right shall not be transferable.  
INVENTOR'S SUCCESSOR IN TITLE 
Article 14 
 
(1)  The inventor's successor in title shall be a le gal or a natural person en titled to acquire a patent 
by virtue of law, legal transaction or inheritance. 
 (2)  An employer shall be considered to be the inventor's successor in title where, by virtue of the 
applicable law or work contract, he has the right  to acquire a patent for the invention created 
under the inventor's employment. 
  IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
Page 8  
 
  IV. PATENT GRANTING PROCEDURE 
 
1. Common Procedural Provisions 
Article 15 
 (1)  The State Intellectual Property Office (h ereinafter: the Office) shall carry out the 
administrative patent and consensual patent granting procedure and other administrative and 
professional matters concerning the prot ection of an invention by patent. 
 (2)  Administrative decisions made by the Office shall not be subject to any appeal, however, an 
administrative lawsuit may be instituted agai nst such decisions, in accordance with the 
Administrative Disputes Act. 
 (3)  The General Administrative Proceedings Act shall apply to certain procedural matters not 
regulated by this Act. 
 
FEES AND PROCEDURAL CHARGES 
Article 16 
 
(1)  The acquisition and maintenance of a patent sh all be subject to payment of the administrative 
fees and procedural charges in compliance with special regulations. 
 
(2)  If the administrative fees and procedural char ges are not paid in the course of the patent 
granting procedure, the patent application shall be deemed to be withdrawn, while in the case 
of non-payment of the administrative fees and pr ocedural charges for the maintenance of a 
patent, such right shall lapse. 
 
2. Patent Application 
 
INSTITUTION OF THE PATENT GRANTING PROCEDURE 
Article 17 
 (1)  The patent granting procedure shall be institu ted by filing a patent application to the Office. 
 (2)  The manner of filing a patent application sha ll be defined by the Regulations (hereinafter: the 
Regulations) enacted, on the proposal of the Director General of the Office, by the Minister competent for the work of the Office. 
 
UNITY OF THE INVENTION 
Article 18 
 
(1)  A separate patent application shall be filed for each invention.  
(2)  One patent application may be used to apply for patent grants for several inventions, only if 
such inventions are so linked as to  form a single inventive concept. 
 
LANGUAGE AND SCRIPT OF A PATENT APPLICATION 
Article 19 
 
(1)  A patent application shall be drafted in  the Croatian language and in the Latin script. 
 (2)  If the application has been drafted in a forei gn language, a translation of the application into 
the Croatian language shall be filed with the Office.  IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
 Page 9 
 
 
   
CONTENT OF THE PATENT APPLICATION 
Article 20 
 
(1)  The patent application shall contain: 
 
1. a request for the grant of a patent,  2.  a description of the invention,  
3.  one or more claims for the protection of the invention (hereinafter: claims), 
 4.  any drawings referred to in the description or the claims, and  5.  an abstract of the invention. 
 
(2)  A request for the grant of a patent shall contain: an express indication that the grant of a 
patent is applied for, the title of the inven tion expressing the essence of the invention and 
information concerning the applicant. 
 (3)  In the event the inventor does not wish to be mentioned in the application, a written 
declaration shall be filed with the Office not la ter than 4 months from the filing date of the 
application. 
 (4)  The patent application must disclose the i nvention in a manner sufficiently clear and precise 
for it to be carried out by a person skilled in the art. 
 
(5)  If the invention concerns viable biological material which cannot be disclosed in a manner 
enabling it to be carried out by a person skilled in the art, the application must be accompanied by proof to the effect that a sample  of such material has been deposited with the 
competent institution not later than on the filing date of the patent application. 
 
(6)  The competent institution referred to in paragr aph (5) of this Article shall be considered an 
institution which complies with the requirement s prescribed by the Budapest Treaty on the 
International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent 
Procedure of 28 April 1977 and last revised on 26 September 1980. 
 
(7)  The claims shall define the subject matter th e protection of which has been applied for. The 
claims shall be clear and concise and fully sup ported by the description. Patent claims may be 
independent and depe ndent. Independent claims sh all contain new and essential 
characteristics of an invention. Dependent claims  shall contain specific characteristics of the 
invention as defined in an indepe ndent or other dependent claim. 
 
(8)  The abstract shall be a short summary of th e essence of an invention serving exclusively for 
the purpose of technical information. 
 (9)  The content and manner of drafting particular  elements of the patent  application and other 
details concerning the deposit of viable biological  materials referred to in paragraph (5) of 
this Article shall be de fined by the Regulations. 
 IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
Page 10  
 
  PATENT APPLICATION CONTENTS NECESSARY FOR  
ACCORDANCE OF THE FILING DATE 
Article 21 
 
The accordance of the filing date of the patent ap plication shall require that on such a date the 
application contains: 
 
1.  an express indication that the grant of a patent is applied for, 
 2.  the name, or company name respectively, and the domicile or the principle place of 
business of the applicant, 
 
3.  a description of the invention and one or more patent claims, even though such 
description and claims do not comply with th e requirements prescribed by this Act 
and the Regulations.  
3. Priority Right 
 
Article 22 
 
(1)  If the same invention has been created by tw o or more inventors independently of each other, 
the priority in respect of right to the patent grant shall belong to the applicant whose patent application has the earliest filing date, provided that this first application has been published 
in accordance with Article 35 of this Act. 
 (2)  The priority shall be in effect as from the da te of filing the application with the Office, except 
where the requirements for the grant of priority  right referred to in Articles 23 and 24 of this 
Act have been complied with. 
 
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE GRANT OF PRIORITY RIGHT 
Article 23 
 
(1)  In accordance with the provisions of Article  4 of the Paris Convention for the Protection of 
Industrial Property (hereinafter: the Paris Conve ntion), any legal or natural person or his 
successor in title who has filed a correct applica tion for any kind of protection for inventions 
in any Member State of the Paris Union for th e Protection of Industrial Property (hereinafter: 
the Paris Union) or in any Member State of the World Trade Organization (hereinafter: the WTO), shall enjoy the right of priority in the Republic of Croatia from the date of filing the 
first application in the Member State of th e Paris Union or the WTO, provided that the 
application for the same invention is filed with  the Office within twelve months, and that the 
right of priority is claimed. 
 
(2)  The correct application referred to in paragraph (1) of this Article shall be considered to be an 
application the filing date of which is accorded  in compliance with the national legislation of 
the Member State of the Paris Union or WTO in which it was filed, or in compliance with an 
international treaty concluded among the member states, regardless of the outcome thereof. 
 
(3)  A subsequent patent application filed in or for the same State shall be considered as the first 
application for the purposes of determining priori ty in such part which concerns the subject-
matter of the invention of the first applica tion, provided that on the date of filing the 
subsequent application, the previous application has been withdrawn, refused or rejected prior 
to being made available to the public and without leaving any rights outstanding, and has 
served as a basis for claiming priority. The prev ious application may not thereafter serve as a 
basis for claiming priority.  IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
 Page 11 
 
 
  PRIORITY CLAIM 
Article 24 
 
The patent applicant intending to take advantage of the priority right referred to in Article 23 of this 
Act in the Republic of Croatia, shall file with the Office: 
 
 1.  a priority claim containing essential data concerning the first application claiming 
priority (application number and filing date , a Member State of the Paris Union or 
WTO in or for which the application was filed) not later than up to the expiration of 2 months from the date of filing the app lication in the Republic of Croatia, and 
 
 2.  a copy of the first application certifie d by the competent authority of the Member 
State of the Paris Union or WTO in or for which it was filed, not later than up to the expiration of the period of 3 months from the filing date of the priority claim or of 4 months from the date of filing the appli cation in the Republic of Croatia, or 16 
months from the earliest priority date cl aimed, whichever period expires first. 
 
MULTIPLE PRIORITY CLAIM 
Article 25 
 
The patent applicant may, subject to the requireme nts referred to in Article 24 of this Act, claim 
multiple priorities on the basis of several earlier app lications filed in one or more of the Member 
States of the Paris Union or WTO.  
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE INVENTION WHICH IS THE SUBJECT  
OF THE PRIORITY CLAIM 
Article 26 
 
(1)  The priority claim may relate only to su ch characteristics of the invention, which are 
contained in the first application or appl ications for which priority is claimed. 
 (2)  If certain characteristics of the invention for which priority is claimed do not appear among 
the claims formulated in the first application or  applications, a priority right shall be granted 
where the application elements as a whole sp ecifically disclose all such characteristics. 
 
DATE OF THE GRANTED PRIORITY RIGHT 
Article 27 
 
The date of granted priority shall be considered as the date of filing the patent application with the 
Office, for the purposes of the provisions referred to in Article 8, paragraphs (2) and (3) and 
Article 22 paragraph (1) of this Act.  
CALCULATION OF TIME LIMITS IN CASES OF MULTIPLE PRIORITIES 
Article 28 
 
If multiple priorities are claimed, th e time limits, which under this Act,  run from the date of granted 
priority, shall be calculated as from the ear liest date of the multiple priority right. 
 IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
Page 12  
 
  4. Course of the Procedure from Receipt of th e Patent Application to the Publication Thereof 
 
EXAMINATION OF A PATENT APPLICATION UPON ITS RECEIPT 
Article 29 
 (1)  Upon receipt of a patent application, the Office shall examine whether: 
  1.  the application complies with the require ments for the accordance of the filing date 
referred to in Article 21 of this Act, 
 
 2.  the administrative fee and procedural char ges for filing the application have been paid 
in compliance with Article 16 of this Act, 
 3.  the translation of the application in th e Croatian language is filed, if the application 
has been drafted in a foreign language, 
 
 4.  the drawings referred to in Article 20, paragraph (1), item 4, of this Act have been 
filed, and 
  5.  the applicant who is a natural or a le gal person having domicile or principal place of 
business outside Croatia is represented by a patent representative entered in the 
Register of Representatives kept by the Office. 
 
(2)  If the application does not comply with the requirements for the acceptance of the filing date 
referred to in Article 21 of this Act, the O ffice shall invite the applicant to correct the 
deficiencies expressly indicated in the invitati on, within a time limit of 2 months from the 
receipt of the invitation. 
 
(3)  If the applicant does not comply with the Offi ce invitation within the time limit referred to in 
paragraph (2) of this Article, the patent a pplication shall be rejected by a decision. 
 (4)  If the applicant corrects the de ficiencies within the time limit referred to in paragraph (2) of 
this Article, the Office shall issue a decision whereby the date of receipt of the required 
corrections shall be accorded as the filin g date of the patent application. 
 (5)  Where a patent application refers to drawings  not included in the application, the Office shall 
invite the applicant to file such within a time limit of 2 months from the receipt of the 
invitation, and if the applicant complies with th e Office invitation, it shall be considered that 
the filing date is the date of receipt of the drawings by the Office. If the drawings are not 
filed, it shall be considered that the applicant did not refer to them. 
 (6)  The Office shall invite the applicant who h as not paid the administrative fee and procedural 
charges, or has not submitted the translation of the patent application into the Croatian 
language, to correct the respective deficiencies within the time limit of 2 months from the 
receipt of the invitation. 
 (7)  At the reasoned request of the applicant, the Office may extend the time limits set out in this 
Article, for a time period considered to be  justified, but not exceeding 3 months. 
 
(8)  If the applicant does not comply with the invita tion referred to in paragr aph (6) of this Article, 
the patent application having the accorded filing da te shall be considered to be withdrawn and 
the Office shall issue a decision on the susp ension of the patent granting procedure. 
  IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
 Page 13 
 
 
  ENTRY OF THE PATENT APPLICATION INTO THE  
REGISTER OF PATENT APPLICATIONS 
Article 30 
 
(1)  A patent application for which the filing date  has been accorded by a decision shall be entered 
into the Register of Patent Applications kept by the Office. 
 (2)  The content of the Register of Patent App lications and the manner of keeping it shall be 
defined by the Regulations. 
 
PRIORITY CERTIFICATE 
Article 31 
 
(1)  At the request of the appli cant, the Office shall issue a certif icate of the right of priority 
acquired on the basis of the filing date of the pa tent application, accorded in compliance with 
the provisions of Article 29 of this Act. 
 (2)  The requirements for and the method of issuing the certificate referred to in paragraph (1) of 
this Article, as well as the content thereo f shall be defined by the Regulations. 
 
DIVISION OF THE PATENT APPLICATION 
Article 32 
 
(1)  The applicant may on his own initiative, or upon request by the Office, divide the subject-
matter of the patent application having the accorded  filing date (the original application) into 
two or more applications (a divisional applica tion) and on the basis of each of them shall 
carry out a separate procedure, a decision to that effect being issued by the Office. 
 (2)  The subject-matter of a divisional patent a pplication shall not go beyond the content of the 
original application. 
 (3)  The division of the original patent app lication shall be permitted up to the decision made 
concerning the request for the granting of a patent. 
 (4)  A divisional application shall maintain the fili ng date of the original a pplication and, if having 
grounds therefore within the meaning of the provisions of Article 23 of this Act, shall enjoy the priority thereof. 
 
AMENDMENTS OF THE PATENT APPLICATION 
Article 33 
 
A patent application for which the filing date has been accepted shall not be subsequently amended by 
expanding the subject-matter for whic h protection has been applied for. 
 
PRE-REQUISITES FOR THE PUBLICAT ION OF A PATENT APPLICATION 
Article 34 
 
(1)  The examination of pre-requisites for the pub lication of a patent application shall establish 
whether the application complies with the following requirements: 
  1.  whether it contains all the elements referre d to in Article 20 of this Act drafted in the 
prescribed manner, and the necessary attachments prescribed by this Act, 
 IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
Page 14  
 
   2.  whether the inventor is mentioned, 
  3.  whether the proper priority claim has b een filed within the meaning of Article 24 of 
this Act, if a priority right is claimed, 
 
 4.  whether the application, at first sight, complies with the rule on the unity of invention 
referred to in Article 18 of this Act, 
  5.  whether the subject-matter of the appli cation is an invention which may be, at first 
sight, protected by a patent within the meaning of Article 5, paragraph (6), and 
Articles 6 and 7 of this Act. 
 (2)  If such examination establishes that the requi rements referred to in paragraph (1) of this 
Article are not complied with, the Office shall inv ite the applicant to correct the deficiencies 
expressly indicated in the invitation within a reasonable time limit. This time limit shall not 
be less than 2 months and not more than 3 mont hs from the date of receipt of the invitation. 
 (3)  Upon the reasoned request of the applicant, th e Office may extend the time limit referred to in 
paragraph (2) of this Article for a peri od which it considers to be justified. 
 (4)  If the applicant does not corr ect the deficiencies referred to in paragraph (1) of this Article 
within the prescribed time limit, the Office shall issue a decision on the rejection of the patent 
application. 
 (5)  The Office shall issue a decision on the refusal of a patent application if the application has 
been filed for an invention, which at first sight may not be protected by a patent within the 
meaning of Article 5, paragraph (6),  and Articles 6 and 7 of this Act. 
 (6)  If the applicant does not comply with the invita tion referred to in paragr aph (2) of this Article 
to correct the priority claim, the O ffice shall not grant the priority right. 
 
5. Publication of a Patent Application 
 
MANNER AND CONTENT OF THE PUBLICATION OF A PATENT APPLICATION 
Article 35 
 
(1)  A patent application complying, according to the examination, with all the requirements 
referred to in Article 34 of this Act, the decision to that effect being issued by the Office, shall 
be published in the official gazette of the O ffice after the expiration of 18 months from its 
filing date, or from the date of granted priority  respectively, whereby it becomes available to 
the public. 
 (2)  The patent application referred to in paragr aph (1) of this Article may be, upon request by the 
applicant, published prior to the expiration of the said time limit, but not before the expiration 
of 3 months from the date of its filing to the Office. 
 (3)  A patent application published or otherw ise made available to the public, despite being 
withdrawn or deemed to have been withdrawn, shall be treated as not forming part of the state 
of the art. 
 (4)  The content of the publication of a patent application shall be defined by the Regulations. 
   IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
 Page 15 
 
 
  6. Course of the Procedure from the P ublication of the Patent Application  
to the Grant of a Patent 
 
REQUEST FOR THE GRANT OF A PATENT 
Article 36 
 
(1)  Within 6 months from the date of publication of  a patent application in the official gazette of 
the Office, the applicant may file: 
  1.  a request for the grant of a patent on the basis of a substantive examination of the 
patent application, or 
  2.  a request for the grant of a patent on  the basis of the submitted results of the 
substantive examination of a patent application, or 
 
 3.  a request for the grant of a patent not including a substantive examination of the 
patent application (a consensual patent). 
 (2) If, within the prescribed time limit, one of the requests referred to in paragraph (1) of this 
Article has not been filed, or the administrativ e fee and the procedural charges have not been 
paid in compliance with Article 16 of this Act, th e patent application sha ll be considered to be 
withdrawn, and the Office shall issue a decisi on on the suspension of the procedure for the 
grant of the patent. 
 (3)  The content of the request referred to in pa ragraph (1) shall be defined by the Regulations. 
 
Grant of a Patent on the Basis of the Substantive Examination  
of a Patent Application 
Article 37 
 
(1)  The substantive examination of a patent application shall establish whether the invention 
complies with all the requirements for the grant of the patent, i.e. whether the subject-matter 
of the application: 
  1. is an invention which is not exclude d from patent protection in compliance with 
Article 5, paragraph (6) and Articles 6 and 7 of this Act; 
 
 2.  is an invention which is disclosed in the application in compliance with Article 20, 
paragraph (4) of this Act; 
  3.  is an invention which is in compliance w ith the rule of unity of invention referred to 
in Article 18 of this Act; 
 
 4.  is an invention which is new in complia nce with Articles 8 and 9 of this Act, which 
includes an inventive step in  compliance with Article 10 of this Act, and which is 
industrially applicable in compliance with Article 11 of this Act. 
 (2)  The Office may carry out the substantive exam ination of a patent application referred to in 
paragraph (1) of this Article, completely or in  part, through one of the national patent offices 
of other countries with which it has concluded a cooperation agreement. 
 IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
Page 16  
 
  (3)  The applicant who has also filed a patent a pplication for the protection of the same invention 
with a national patent office of another country  may file with the Office the results of 
substantive examination carried out by that office, translated into the Croatian language. 
 
GRANT OF A PATENT ON THE BASIS OF THE SUBMITTED RESULTS OF THE 
SUBSTANTIVE EXAMINATION 
Article 38 
 
(1)  A request for the grant of a patent by accep ting results of the substantive examination in 
compliance with Article 36, paragraph (1), ite m 2 of this Act, may be filed only in cases 
where the patent application for the same inven tion has been previously filed with one or 
more patent offices. 
 (2)  The offices referred to in paragraph (1) of th is Article are national and international offices 
which, by virtue of Article 32 of the Patent  Cooperation Treaty, have the status of an 
International Preliminary Examining Authority fo r international patent applications, and other 
offices with which, at the time of filing the requ est referred to in Article 36, paragraph (1), 
item 2 of this Act, the Office has already signed a cooperation agreement. 
 
Article 39 
 (1)  The applicant referred to in Article 36, para graph (1), item 2 of this Act shall enclose to the 
request a signed statement to the effect that he  will furnish evidence of the results of the 
substantive examination carried out by one of the offices referred in Article 38 of this Act, 
within 6 months from the day of the availability  thereof, and not more than within 5 years 
from the date of filing the application to the elected office. 
 
(2)  Upon the reasoned request of the applicant a nd the evidence furnished,  the Office may extend 
the time limit referred to in paragraph (1) of this  Article, for not more than 3 months after the 
termination of the procedure fo r the substantive examination. 
 (3)  If the applicant does not, with in the prescribed time limit, furn ish a translation of the results 
of the substantive examination required by the Office to make a decision concerning a request 
for the grant of the patent, the patent applicati on shall be considered to  be withdrawn, and the 
Office shall issue a decision on th e suspension of the procedure. 
 (4)  Evidence to be attached to the requests referred to in this Article shall be defined by the 
Regulations. 
 
Article 40 
 
(1)  The Office shall issue a decision concerning a re quest for the grant of a patent on the basis of 
acceptance of the results of the substantive ex amination of the requirements referred to in 
Article 37, paragraph (1), and on th e basis of additional examinations. 
 (2)  The additional examination of a patent a pplication shall establish whether the invention 
complies with the requirements for the grant of a patent, i.e. whether the subject matter of the 
application is: 
 
 1.  an invention in respect of which su fficient evidence has been furnished for the 
evaluation of compliance with the requirements  set out in Article 37, paragraph (1) of 
this Act; 
  IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
 Page 17 
 
 
   2.  an invention which is new with regard to  all of the patent app lications filed earlier 
with the Office in compliance with Artic le 8, paragraph (3) of this Act. 
 
CONSENSUAL PATENT 
Article 41 
 
A consensual patent shall be granted for an inven tion the subject-matter of which is patentable in 
compliance with Article 5 of this Act and is not excluded from patentability in compliance with 
Articles 6 and 7 of this Act, and which is industriall y applicable in compliance with Article 11 of this 
Act. 
 
Article 42 
 
(1) A request for the grant of a consensual patent re ferred to in Article 36, paragraph (1), item 3 of 
this Act shall be published in the official gazette of  the Office within three months from its filing date. 
 
(2) The manner and content of the publication referred to  in paragraph (1) of this Article shall be laid 
down by the Regulations.  
OPPOSITION TO THE GRANT OF A CONSENSUAL PATENT 
Article 43 
 
(1)  Following the publication of the request referred  to in Article 42 of this Act, any legal or 
natural person may, within 6 months, file to the Office an opposition to the grant of a 
consensual patent, or a request for the substan tive examination in compliance with Article 36, 
paragraph (1), item 1 of this Act. 
 
(2)  The opposition, or the request for the substan tive examination referred to in paragraph (1) of 
this Article shall be accompanied by evidence on payment of the procedural charges for the 
opposition which shall amount to one third of the procedural charges for the substantive examination, or procedural charges for the substantive examination, in compliance with 
Article 16 of this Act. 
 
(3)  The content of the opposition referred to in paragraph (1) of this Ar ticle shall be defined by 
the Regulations. 
 
PROCEDURE CONCERNING THE O PPOSITION TO THE GRANT  
OF A CONSENSUAL PATENT 
Article 44 
 
If the opposition to the grant of a consensual patent  or a request for the substantive examination is 
filed, and the administrative fees and procedural ch arges are paid, the Office shall immediately notify 
the consensual patent applicant thereof. 
 
Article 45 
 
(1)  The applicant for a consensual patent ma y, within six months from the receipt of the 
notification concerning opposition filed in complia nce with Article 43, paragraph (1) of this 
Act, file a request for the grant of a patent  on the basis of the substantive examination 
procedure in compliance with Article 36, paragrap h (1), item 1 of this Act; the applicant shall 
be required to pay the difference between th e administrative fee for the opposition already 
paid and the administrative fee fo r the substantive examination. 
 IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
Page 18  
 
  (2)  If the applicant for a consensual patent does not  comply with paragraph (1) of this Article, the 
Office shall reject the patent application by a decision. 
 
Article 46 
 Any natural or legal person may file a request fo r the substantive examination in compliance with 
Article 36, paragraph (1), item 1 of this Act for th e entire duration of a consensual patent, which shall 
be carried out in compliance with Article 37, paragraph (1) of this Act, provided that the 
administrative fee and procedural charges have been paid in compliance with Article 16 of this Act. 
 
DECISION ON THE REFUSAL OF A PATENT 
Article 47 
 
(1)  If it has been established that the patent application:  
 1.  does not comply with all the requirements for the grant of a patent referred to in 
Article 37, paragraph (1) of this Act, or 
  2.  does not comply with the requirements for the grant of a patent set out in Article 40 
of this Act, or 
 
3.  does not comply with the requirements for the grant of a consensual patent set out in 
Article 41 of this Act, 
 
the Office shall inform the patent applicant in writing of the reasons for which the patent shall 
not be granted, and shall invite him to comment  in writing on the specified reasons within a 
time limit which shall not be less than 2 months nor more than 4 months from the receipt of 
the invitation. 
 (2)  Upon the reasoned request of the applicant, th e Office may extend the time limit referred to in 
paragraph (1) of this Article. 
 
(3)  If the patent applicant does not comply with th e invitation referred to in paragraph (1) of this 
Article, the Office shall issue a decision on the refusal of a patent. 
 
DECISION ON THE GRANT OF A PATENT 
Article 48 
 
(1)  If it has been established that the patent application:   1.  complies with all the requirements for the grant of a patent referred to in Article 37, 
paragraph (1) of this Act, or 
 
 2.  complies with the requirements for the gran t of a patent referred to in Article 40 of 
this Act, or 
  3.  complies with the requirements referred to  in Article 41 for the grant of a consensual 
 patent, and that an opposition to the grant of  a consensual patent in compliance with 
 Article 43 of this Act has not been filed, 
 
the requirements for the grant of a patent have  been complied with, and the Office shall issue 
a decision to that effect. 
  IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
 Page 19 
 
 
  (2)  The Office shall provide the applicant with th e text of the application on the basis of which it 
intends to grant a patent, and shall invite hi m to submit written approval concerning the text 
provided within 30 days from the day of receipt of the invitation. 
 (3)  If the applicant does not comply with the in vitation within the time limit referred to in 
paragraph (2) of this Article, the Office sha ll issue a decision on the grant of a patent, as 
though the approval had been given. 
 (4)  If the patent applicant submits in time a writte n declaration to the effect that he does not agree 
with the proposal referred to in paragraph (2) of this Article, he shall state the reasons for that, 
and shall submit to the Office an amended text of the claims. 
 (5)  If the Office accepts the applicant's reasons and amended claims referred to in paragraph (4) 
of this Article, it shall issue a decision on the gr ant of a patent according to the text of the 
claims proposed by the patent applicant. 
 
(6)  If the reasons stated by the applicant can not  be accepted, the Office shall notify the applicant 
thereof, and shall issue a decision on the grant of a patent according to the final text of the 
claims as submitted for approval. 
 (7)  The Office shall issue a decision referred to in paragraphs (3) and (5) of this Article provided 
that the administrative fees and procedural ch arges for the maintenance of a patent, for 
printing of the publication thereof, and for the issuance of the patent certificate and patent 
specification have been paid in compliance with Article 16 of this Act. 
 
PATENT REGISTER 
Article 49 
 
(1)  The data specified in the d ecision on the grant of a patent shall be entered into the Patent 
Register kept by the Office, on the date of the decision. 
 (2)  The data specified in the d ecision on the refusal of the request  for the grant of a patent shall 
be entered into the Register of Patent Applications. 
 (3)  The content and the manner of keeping the Patent Register shall be specified by the 
Regulations. 
 
PATENT CERTIFICATE 
Article 50 
 
(1)  The patent owner shall be issued a patent certificate as soon as possible from the date of the 
decision on the grant of a patent and the consensu al patent owner shall be issued a consensual 
patent certificate. 
 
(2)  The content and form of the certificates referre d to in paragraph (1) of this Article shall be 
specified by the Regulations. 
 
PUBLICATION OF THE MENTION OF A PATENT GRANT 
Article 51 
 
(1)  The mention of the grant of the patent shall be published in the official gazette of the Office, 
in the first issue following the date of the deci sion on the grant thereof. The decision to grant 
the patent shall take effect on the date of such publication. IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
Page 20  
 
   
(2)  The content of the publication referred to in pa ragraph (1) of this Article shall be defined by 
the Regulations. 
 
PATENT SPECIFICATION 
Article 52 
 
(1)  The patent owner shall be issued the Pa tent Specification as soon as possible following the 
date of the decision on the grant of a patent, wh ich shall be, where the consensual patent is 
concerned, designated as the "Consensual Patent Specification». 
 
(2)  The content and the form of the Patent Sp ecification and the Consensual Patent Specification 
referred to in paragraph (1) of this Artic le shall be specified by the Regulations. 
 
EXCERPT FROM THE REGISTER 
Article 53 
 
(1)  Upon request by any natural or legal pers on, the Office shall issue an excerpt from the 
Register of Patent Applications and the Register of Patents. 
 (2)  The manner of issuing and the content of th e excerpt shall be specified by the Regulations. 
 
ENTRY OF CHANGES INTO THE REGISTERS 
Article 54 
 
(1)  Upon request by a party for the entry of cha nges into the register, the Office shall issue a 
decision on the entry into the Register of Patent Applications, or into the Patent Register of 
the changes which have occurred after the filing of the application, or following the entry of 
the decision on the grant of a patent, such as: license, transfer of rights, change of the name and/or the principle place of business of an applicant or a patent owner, etc. 
 (2)  The entered changes referred to in paragra ph (1) of this Article shall be published in the 
official gazette of the Office. 
 (3)  The procedure related to th e entry of changes into the Offi ce registers, and the publication 
thereof in the official gazette, sha ll be specified by the Regulations. 
 
7. Information Services 
 
Article 55 
 
(1)  The Office shall, upon request, make availabl e copies of patent applications published in its 
official gazette as well as copies of granted patents to any legal or natural person. 
 
(2)  Prior to publication of a patent application in the official gazette, the Office may make the 
following data available to any interested legal or natural person: the number of the 
application, its filing date or where the priori ty has been claimed, the number and date of 
such, the country in which or the organization with which the first application was filed, 
information on the applicant and the title of the invention. 
 (3)  The Office shall, upon request of an inter ested legal or natural person, provide other 
information services, such as a search of patent documents in a certain technical or technological field.  IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
 Page 21 
 
 
   
(4)  The scope and manner of providing these services as well as the fees for them shall be 
specified by the Regulations. 
 
CORRECTION OF DEFICIENCIES IN THE DOCUMENTS 
Article 56 
 
Linguistic and typing errors as well as other similar deficiencies in the documents shall be corrected 
by a decision on the basis of the written request of the patent applicant or pa tent owner respectively, 
or ex officio. 
 
8. Reinstatement of Rights 
 
Article 57 
 (1)  If the applicant or the owner of a patent h as, despite due care required by the circumstances, 
failed to perform an act in the course of the pr ocedure before the Office within the time limit 
prescribed by this Act or regulation enacted by virt ue of this Act, the direct result of which is 
a loss of rights conferred by the patent applica tion or the patent, the Office shall authorize the 
reinstatement of rights, pr ovided that the applicant: 
 
 1.  files a proposal for the reinstatement of rights and completes the omitted acts within 
the prescribed time limit; 
  2.  indicates the circumstances that prevented him from performing the omitted act in 
time; 
 
 3.  pays the administrative fee and procedur al charges in compliance with Article 16 of 
this Act. 
 (2)  A proposal for the reinstatement of rights shall be filed within 3 months from the day on 
which the reason of failure ceased to exist, and if the applicant has later learned of failure, 
from the day he learned of such. 
 (3)  Following the expiration of one year from the date of failing to comply with the time limit, 
the proposal referred to in paragraph (1 ) of this Article shall not be filed. 
 
(4)  Prior to doing so, the Office shall notify th e person filing a proposal for reinstatement of 
rights regarding the reasons by which it intends to refuse the proposal, entirely or in part, and 
shall invite him to comment on those reasons w ithin 2 months from the day of receipt of the 
invitation. 
 (5)  A proposal for reinstatement of rights shall not be filed in connection with the failure to 
comply with the following acts: 
  1.  filing of the proposal referred to  in paragraph (1) of this Article, 
  2.  filing of the request for the extension of a time limit, 
 
3.  filing of the request referred to in Article 23 of this Act, 
  4.  filing one of the requests referred to in Article 36 of this Act,  IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
Page 22  
 
   5.  filing of the opposition referred to in  Article 43, paragraph (1) of this Act, 
  6.  payment of the administrative fee and charges for the maintenance of a patent,   7.  furnishing of the translation referred to in Article 29, paragraph (1), item 3 and 
Article 104, paragraphs (2) and (3) of this Act, 
  8.  all the acts in the procedures before the Office, involving several parties.  (6)  Any person who has in good faith exploited an invention or has made real and serious 
preparations for exploiting the invention which is the subject-matter of a published 
application, may, in the period between the loss of right referred to in paragraph (1) of this 
Article, and a publication of the fact concerning acceptance of the proposal for reinstatement of rights, continue such exploitation, without  compensation for damages, for the purposes of 
his own business and needs related to it. 
 
(7)  The contents of the proposal, the requirement s and procedure related to the proposal referred 
to in paragraph (1) of this Article, and the publication of indications concerning the 
reinstatement of rights shall be specified by the Regulations. 
  
V. EFFECTS OF A PATENT 
 
EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS ACQUIRED BY A PATENT 
Article 58 
 (1)  The patent owner shall be entitled to exploit the protected invention. 
 (2)  Any other person not having the patent  owner's consent shall be prohibited from: 
  1.  making, offering for sale, selling, usin g, exporting or importing and stocking for such 
purposes, the product carried out according to the invention, 
 
 2. using the process which is the subject ma tter of the invention, or offering the use 
thereof, 
  3.  offering for sale, selling, using, exporting or importing and stocking for such 
purposes, the product which is obtained direc tly from a process which is the subject-
matter of the invention. 
 (3)  Any other person not having the patent owner' s consent shall be also prohibited from offering 
and supplying the product (substance, compositio n, part of the apparatus) constituting an 
essential element of the invention,  to persons not entitled to expl oit the said invention, if the 
offerer or supplier knows or should have known from the circumstances of the case that such 
product is intended for putting the inven tion of another person into function. 
 (4)  The provisions referred to in paragraph (3) of  this Article shall not apply if the offered or 
supplied product is a staple commercial product, except where the supplier or offerer induces 
other persons to commit acts referred to  in paragraph (2) of this Article. 
 (5)  In the absence of proof to the contrary, a pr oduct shall be considered to  have been obtained by 
a protected process if it is new and if a substa ntial likelihood exists that the product was made 
by a protected process, and that the patent owne r has been unable, despite reasonable efforts,  IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
 Page 23 
 
 
  to determine the process actually used. Substa ntial likelihood that the product was obtained 
by the protected process shall exist, in par ticular, where the protected process is the only 
process known. 
 
EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS RELATED TO PATENTS IN THE  
FIELD OF BIOTECHNOLOGY 
Article 59 
 
(1)  If a biological material possessing specific ch aracteristics as the result of the invention is 
protected by a patent, the exclusive rights referre d to in Article 58, paragraphs (2) and (3) of 
this Act shall extend to any biological material  derived from that biological material through 
propagation or multiplication in an identical or divergent form and possessing those same 
characteristics. 
 (2) If a process that enables a biological material to be produced possessing specific 
characteristics as a result of the invention is protected by a patent, the exclusive rights 
referred to in Article 58, paragra phs (2) and (3) of this Act shall extend to biological material 
directly obtained through that process and to any other biological material derived from the 
directly obtained biological material through pr opagation or multiplication in an identical or 
divergent form and possessing those same characteristics. 
 
(3)  If a product containing or consisting of gene tic information is protected by a patent, the 
exclusive rights referred to in Article 58, paragra phs (2) and (3) of this Act shall extend to all 
material, with the exception of the human body,  at the various stages of its formation and 
development and the simple discovery of one of its elements, including the sequence or 
partial sequence of a gene, in which the produc t is incorporated and in which the genetic 
information is contained and performs its function. 
 
RIGHTS CONFERRED BY A PATENT APPLICATION 
Article 60 
 
(1)  By publication of the patent application in co mpliance with Article 35 of this Act, the patent 
applicant shall acquire provisional rights, on th e basis of which reasonable compensation for 
damages may be claimed from any third party which has exploited the invention within the 
period from the date of publication of the patent  application and the date of publication of a 
mention of the grant of the patent contrary to Articles 58 and 59 of this Act, in a manner that could be prohibited after the grant of the patent. 
 
(2)  The patent application shall not have the effect s set out in paragraph (1) of this Article when it 
has been refused, rejected, withdrawn, or deemed to be withdrawn. 
 
SCOPE OF THE EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS 
Article 61 
 
(1)  The scope of the patent owner's exclusive ri ghts shall be determined by the claims which are 
finally accepted in the patent granting procedur e, whereas the description and drawings shall 
serve to interpret the patent claims. The terms of the claims shall not be confined to their strict 
literal wording, nor shall the description and drawings be taken into account only for the 
purpose of clarifying vagueness in the claims. The claims shall neither be taken as guidelines 
indicating that the scope of the exclusive rights may extend to the matter which a person skilled in the art might take as the intended scope of protection. 
 IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
Page 24  
 
  (2)  Within the time period from the date of pub lication of a patent application up to the patent 
grant, the scope of protection shall be determ ined by the claims contained in the patent 
application, published in compliance with this Act, however, the patent as finally granted or 
as amended in nullity proceedings in which it h as been partially revoked, shall retroactively 
determine the rights conferred by the application,  in so far as the scope of protection is not 
thereby extended. 
 
LICENSE CONTRACT AND TRANSFER OF RIGHTS 
Article 62 
 (1)  The right to exploit the protected inve ntion shall be assigned by a license contract. 
 (2)  A patent may be the subject of a transfer, complete or in part.  (3)  The license contract and the contract on the tr ansfer of a patent shall be concluded under the 
conditions and in a manner as prescribed by the Obligatory Relations Act. 
 (4)  The conclusion of the license contract or the contract on the transfer of a joint patent shall 
require the consent of all the owners thereof. 
 (5)  The provisions of this Article shall also appl y in an appropriate manner to the conclusion of a 
license contract, and a contract on the transfer of  the right conferred by a patent application. 
 
VI. LIMITATION OF THE EFFECT OF A PATENT 
 
EXCEPTIONS FROM THE EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS 
Article 63 
 
The patent owner's exclusive right of exploitation of the invention shall not apply to: 
  1.  acts in which the invention is expl oited for private and non-commercial purposes, 
  2.  acts done for the purposes of research a nd development and for experiments relating 
to the subject-matter of the protected invention, including where such acts are 
necessary for obtaining registration or authorization for putting on the market a 
product comprising a medicine intended for people or animals, or a medicinal product, 
 
 3.  direct and individual preparation of a medicine in a pharmacy on the basis of an 
individual medical prescription and acts relating to the medicine so prepared. 
 
RIGHTS OF THE PRIOR USER 
Article 64 
 
(1)  A patent shall have no effect against the person who had, prior to the filing date of the 
application or prior to the date of granted pr iority, exploited or manufactured, in good faith 
and within her/his economic activities, the product which is the s ubject-matter of the 
invention or, had made real and serious prepara tions for such exploitation of the invention in 
the Republic of Croatia. 
 
(2)  The person referred to in paragraph (1) of this  Article shall have the right to proceed, without 
the patent owner's consent, with the exploitation of the invention to the extent to which she/he 
had exploited it or had prepared its exploitation up to the filing date of the application for the 
said invention.  IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
 Page 25 
 
 
   
(3)  The right referred to in paragraph (2) of this  Article may be transferred or inherited only with 
the working process and production plant in which the exploitation of the invention has been 
prepared or has started. 
 
LIMITATION OF EFFECTS IN RESPECT OF PATENTS IN THE  
FIELD OF BIOTECHNOLOGY 
Article 65 
 
(1)  The exclusive rights deriving from the provision set out in Article 59 of this Act shall not 
extend to biological material obtained from the propagation or multiplication of biological 
material placed on the market in the territory of the Republic of Croatia by the owner of the 
patent or with his consent, where the multiplication or propagation necessarily results from the application for which the biological materi al was marketed, provided that the material 
obtained is not subsequently used fo r other propagation or multiplication. 
 
(2)  By way of derogation from Article 59 of this  Act, the sale or other form of commercialization 
of plant propagating material to a farmer by th e owner of the patent or with his consent for 
agricultural use implies authorization for the farmer to use the product of his harvest for 
propagation or multiplication by him on his own farm. 
 
(3)  By way of derogation from Article 59 of this Act, the sale or any other form of 
commercialization of breeding stock or other anim al reproductive material to a farmer by the 
owner of the patent or with his consent implies authorization for the farmer to use the 
protected livestock for agricultural purposes, including making the animal or other animal reproductive material available for the purposes of pursuing his agricultural activity but not 
sale within the framework or for the pur pose of a commercial reproduction activity. 
 
Exhaustion of the Patent Owner's Exclusive Rights 
Article 66 
 
The exclusive rights conferred by a patent extending  to acts concerning a product protected by the 
patent which are carried out within the territory of the Republic of Croatia, shall be considered 
exhausted once the product has been put on the domes tic market by the patent owner or with his 
express consent, unless there are legitimate grounds for the patent owner to prohibit further 
commercialization of the product.  
Vehicles in International Traffic 
Article 67 
 
The use of products made according to a protected invention in the construc tion or equipment of a 
vessel, aircraft or land vehicle belonging to any of the Member States of the Paris Union or WTO shall not be considered a patent infringement wher e such transport means finds itself temporarily or 
accidentally in the territory of the Republic of  Croatia, provided that the built-in product serves 
exclusively for the purposes of the said transport means.   IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
Page 26  
 
  VII. COMPULSORY LICENSE 
 
GRANT OF A COMPULSORY LICENSE 
Article 68 
 (1)  The competent court in the Republic of Croa tia may grant a compulsory license for lack or 
insufficiency of exploitation of a patent to any person filing a request for the grant of a 
compulsory license, or to the Government of th e Republic of Croatia, if the patent owner has 
not exploited the invention protected by a patent  in the territory of the Republic of Croatia on 
reasonable terms or has not made effective a nd serious preparations for its exploitation. 
 
(2)  A request for the grant of a compulsory licen se based on paragraph (1) of  this Article can be 
filed after the expiration of a period of four y ears from the filing date of a patent application, 
or after the expiration of three years from the date the patent was granted. 
 
(3)  A compulsory license cannot be granted if the patent owner provides legitimate reasons to 
justify non-exploitation or insufficiency of exploitation of the protected invention. 
 (4)  Upon a reasoned request, the court may grant a compulsory license in respect of a first patent 
to the owner of a patent or to the owner of a plant variety right who cannot use his patent 
(second patent) or his plant variety right without infringing the first patent, provided that the 
invention claimed in the second patent or a protected plant variety involves an important 
technical advance of considerable economic signi ficance in relation to the invention claimed 
in the first patent or to the protected plant va riety. The competent court may take any measure 
it regards as useful to verify the existence of such a situation. 
 
(5)  In the case of a compulsory license as provided in paragraph (4) of this Article, the owner of 
the first patent shall be entitled to a cross license on reasonable terms to use the invention 
protected by the second patent or protected plant variety. 
 (6)  The court may grant a compulsory license if the exploitation of the patented invention is 
necessary in situations of extreme urgency (na tional security, public interest protection in the 
field of health, food supply, environmental pr otection and improvement, specific commercial 
interest) or when it is necessary to remedy a practice determined by a judicial or administrative process to be anti-competitive. 
 (7)  In the case of semi-conductor technology, a co mpulsory license may be granted only in the 
cases set out in paragraph 6 of this Article. 
 (8)  A compulsory license may be granted only if the person filing the request has made efforts to 
obtain authorization from the patent owner on reasonable commercial terms and conditions 
and if such efforts have not been successful w ithin a reasonable period of time. The court may 
derogate from these conditions in the situations set out in para graph (6) of this Article. The 
right holder shall be informed of the granting of a compulsory license as soon as is reasonably 
possible. 
 
CONDITIONS APPLICABLE TO THE GRANT OF A COMPULSORY LICENSE 
Article 69 
 
(1)  A compulsory license shall be non-exclusive,  and its scope and duration shall be exclusively 
limited to the purpose for which it was authorized. 
  IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
 Page 27 
 
 
  (2)  A compulsory license shall be transferred only with the production plant or the part thereof 
respectively, in which the invention it is granted for has been exploited. 
 (3)  A compulsory license shall be granted predominantly for the purposes of supplying the 
domestic market unless it is necessary to correct a practice determined by judicial or 
administrative process to be anti-competitive. 
 (4)  The competent authority shall, upon reasoned request by an interested person, cancel a 
compulsory license, subject to adequate protecti on of the legitimate interests of the persons so 
authorized, if and when the circumstances which led to its authorization cease to exist and are 
unlikely to recur. 
 (5)  The patent owner has the right to remunera tion, taking into account the economic value of the 
authorization and need to correct anti-competitive practice. 
 
(6)  A compulsory license according to Article 68 paragraph (4) of this Act shall be non- 
transferable except with a transfer of the second patent or the protected plant variety. 
 
 
VIII. DURATION, MAINTENANCE AND CESSATION OF EFFECT OF A PATENT 
 
TERM OF A PATENT 
Article 70 
 
(1)  The term of a patent shall be 20 year s from the filing date of the application. 
 
(2)  The term of a consensual patent shall be 10 years from the filing date of the application. 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY PROTECTION CERTIFICATE 
Article 71 
 
(1)  The term of a patent may be extended by a Certificate on Supplementary Protection 
(hereinafter: certificate) in cases where a basi c patent has been granted for a medicine 
intended for humans or animals or a plant protection product, the placing on the market of which requires prior authorization of the compet ent State authority, for a time period equal to 
the period which elapsed between the filing date of a patent application and the date of the 
first authorization to place the medicine intended for humans or animals or the plant 
protection product on the market, reduced by 5 years, but not exceeding 5 years from the date 
the certificate takes effect, to be decided by the Office. 
 (2)  A certificate shall be granted upon a request of  the owner of the basic patent, if the following 
conditions are met on the date of filing of the application for a certificate: 
 
 1.  the medicine intended for humans or animals or the plant protection product is 
protected by a basic patent in force, 
  2.  authorization to place the medicine intended for humans or animals or the plant 
protection product on the market has been granted in the Republic of Croatia, and is 
in force, 
  3.  the basic patent for the medicine intended for humans or animals or the plant 
protection product has not already b een the subject of a certificate, 
 IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
Page 28  
 
   4.  an application for the basic patent was filed in the Republic of Croatia after 
1 January 1993, and 
  5.  the first authorization to place the medi cine intended for humans or animals or the 
plant protection product on the market was granted after 1 January 2005. 
 
(3)  The certificate shall take effect at the end of the lawful term of the basic patent. 
 (4)  Under this Act, a basic patent shall mean a patent which protects an active ingredient or a 
combination of active ingredients of the medicine  intended for humans or animals or the plant 
protection product, and a process to obtain or apply such products. 
 (5)  The first authorization to place on the market as used in this Article shall mean the first 
authorization to place a medicine intended fo r humans or animals or a plant protection 
product on the market, obtained in the Republic of Croatia or EU. 
 
(6)  The grant of a certificate and annual maintena nce thereof shall be subject to payment of the 
prescribed administrative fee and procedural charges. 
 (7)  The application for a certificate shall be file d to the Office within 6 months from the date on 
which the authorization to place a medicine intended for humans or animals or a plant 
protection product on the market was granted, and if the authorization is granted before the 
basic patent is granted, it shall be filed within  6 months from the date on which the patent is 
granted. 
 (8)  Data concerning the granting of a certifi cate and its duration shall be entered in the 
corresponding Register of the Office. 
 (9)  The requirements, the granting procedure a nd contents of the certificate referred to in 
paragraph (1) of this Article sha ll be defined by the Regulations. 
 (10)  The provisions of this Article sh all not apply to a consensual patent. 
 
SUBJECT-MATTER AND EFFECTS OF PROTECTION 
Article 72 
 
(1)  Within the limits of the protection conferred by the basic patent, the protection conferred by a 
certificate shall extend only to the medicine or medicinal product intended for humans or 
animals or to plant protection product respectivel y, covered by the authorizations to place the 
corresponding products on the market, and for any use of the product as a medicine or medicinal product intended for humans or animals or a plant protection product that has been 
authorized prior to the expiry of the certificate. 
 
(2)  The certificate shall confer to the owner of the basic patent or his successor in title the same 
rights as conferred by the basic patent and sha ll be subject to the same limitations and the 
same obligations. 
 
PUBLICATION 
Article 73 
 
(1)  In the official gazette, the Office shall pub lish data concerning an application for a certificate, 
decision on the grant of a certificate, or rejection of the application for a certificate and termination of a certificate.  IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
 Page 29 
 
 
   
(2)  The data to be published sha ll be defined by the Regulations. 
 
ANNUAL FEES AND PROCEDURAL CHARGES FOR THE  
MAINTENANCE OF A PATENT 
Article 74 
 
(1)  The maintenance of rights conferred by an app lication and a granted pate nt shall be subject to 
payment of the prescribed annual administrative fee and procedural charges, in the manner prescribed by the Regulations. 
 
(2)  The annual fee and procedural charges referred to in paragraph (1) of this Article shall be 
payable for the third and every subsequent y ear, counting from the application filing date. 
 (3)  If the patent owner fails to pay the admini strative fee and procedural charges in compliance 
with the preceding paragraph, he may pay them in the grace period of 6 months, provided that 
he also pays administrative and procedural surcharges. 
 (4)  The Office shall remind the patent owner of  nonpayment of the annual administrative fee and 
procedural charges for the maintenance of a pa tent and of the consequences thereof, and of 
the possibility of payment according to paragraph (3) of this Article. 
 
PRE-TERM LAPSE OF A PATENT DUE TO THE NON-PAYMENT OF ANNUAL 
MAINTENANCE FEES AND PROCEDURAL CHARGES 
Article 75 
 If the patent owner does not pay the prescribed ad ministrative fee and procedural charges for the 
maintenance of a patent, the patent shall lapse on the day following the day on which the time limit 
for the payment referred to in Artic le 74 of this Act has expired. 
 
PRE-TERM TERMINATION OF A PATENT DUE TO THE SURRENDER THEREOF 
Article 76 
 
(1)  If the patent owner surrenders a patent, it sh all be terminated on the day following the day on 
which a certified written declaration concerning the surrender thereof has been filed to the 
Office. 
 
(2)  If a particular right on behalf of third persons  has been entered into the register, the patent 
owner may not surrender a patent without the pr ior certified written consent of those persons. 
 
PRE-TERM TERMINATION OF A CERTIFICATE 
Article 77 
 (1)  A certificate referred to in Article  71 of this Act shall be terminated: 
  1.  if the certificate-holder surrenders it, on the day following the day on which a 
certified written declaration on surrender is furnished to the Office; 
 
 2.  if the annual fee for the maintenance ther eof is not paid within the period prescribed 
by this Act; 
 IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
Page 30  
 
   3.  if the product for which the certificate was granted would no longer be in circulation 
in the territory of the Republic of Croatia, due to the revocation of the authorization 
for its placing on the market in co mpliance with a national regulation. 
 (2)  The Office shall decide on the termination of a certificate ex officio, or at the request of an 
interested person. 
 
INHERITANCE OF THE PATENT OWNER'S CAPACITY 
Article 78 
 (1)  A patent shall be terminated on the day of th e patent owner's death, or on the day of the loss 
of the capacity of the legal person respectively, unless it is transferred to heirs or successors in 
title. 
 (2)  The provisions of this Article shall apply mutatis mutandis  to a patent applicant. 
 
 
IX. DECLARATION OF NULLITY OF A PATENT 
 
REASONS FOR THE DECLARATION OF NULLITY OF A PATENT 
Article 79 
 
A patent may be declared null and void at any time, on the proposal of any natu ral or legal person or a 
State Attorney, if the patent has been granted:   1.  for the subject matter which may not, w ithin the meaning of Article 5, paragraph (6) 
and Articles 6 and 7 of this Act, be protected by a patent, 
  2.  for an invention which, on the filing date  of the patent application or on the date of 
the granted priority respectively, was not new or did not include an inventive step, 
  3.  for an invention which is not industrially applicable, 
 
 4.  for an invention which is not disclosed  in a manner sufficiently clear and complete 
for it to be carried out by a person skilled in the art, 
  5.  for the subject-matter extending beyond the content of the patent application as filed 
or, if the patent was granted on a divisional  application or on a new application filed 
under Article 89 of this Act, beyond the cont ent of the earlier application as filed; or 
  6.  on behalf of a person not entitled to the patent protection for the invention. 
 
PROPOSAL FOR THE DECLARATION OF NULLITY OF A PATENT 
Article 80 
 
(1)  The procedure concerning the declaration of nullity of a patent shall begin by filing a proposal 
with the Office. 
 
(2)  The proposal referred to in paragraph (1) of this Article shall contai n the data concerning the 
applicant, the owner of the patent, the number of the decision, the registration number of the patent and the reasons for the proposal of the declaration of nullity of the patent supported by 
necessary evidence. 
  IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
 Page 31 
 
 
  PROCEDURE CONCERNING THE PROPOSAL FOR THE DECLARATION  
OF NULLITY OF A PATENT 
Article 81 
 
(1)  If the proposal for the declaration of nullity of  a patent is not drafted in compliance with the 
provision referred to in Article 80, paragraph (2), of this Act, or if the administrative fee and 
procedural charges have not been paid in comp liance with Article 16 of this Act, the Office 
shall invite the applicant to correct the deficien cies within 30 days from the day of receipt of 
the invitation. 
 
(2)  If the applicant does not correct the proposal within the time limit specified in paragraph (1) 
of this Article, the Office shall reject the proposal by a decision. 
 (3)  The Office shall communicate the correct propo sal to the patent owner and shall invite him to 
submit his response within a period which shall not  be less than 30 days and not more than 60 
days from the day of the receipt thereof. 
 (4)  In the course of the procedure concerning the declaration of nullity of a patent, the Office 
shall invite the parties as many times as necessary to submit, within the period referred to in 
paragraph (3) of this Article, their commen ts on the submissions of the other party. 
 
(5)  The Office shall hold a hearing if it considers that it is necessary for the establishment of the 
facts essential for its decision. 
 (6)  Upon a reasoned request, the Office may extend the time limits referred to in paragraphs (1) 
and (3) of this Article for the time it considers to be justified. 
 
(7)  In cases where the owner of a consensual patent is concerned, and where the evidence 
referred to in Article 80, paragraph (2) of this  Act are sufficient for reasonable doubt that the 
consensual patent complies with the requirement s referred to in Article 41 of this Act, the 
response referred to in paragraph (3) of this Article shall also contain a request for the substantive examination. 
 
CONTINUATION OF THE PROCEDURE FOR THE DECLARATION OF NULLITY OF A 
PATENT BY THE OFFICE OF ITS OWN MOTION 
Article 82 
 (1)  If the person having filed the proposal for the declaration of nullity of a patent withdraws the 
proposal in the course of the procedure, the Office may continue the procedure of its own motion. 
 (2)  The same applies where the patent owner has surrendered the patent or the patent has lapsed. 
 
DECISION CONCERNING THE PROPOS AL FOR THE DECLARATION OF  
NULLITY OF A PATENT 
Article 83 
 
(1)  On the basis of the results of the pro cedure, the Office shall issue a decision on the 
declaration of nullity of a patent, entirely or in part, or the decision on the refusal of the 
proposal. 
 IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
Page 32  
 
  (2)  The patent application and the patent gr anted thereon shall not have from the outset the 
effects specified in Articles 58 to 60 of this Act, to the extent that the pa tent has been declared 
null and void. 
 
DECLARATION OF NULLITY OF A SU PPLEMENTARY PROTECTION CERTIFICATE 
Article 84 
 
(1)  A certificate shall be null and void if:   1.  it was granted contrary to the requirements prescribed by this Act; 
 
 2.  the basic patent has lapsed acco rding to Articles 76 and 77 of the Act; 
  3.  the basic patent is revoked entirely or in part whereby the product for which the 
certificate was granted would no longer be prot ected by the claims of the basic patent 
or, upon expiry of the basic patent, grounds  for revocation exist which would have 
justified such revocation. 
 (2)  The provisions of this Act relating to the procedure concerning a proposal for the declaration 
of nullity of a patent shall apply mutatis mutandis  to the procedure for the declaration of 
nullity of a supplementary protection certificate. 
 
 
X. REVOCATION OF THE DECISION ON THE GRANT OF A PATENT 
 
REASONS FOR THE REVOCATION OF THE DECISION ON THE GRANT OF A PATENT 
Article 85 
 
The decision on the grant of a patent may be revoked pr ior to the expiration of the term of a patent, if 
it is established:   1.  that the viable biological material deposited in the authorized institution in 
compliance with the provisions of Article 20, paragraph (6) of this Act no longer 
exists or that the said material is no longer available to the public, 
  2.  that its availability to the public thro ugh the authorized institution in which it was 
deposited was discontinued in the period longer than that prescribed. 
 
PROPOSAL AND PROCEDURE CONCERNING THE REVOCATION OF THE DECISION ON 
THE GRANT OF A PATENT 
Article 86 
 
(1)  The procedure concerning the revocation of th e decision on the grant of a patent shall begin 
with the filing of a proposal with the Office. 
 (2)  The provisions of this Act relating to the content of the proposal and to the procedure 
concerning the declaration of nullity of a patent shall apply mutatis mutandis  to both the 
content of the proposal and the procedure concerning the revocation of the decision on the 
grant of a patent. 
  IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
 Page 33 
 
 
  DECISION ON THE PROPOSAL CONCERNING THE REVOCATION OF THE  
DECISION ON THE GRANT OF A PATENT 
Article 87 
 
(1)  On the basis of the results of the procedure,  the Office shall issue a decision on the revocation 
of the decision on the grant of a patent, or the decision refusing the proposal as unfounded. 
 (2)  The decision on the revocation of the decision on the grant of a patent shall have legal effect 
from the date on which the Office has established that the viable biological material no longer 
exists, or is no longer available to the public  for other reasons, or that the discontinuance of 
availability of the viable biological material  to the public has taken place within a period 
longer than that prescribed. 
  
XI. ENFORCEMENT OF RIGHTS 
 
1. CIVIL PROTECTION OF RIGHTS 
 
ACTION FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE RIGHT TO PATENT PROTECTION 
Article 88 
 (1)  The inventor or his successor in title shall be entitled to file an action with the competent 
court, to request the establishment of the right to the patent protection of the invention, if a patent application has been filed by a person not  entitled to such right or, in case of a jointly 
created invention, by the person who is not  the sole person entitled to such right. 
 
(2)  The action referred to in paragraph (1) of th is Article may be brought up until the decision on 
the grant of a patent is made. 
 (3)  The action shall be disposed of as soon as possible.  
RIGHT TO RESUME THE PROCEDURE FOR THE GRANT OF A PATENT BY VIRTUE OF 
THE FINAL COURT DECISION 
Article 89 
 
The inventor or his successor in title respectively, wh ose right to the grant of patent protection for the 
invention has been established by a final court deci sion, shall be entitled to resume the procedure for 
the grant of a patent within 3 months from the date  the court decision becomes final or to file a new 
application for the same invention claiming the filing da te and priority date, if any, of the application 
filed by the applicant not entitled to the grant of the patent.  
ACTION FOR THE INFRINGEMENT OF THE INVENTOR'S MORAL RIGHT 
Article 90 
 
(1)  The inventor shall be entitled through a civil ac tion before the court to request the entry of his 
name into the patent application and all the do cuments issued for a patent as well as in the 
appropriate Office registers, if the person men tioned as such in the application is not the 
inventor. 
 
(2)  The right to the action referred to in paragr aph (1) of this Article shall also belong to the 
inventor of the joint invention who is not  mentioned in the patent application. 
 IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
Page 34  
 
  (3)  The request referred to in paragraph (1) of  this Article may be accompanied by a request for 
the final court decision to be publishe d at the expense of the defendant. 
 (4)  There shall be no time limit for an action referre d to in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this Article. 
After the death of the inventor the right to an action shall belong to his heirs. 
 
ACTION CONCERNING THE INFRINGEMENT OF A PATENT 
Article 91 
 
(1)  The patent owner or the holder of an exclusiv e license shall be entitled to a civil action before 
the competent court against any person who infri nges the patent by performing any of the acts 
referred to in Article 58, paragraphs (2 ) and (3) and Article 59 of this Act. 
 (2)  The right to the action referred to in paragra ph (1) of this Article, after the publication of a 
patent application, shall belong to the applican t of a published application or the holder of an 
exclusive license. 
 (3)  The owner of a consensual patent shall be re quired to prove, prior to the action referred to in 
paragraph (1) of this Article, that he has filed a request for the grant of a patent on the basis of 
the substantive examination of a patent application. 
 
CLAIMS CONTAINED IN THE ACTION 
Article 92 
 
(1)  An action for the infringement of a patent may contain a claim for:  
 1.  establishment of the existence of an infringement, 
  2.  prohibition of specified acts infringing the patent,   3.  compensation for damages in case s where the infringement was committed 
intentionally or by negligence, 
 
 4.  seizure and destruction of products r esulting from or acquired by the infringement of 
a patent, and articles (implements and tools) predominantly used for the manufacturing of the products infringing a patent, 
 
 5.  an order requiring the infringer to inform the plaintiff of the identity of third persons 
involved in the production and distribution of the infringing goods or services and of their channels of distribution, unless this would be out of proportion to the seriousness of the infringement, 
  6.  the laying of accounts, 
 
 7.  the publication of the court decision at the expense of the defendant.  (2)  The patent applicant shall be entitled to claim compensation for damages incurred from the 
publication date of the patent application in th e manner provided for in Article 35 of this Act. 
 
(3)  In respect of details concerning the compen sation for damages caused by the infringement of 
a patent not regulated by this Act, the corresponding provisions of the Obligatory Relations Act shall apply. 
  IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
 Page 35 
 
 
  BURDEN OF PROOF 
Article 93 
 
(1)  If the subject matter of the infringement is a patent protected process for obtaining a new 
substance, any equal substance or any substan ce of equal composition shall be considered as 
resulting from the protected process, unless proved to the contrary. 
 (2)  The burden of proof shall be on the defe ndant preparing such a product or composition. 
 
ORDERING A PROVISIONAL MEASURE 
Article 94 
 
(1)  The action referred to in Article 92 of this Ac t may, before the court final decision comes into 
effect, constitute a claim for ordering a provisional measure comprising: 
 
 1.  the order to cease and desist from acts infringing the patent, 
  2.  the seizure or exclusion from circulati on of products resulting from or acquired by the 
infringement of a patent and of the artic les (implements and tools) predominantly 
used in the manufacture of the products infringing a patent, 
 
 3.  the order to the infringer to inform th e plaintiff of the identity of third persons 
involved in the production and distribution of the infringing goods or services and of their channels of distribution, unless this would be out of proportion to the seriousness of the infringement. 
 
(2)  By way of derogation from the provisions refe rred to in paragraph (1 ) of this Article, the 
proposal for ordering a provisional measure may be filed even before the action, provided that 
the action is brought within 15 days from the day of filing a proposal. 
 (3)  The court may order provisional measures in audita altera parte where appropriate, in 
particular where any delay is likely to cause ir reparable harm to the right holder, or where 
there is a demonstrable risk of evidence being destroyed. 
 (4)  Where provisional measures have been adopted in audita altera parte, the parties affected shall 
be given notice without delay, and not later th an within 7 days after the execution of the 
measures. 
 
(5)  The court may require the applicant to provi de any reasonably available evidence in order to 
confirm with a sufficient degree of certainty that  the applicant is the right holder and that the 
applicant's right has been infringed or that such  infringement is immi nent, and to order the 
applicant to provide a security or equivalent assurance sufficient to protect the defendant and 
to prevent abuse. 
 
(6)  In respect of details concerning the orderi ng of provisional measures not regulated by this 
Act, the corresponding provisions of the Execution Act shall apply. 
 IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
Page 36  
 
  STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS FOR ACTIONS CONCERNING THE  
INFRINGEMENT OF A PATENT 
Article 95 
 
An action concerning an infringement of a patent may be initiated within 3 years from the day of 
learning of the infringement and the infringer, but not after the expiration of the period of 5 years 
from the day on which the infringement was committed.  
URGENCY OF THE PROCEDURE CONCERNING THE ACTION  
FOR THE INFRINGEMENT OF A PATENT 
Article 96 
 
The action concerning the infringement of a pa tent shall be initiated as soon as possible. 
  
2. MISDEMEANOR PROVISIONS 
 
Article 97 
 
(1)  Any legal person shall be punished for a misdemeanor by a fine amounting from HRK 20,000 
to 100,000, if such act is contrary to the provisions of this Act: 
 
 1.  making, offering for sale, selling, or importing and stocking for such purposes a 
product manufactured according to the protected  invention (Article 58, paragraph (2), 
item 1, and Article 59), 
 
 2.  using or offering for use a process which is the subject-matter of the protected 
invention (Article 58, paragra ph (2), item 2, and Article 59), 
  3.  offering for sale, selling, using, exporting or importing and stocking for such 
purposes a product obtained directly from the process which is the subject-matter of the protected invention (Article 58, pa ragraph (2), item 3, and Article 59), 
 
 4.  offering or delivering a product whic h constitutes the essential element of the 
protected invention (Article 52, paragraph (3), and Article 59). 
 (2)  Any natural person shall be punished for a mi sdemeanor referred to in paragraph (1) of this 
Article by a fine amounting from HRK 2,000 to 8,000 
 (3)  A responsible person in the legal entity sha ll also be punished for a misdemeanor referred to 
in paragraph (1) of this Article by a fine amounting from HRK 5,000 to 10,000. 
 (4)  Articles intended or used for the comm itment of the misdemeanor referred to in 
paragraphs (1), (2) and (3) of this Article sha ll be seized and destroyed, the final decision to 
that effect being issued by the judicial authority. 
 
Article 98 
 (1)  The commitment of misdemeanors referred to in  Article 97 of this Act shall, in addition to a 
fine, be subject to the pronunciation of the pr otective measure ordering the seizure of products 
resulting from or acquired by the commitment of misdemeanors, and of objects (tools and 
implements) predominantly used in the ma nufacture of products infringing a patent, 
irrespective of whether they are the property of the infringer or not.  IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
 Page 37 
 
 
   
(2)  The decision referred to in paragraph (1) of  this Article may comprise the ordering of the 
destruction of the seized articles and objects. 
  
XII. EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION AND EUROPEAN PATENT 
 
EXTENSION OF THE EFFECTS OF EUROPEAN PATENTS 
Article 99 
 (1)  A European patent application and a Europ ean patent extending to the Republic of Croatia 
shall, subject to the provisions of this Chapter,  have the effect of and be subject to the same 
conditions as a national patent application and a national patent  under this Act. 
 (2)  Pursuant to this Act: 
 
 5.  "European patent application" means an  application for a European patent filed under 
the European Patent Convention (hereina fter: EPC), as well as an international 
application filed under the Patent Coopera tion Treaty (hereinafter: PCT) for which 
the European Patent Office (hereinafter: EPO ) acts as the designated or elected Office 
and in which the Republic of  Croatia is designated; 
 
 6.  "extended European patent" means a European patent granted by the EPO on a 
European patent application in respect of which extension to the Republic of Croatia 
has been requested; 
 
 7.  "national patent application" means a pa tent application filed to the Office under this 
Act; 
  8. "national patent" means a patent granted on the basis of a national patent application. 
 
REQUEST FOR EXTENSION 
Article 100 
 
(1)  A European patent application and a Europ ean patent granted on such application shall be 
extended to the Republic of Croatia at the request  of the applicant. The request for extension 
shall be deemed to be filed with any European patent application filed on or after the date on 
which the Cooperation Agreement between the G overnment of the Republic of Croatia and 
the European Patent Organization enters into force. 
 (2)  The Office shall publish any request for extension as soon as possible after it has been 
informed by the EPO that the prescribed exte nsion fee has been paid , but not before the 
expiry of 18 months from the filing date or, if priority has been claimed, from the earliest 
priority date. 
 (3)  The request for extension may be withdrawn at  any time. It shall be deemed withdrawn where 
the prescribed extension fee has not been pa id in time or where the European patent 
application has been finally refused, withdr awn or deemed withdrawn. The Office shall 
publish this as soon as possible if the request for extension has already been published by it in 
accordance with paragraph (2) of this Article. 
 (4)  The manner and the content of the publicati on according to paragraphs (1) and (2) of this 
Article shall be provided by a special regulation enacted by this Act. IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
Page 38  
 
   
EXTENSION FEE 
Article 101 
 
(1)  The extension fee under Article 100, paragraph (2 ) of this Act shall be paid to the EPO within 
the applicable time-limits provided under the EPC for the payment of the designation fee. 
 (2)  The extension fee may still be validly paid  within the grace period specified in the EPC for 
the payment of designation fees, provided that a su rcharge of 50% is paid within this period. 
 
(3)  For the payment of extension fees, the EPO Rules relating to Fees shall apply mutatis 
mutandis . Extension fees validly paid  shall not be refunded. 
 
EFFECTS OF EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATIONS 
Article 102 
 
(1)  A European patent application which has been  accorded a filing date shall be equivalent to a 
regular national patent application where appr opriate with the priority claimed for the 
European patent application, whatever its outcome may be. 
 (2)  A published European patent application sha ll provisionally confer pr otection as conferred by 
a published national patent application under Artic le 60 of this Act from the date on which a 
translation of the published European patent a pplication into the Croatian language has been 
communicated by the applicant to the person using the invention in the Republic of Croatia. 
 (3)  The European patent application shall be deem ed not to have had ab initio the effects referred 
to in paragraph (2) of this Article, where the request for extension has been withdrawn or is 
deemed withdrawn. 
 
EFFECTS OF EUROPEAN PATENTS 
Article 103 
 (1)  An extended European patent shall, subject to  paragraphs (2) to (6) of this Article, confer 
from the date of publication of the mention of its grant by the EPO the same rights as would 
be conferred by a national pate nt granted under this Act. 
 (2)  Within three months from the date on which th e mention of the grant of the European patent 
has been published, the owner of the patent sha ll furnish the Office with a translation of the 
specification of the European patent in the Croatian language and shall pay the prescribed 
administrative fee and procedural charges for publication in the official gazette of the Office, in compliance with Article 16 of this Act. 
 (3)  If, as a result of an opposition filed with th e EPO, the European patent is maintained with 
amended claims, the owner of the patent sha ll, within three months from the date of 
publication of the decision to maintain the Euro pean patent as amended, furnish the Office 
with a translation of the amended claims in  the Croatian language and pay the prescribed 
administrative fee and procedural charges for publi cation in the official gazette of the Office. 
 
(4)  Where the text of claims contains reference signs used in the drawings, such drawings shall 
be attached to the translation referred to in paragraphs (2) and (3) of this Article. 
  IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
 Page 39 
 
 
  (5)  The Office shall publish in its official gaze tte mention of any translation duly filed under 
paragraph (2) or (3) of this Article as soon as possible. The content of the publication shall be 
provided by the Regulations. 
 (6)  If the translation specified in paragraph (2) or (3) of this Article is not filed in the prescribed 
time-limit or the prescribed administrative fee and procedural charges are not paid in due 
time, the extended European patent shall be d eemed to be void ab initio. Article 122 of the 
EPC shall apply mutatis mutandis . 
 (7)  An extended European patent and the Europ ean patent application on which it is based shall 
be deemed not to have had ab initio the effects specified in paragraph (1) of this Article and 
Article 102, paragraph (2) of this Act to the extent that the patent has been revoked in 
opposition proceedings before the EPO. 
 (8) The Office shall issue a decision on the entr y of the extended European patent into the 
Register of Patents referred to  in Article 49 of this Act. 
 
AUTHENTIC TEXT OF EUROP EAN PATENT APPLICATIONS  
OR EUROPEAN PATENTS 
Article 104 
 (1)  The text of a European patent application or a European patent in the language of the 
proceedings before the EPO shall be the authentic  text in any proceedings in the Republic of 
Croatia. 
 (2)  Where the translation in the Croatian la nguage confers protection narrower than that 
conferred by the extended European patent app lication or the extended European patent, the 
translation as provided for under Articles 102 and 103 shall be regarded as authentic, except in the revocation proceedings. 
 (3)  An applicant for a European patent or the owner of an extended European patent may file a 
corrected translation at any time. The corrected translation of the claims of a published 
European patent application shall not have a ny legal effects until it has been communicated to 
the person using the invention in the Republic of Croatia. The corrected translation of the 
specification of an extended European patent sha ll not have any legal effect until mention of it 
has been published by the Office as soon as possi ble after payment of the administrative fee 
and procedural charges prescribed for the publication. 
 
(4)  Any person who, in good faith, uses or has ma de effective and serious preparations for using 
an invention, the use of which would not constitu te infringement of the application or patent 
in the original translation may, after the correct ed translation takes effect, continue such use 
in the course of his business or for the needs thereof without payment. 
 
RIGHTS OF EARLIER DATE 
Article 105 
 
(1)  A European patent application for which th e extension fee has been paid and an extended 
European patent shall have, with regard to a national patent applicati on and a national patent, 
the same state of the art effect as a nationa l patent application and a national patent. 
 (2)  A national patent application and a national patent shall have, with regard to an extended 
European patent, the same state of the art effect  as they have with regard to a national patent. 
 IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
Page 40  
 
  SIMULTANEOUS PROTECTION 
Article 106 
 
Where an extended European patent and a national patent having the same filing date or, where 
priority has been claimed, the same priority date  has been granted to the same person or his successor 
in title, the national patent shall have no effect to the extent that it covers the same invention as the 
extended European patent as from the date on wh ich the time limit for filing an opposition to the 
European patent has expired without an opposition ha ving been filed, or as from the date on which the 
opposition procedure has resulted in a final decision maintaining the European patent.  
RENEWAL FEES FOR EXTENDED EUROPEAN PATENTS 
Article 107 
 
(1)  Renewal fees for an extended European pate nt shall be paid to the Office for the years 
following the year in which the mention of the grant of the European patent was published. 
 
(2)  Article 141, paragraph (2) of the EPC shall apply mutatis mutandis . 
 
APPLICABILITY OF THE EPC 
Article 108 
 The provisions of the EPC and its implementing re gulations shall not appl y unless otherwise provided 
in the provisions of this Act.   
XIII. INTERNATIONAL APPLICATION UNDER THE PATENT COOPERATION  
TREATY  
 
INTERNATIONAL APPLICATION 
Article 109 
 
(1)  An international applicatio n shall be an application filed in compliance with the PCT. Any 
reference to the PCT in this Chapter of the Act shall be, at the same time, considered to be a 
reference to the Regulations under the Patent Cooperation Treaty. 
 (2)  The provisions of the PCT, this Act, and a regulation enacted by virtue of this Act shall apply 
to an international application filed with the Office as the receiving office, or in which the 
Office is indicated as a designated or elected office. 
 
INTERNATIONAL APPLICATION FILED WITH THE OFFICE  
AS THE RECEIVING OFFICE 
Article 110 
 (1)  An international application may be filed with the Office as the receiving office if the 
applicant is a Croatian national, or any natura l person domiciled in the Republic of Croatia or 
a legal person having its principal place of business in the Republic of Croatia. 
 (2)  The filing of the international application refe rred to in paragraph (1) of this Article shall be, 
in compliance with Article 16 of this Act,  subject to the payment of the prescribed 
administrative fee and procedural charges for its transmittal to the International Bureau, 
within one month from the date of recei pt of the international application. 
  IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
 Page 41 
 
 
  INTERNATIONAL APPLICATION FILED WITH THE OFFICE AS  
THE DESIGNATED OR ELECTED OFFICE 
Article 111 
 
(1)  An international application in which the Republic of Croatia is designated or elected, in 
compliance with the provisions of the PCT, for th e grant of a national patent, shall, subject to 
payment of the administrative fee and procedural  charges, be filed with the Office in the 
Croatian language not later than up to the expiration of a period of 31 months from the 
international filing date or priority date respectiv ely, if priority is claimed in the international 
application in compliance with Article 8 of the PCT. 
 
(2)  The international application filed with th e Office as a designated or elected office shall be 
published in the official gazette of the Office in a manner provided for in Article 35 of this 
Act. 
 
(3)  The provisional rights provided for under th e provisions of Article 60 of this Act for the 
international applications referre d to in paragraph (1) of this Article shall be effective as of 
the date of publication of the translation in the Croatian language. 
 (4)  In respect of international applications refe rred to in paragraph (1) of this Article, the time 
limit within which one of the requests referred to in Article 36 of this Act may be filed shall 
run from the date of the publication in the official gazette of the Office. 
 (5)  An international application published under Article 21 of the PCT shall not be considered 
state of the art under Article 8, paragraph (3) of  this Act as long as the conditions set out in 
paragraph (1) above have not been met. 
 
 
XIV. TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS 
 
PATENTS GRANTED UP TO THE APPLICATION OF THIS ACT 
Article 112 
 
(1)  Patents entered into the Office Patent Register  up to the date determined for the application of 
this Act shall remain in effect and the pr ovisions of this Act shall apply to them. 
 (2)  The owner of a patent protecting the inve ntion of medicine for humans and animals or 
inventions relating to the application of s ubstances or compositions in the treatment of 
humans and animals, where the application was filed up to 31 December 1992, or the priority 
for such application was claimed up to 31 Dece mber 1992 may, in the procedure concerning 
the infringement of a patent, claim remuneration only through an action for the period after 1 January 1993. 
 
PENDING PROCEDURES 
Article 113 
 
(1)  All patent granting procedures, procedures concerning proposals for the declaration of a 
patent null and void, and procedures concerning proposals for the revocation of the decision 
on the patent grant pending up to the beginning of application of this Act, shall be carried out 
according to the provisions in force up to th e beginning of application of this Act. 
 IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
Page 42  
 
  (2)  Procedures concerning the infringement of a pate nt or rights conferred by a patent application 
pending up to the day the application of this Ac t begins, shall be carried out according to the 
provisions in force up to the day the application of this Act begins. 
 
TRANSLATIONS ACCORDING TO THE AGREEMENT ON THE  
APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 65 OF THE EPC 
Article 114 
 
(1)  The provisions of Article 103, paragraphs (2) and (3) of this Act providing for the obligation 
of the owner of the extended European patent to provide a translation of the specification and 
amended claims in the Croatian language, sh all apply until the entry into force of the 
Agreement on the Application of Article  65 of the EPC, dated 17 October 2000. 
 (2)  After the entry into force of  the Agreement referred to in para graph (1), the owner of a patent 
shall provide the Office with the following: 
 
 1.  a patent specification in the English lan guage or a translation in the English language 
of the specification, and the translation in  the Croatian language of claims, where a 
patent has been granted in a language of th e proceedings other than English, within 
the time limit and subject to payment of the prescribed administrative fee and procedural charges for publication as provide d for under Article 103, paragraph (2) of 
this Act; 
  2.  a translation in the English and Croa tian languages of the amended claims, where the 
extended European patent is maintained with amended claims, within the time limit 
and subject to payment of the prescribed administrative fee and procedural charges 
for publication as provided for under Artic le 103, paragraph (3) of this Act. 
 (3) In the case of a dispute relating to the extende d European patent, and upon the request of the 
alleged infringer, or the competent court or ot her judicial authority in the course of legal 
proceedings, the owner shall, at his own ex pense, provide a full translation of the 
specification in the Croatian language. 
 
(4)  The translation referred to in paragraph (3) of  this Act shall be regarded as authentic in any 
proceedings in the Republic of Croatia, except in revocation pr oceedings, where the 
translation in the Croatian language confers prot ection narrower in scope than that conferred 
by the extended European patent in the language of proceedings. 
 
REGULATIONS 
Article 115 
 
The Regulations defining the matters referred to  in: Article 17, paragraph (2); Article 20, 
paragraph (9); Article 21; Article 30, paragra ph (2); Article 31, para graph (2); Article 35, 
paragraph (4); Article 36, paragraph (3); Article  39, paragraph (4); Article 42, paragraph (2); 
Article 43, paragraph (3); Article 49, paragrap h (3); Article 50, paragraph (2); Article 51, 
paragraph (2); Article 52, paragraph (2); Article  53, paragraph (2); Article 54, paragraph (3); 
Article 55, paragraph (4); Article 57, paragrap h (7); Article 71, paragraph (9); Article 73, 
paragraph (2); Article 74, paragraph (1); Article  103, paragraph (5) and Ar ticle 109, paragraph (2) 
shall be enacted by the Minister competent for the work of the Offi ce, upon a proposal by the Director 
General of the Office, not later than the date the application of this Act begins. 
   IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
 Page 43 
 
 
  CESSATION OF THE VALIDITY OF OTHER PROVISIONS 
Article 116 
 
The provisions of the Patent Act (Official Gazette  nos. 78/1999 and 32/2002) shall cease to be valid 
on the date the application of this Act begins, with the exception of provisions set out in Article 95, in 
the section relating to representation, which sha ll apply up to the enactment of a special act. 
 
DEFERRED APPLICATION OF PARTICULAR PROVISIONS OF THE ACT 
Article 117 
 (1)  The application of the provisions laid down  in Articles 71–73 and Article 84 of this Act shall 
begin on 1 March 2010. 
 (2)  The provisions laid down in Articles 99 – 108 and Article 114 of this Act shall apply from the 
entry into force of the Cooperation Agreement between the Government of the Republic of 
Croatia and the European Patent Organization in the field of patents, in compliance with the 
provisions of the Act Ratifying the Cooperation Agreement between the Government of the 
Republic of Croatia and the European Patent Or ganization in the field of patents (Official 
Gazette – International Treaties, No. 14/2003). 
 
ENTRY INTO FORCE AND APPLICATION OF THE ACT 
Article 118 
 
This Act shall enter into force on the eighth day following the date of publication thereof in the 
Official Gazette of the Republic of Croatia,  and shall be applied as of 1 January 2004. 
 IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
Page 44  
 
   
ACT AMENDING THE PATENT ACT 
 
In the Patent Act («Official Gazette» No. 173/03) Article 4 is amended to read:  
"(1)  A legal or a natural person not having a pr incipal place of business, a domicile or a habitual 
residence in the territory of the Republic of Croatia must be represented before the State Intellectual Property Office (hereinafter: th e Office) by a representative entered in the 
Register of Representatives kept by the Office, if the matter of representation is not otherwise 
provided for by law. 
 
(2)  By way of derogation from the provision set out in paragraph (1) of this Article, a foreign 
legal or natural person may individually, wit hout a representative, perform the following acts: 
  1.  File patent applications, 
 
 2.  Perform other acts relating to the establishment of the filing date of a patent 
application, 
  3.  File true copies of the first patent app lication, when claiming priority right referred to 
in Article 23 of this Act, 
 
 4.  Receive from the Office notifications relating to the procedures referred to in items 1 
to 3 of paragraph (2) of this Article, 
  5.  Pay the administrative fees and procedur al charges in accordance with Article 16 of 
this Act. 
 (3)  In the case of individually performing the acts, referred to in paragraph (2) of this Article, a 
foreign legal or natural person shall co mmunicate to the Office the address for 
correspondence, which shall be in the territory of the Republic of Croatia. 
 
(4)  If a foreign legal or natural person fails to appoint a representative or to communicate the 
address for correspondence to the Office, in accordance with the provision set out in 
paragraph (3) of this Article, the Office shall invite it in writing to appoint a representative or 
to communicate the address for corresponde nce within a period of three months. 
 
(5)  If a foreign legal or natural person fails to co mply with the invitation of the Office referred to 
in paragraph (4) of this Article, the Office sha ll reject its communication by a decision, and 
provide for the legal service to be made by displaying of communications on the notice board of the Office. 
 (6)  By way of derogation from the provision set  out in paragraph (1) of this Article, the 
administrative fees and procedural charges for th e maintenance of a patent may be paid by 
any person." 
  IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
 Page 45 
 
 
  Article 2 
 
In Article 21, item 3 is amended to read:  "a part of the patent application, which, at first sight appears to be the description of the invention, 
even though such description does not comply with all the requirements prescribed by this Act and the 
Regulations." 
 
Article 3 
 
In Article 24 paragraphs (2), (3), (4) and (5) are added to read: 
 
"(2)  If a patent application claiming priority of the first application is filed on the date, which is 
later than the date on which the priority period re ferred to in Article 23 paragraph (1) of this 
Act expired, the patent applicant may file a request for the restoration of the priority right. 
 
(3)  The request referred to in paragraph (2) of this Article may be filed within two months from 
the date of expiration of the priority period. 
 (4)  The Office shall adopt a request for the restoration of the priority right, provided that the 
applicant: 
 
 1.  State the reasons for the failure to comply  with the priority period in spite of due care 
required by the circumstances having been taken, and 
  2.  Pay the administrative fees and procedur al charges referred to in Article 16 of this 
Act. 
 
(5)  If the applicant fails to comply with the re quirements referred to in paragraph (4) of this 
Article, the request referred to in paragraph (2) of  this Article shall be rejected by a decision." 
 
Article 4 
 
Following Article 24, Article 24a is added to read: 
 
"Article 24a 
 
(1)  A patent applicant may file a request for the correction or addition of a priority claim within a 
time limit of sixteen months from the priority date or, if the correction or addition would 
cause a change in the priority date, sixteen months from the priority date as so changed, 
whichever sixteen-month period expires first, provide d that such a request is filed within four 
months from the filing date of the patent application. 
 
(2)  In addition to the request referred to in para graph (1) of this Article, the applicant shall pay 
the administrative fees and procedural charges re ferred to in Article 16 of this Act. If the 
applicant fails to pay the administrative fees and procedural charges within the prescribed 
time limit, the request shall be rejected by a decision. 
 (3) If the priority date is changed due to the corr ection or addition of the priority claim, the time 
limits shall be counted from the priority date as changed. 
 
(4)  The request referred to in paragraph (1) of this  Article shall not be filed after the applicant has 
filed a request for publication of the applica tion in accordance with Article 35 paragraph (2) 
of this Act, unless such a request for pub lication is withdrawn before the technical 
preparations for publication of the application have been completed." IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
Page 46  
 
   
Article 5 
 
In Article 41 words "paragraph (6)" are added to follow words "Article 5". 
 
Article 6 
 
In Article 57 paragraph (5) item 3 words: "Article 23" shall be repl aced by words: "Articles 24 and 
24a".  
Item 6 is amended to read: 
 "filing of the request referred to in Article 57a".  
Article 7 
 
Following Article 57 a subtitle and Article 57a are added to read: 
 "9. Continued Processing  
Article 57a 
 
(1)  If the applicant for or the owner of a patent h as failed to comply with a time limit for an act in 
a procedure before the Office and that failure has the direct consequence of causing a loss of 
rights conferred by a patent application or a pa tent, he may file a request for the continued 
processing with respect to the patent application or the patent. The Office shall authorize the 
continued processing, provided that the applicant: 
  1.  Files a request for the continued pro cessing, and performs all the omitted acts within 
the prescribed time limit, and 
  2.  Pays the administrative fee and proced ural charges in accordance with Article 16 of 
this Act. 
 (2)  A request for the continued processing may be filed within two months from the day on 
which he learned about the legal consequences re ferred to in paragraph (1) of this Article. 
 
(3)  If the omitted acts have not been performed w ithin the time limit referred to in paragraph (2) 
of this Article, or if the administrative fees and procedural charges referred to in Article 16 of 
this Act have not been paid, a request for the continued processing shall be deemed not to be 
filed, and the decision to that eff ect shall be issued by the Office. 
 (4)  A request for the continued processing shall not be filed, if failure to comply with concerns 
the time limit: 
  1.  Referred to in para graph (2) of this Article, 
  2.  For filing the request referred to in Articles 24 and 24a of this Act, 
 
 3.  For filing the proposal referred to in Article 57 of this Act,   4.  For all the acts in the procedures be fore the Office involving several parties. 
  IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
 Page 47 
 
 
  (5)  If the Office complied with the request referr ed to in paragraph (1) of this Article the 
provision set out in Article 57 paragraph (6) of this Act shall apply mutatis mutandis." 
 
Article 8 
 In Article 74 paragraph (1) words "by the Regula tions" shall be replaced by words: "regulation 
enacted by virtue of this Act".  
Article 9 
 In Article 100 paragraph (4) words: "paragraphs  (1) and (2)" shall be replaced by words 
"paragraphs (2) and (3)".  
Article 10 
 This Act shall enter into force on the day of its publ ication in the "Official Gazette", while Article 5 
has been applied as from 1 January 2004.  IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
Page 48  
 
   
THE ACT ON AMENDMENTS TO THE PATENT ACT 
 
Article 1 
 In the Patent Act ("Official Gazette" 173/2003 and 87 /2005), in Article 5, paragraph (7) is added to 
read:  "(7) The provision of paragraph (6 ) of this Article shall exclude patentability of the subject-matter or 
activities referred to in that provision only to the ex tent to which a patent application or a patent 
relates to such subject-matter or activities as such." 
 
Article 2 
 
In Article 6, paragraph (1), item 1 the Croatian word  translated as "Act;" is replaced by the Croatian 
words translated as "Act, whereby" 
 
Article 3 
 
In Article 7 paragraph (1) after the Croatian word tr anslated as "morality" a comma is inserted and is 
followed by the Croatian words translated as "but not merely because such exploitation is prohibited 
by law or other regulation." 
 
Article 4 
 
Article 15 is amended to read: 
 
"(1) The State Intellectual Property Office (hereinaft er: the Office) shall carry out the administrative 
procedures for the grant of patents, consensual pa tents and Supplementary Protection Certificates, and 
shall perform other administrative and professional tasks concerning the prot ection of inventions. 
 (2) The administrative decisions i ssued by the Office 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 Act on General Administrative Proceedings shall apply to particular matters concerning the procedure referred to in paragraphs (1 ) and (2) of this Article, not regulated by this 
Act. 
 
(4) The administrative decisions i ssued by the Board of Appeal in  the second instance may be subject 
to administrative disputes, in accordance with the Act on Administrative Disputes." 
 
Article 5 
 In Article 16, paragraph (1), afte r the Croatian words translated as "maintenance of a patent" a comma 
is inserted and is followed by the Croatian word s translated as "a consensual patent and a 
Supplementary Protection Certificate".  After paragraph (2), paragraph (3) is added to read: 
 
"(3) The filing of an appeal shall be subject to payment of the administrative fee and procedural 
charges in accordance with special regulations. If the fee and procedural charges are not paid before 
the expiration of the appeal period, the a ppeal shall not be considered as filed." 
  IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
 Page 49 
 
 
  Article 6 
 
In Article 23, paragraph (1), the Croatian words tr anslated as "any legal or natural person", are 
replaced by the same Croatian words in the appropr iate grammatical case, with no relevance to the 
English translation, and the Croatian words translat ed as "his successor in title ", are replaced by the 
same Croatian words in the appropriate gramma tical case, with no relevance to the English 
translation. After the Croatian words translated as "the  first application", a Croatian word is inserted, 
with no relevance to the English translation.  
Article 7 
 
In Article 24, paragraph (5) is amended to read:  "(5) Prior to refusing a request for the restoration of the priority right, the Office shall inform the 
applicant of the reasons for which it intends to refu se the request in its entirety or in part, and shall 
invite him to file observations on such reasons w ithin two months from the date of receipt of the 
invitation."  
Article 8 
 
After Article 24a, Article 24b is added to read: 
 
"Article 24b  The requests referred to in Article 24 paragraph (2) and Article 24a paragraph (1) of this Act may not 
be filed after the patent applicant filed a request for the publication of an application in accordance 
with Article 35 paragraph (2) of this Act, unless su ch request for the publication is withdrawn before 
completion of the technical preparations for the publication of the application."  
Article 9 
 
In Article 29, paragraph (1), item 3, a spelling erro r of the Croatian words translated as "in a foreign 
language" is corrected. 
 In item 5, the Croatian words translated as "a natu ral or a legal person having domicile or principal 
place of business" are replaced by the Croatian words translated as "a natural or a legal person having 
principle place of business, or domicile or habitual residence". 
 
Article 10 
 
In Article 34, paragraph (1),  items 4 and 5 are deleted. 
 Paragraph (5) is deleted. 
 
The former paragraph (6) becomes paragraph (5).  
Article 11 
 In Article 36, paragraph (1), item 2 is deleted. 
 The former item 3 becomes item 2.  IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
Page 50  
 
  Article 12 
 
The heading above Article 38, and Articles 38, 39 and 40 are deleted.  
Article 13 
 
In Article 47, paragraph (1), item 2 is deleted. 
 The former item 3 becomes item 2.  
Article 14 
 
In Article 48, paragraph (1), item 2 is deleted. 
 The former item 3 becomes item 2. 
 
Article 15 
 
The heading above Article 54 and Article 54 are deleted.  
Article 16 
 
The heading above Article 57 translated as "8. Rein statement of Rights" is amended to read "8. 
Restitutio in Integrum".  In Article 57 the Croatian words translated as "reinsta tement of rights" in the appropriate grammatical 
case are replaced by the Croatian words translated as restitutio in integrum in the appropriate 
grammatical case.  In paragraph (3), the second sentence is added to read:  "In the case of failure to comply with a time limit for payment of a renewal fee for the maintenance of 
a patent, the time limit prescribed in Article 74 para graph (3) of this Act shall be included in the one-
year period."  In paragraph (5) item 7, number "104" is replaced by number "103".  
Article 17 
 
In Article 58, paragraph (5) is amended to read:  "(5) In the absence of proof to the contrary, a pro duct shall be considered as having been obtained by 
a protected process, if the product is new, or if it is likely that the product was obtained by a protected 
process, and that the patent owner has been unabl e, despite reasonable efforts, to determine the 
process actually used. The likelihood that the pro duct was obtained by the protected process shall 
exist, in particular, where the protected process is the only process known."   IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
 Page 51 
 
 
  Article 18 
 
After Article 61, Title "Va AMENDMENT OF A PA TENT", a heading and Article 61a, are added to 
read:  
"ENTRY OF CHANGES IN THE REGISTERS 
Article 61a 
 (1) Upon the request by a party for the entry of ch anges in the register, the Office shall issue a 
decision on the entry in the Register of Patent App lications, or in the Register of Patents of the 
changes, which have occurred after the filing of the application, or following the entry of the decision 
on the grant of a patent.  (2) The changes referred to in paragraph (1) of this Article, as entered, shall be published in the 
official gazette of the Office. 
 
(3) The procedure concerning the entry of changes in  the Registers of the Office, and the publication 
thereof in the official gazette, as well as payment of  the fees and procedural charges shall be laid 
down by the Ordinance and special regulations enacted pursuant to this Act."  
Article 19 
 
In Article 62, paragraph (5) is amended to read:  "(5) A licence and the transfer of rights shall have effect against third persons from the date of their 
entry in the register." 
 
After paragraph (5), paragraph (6) is added to read:  "(6) The provisions of this Article shall also apply mutatis mutandis to the conclusion of licence 
contracts and contracts on the transfer of the rights conferred by a patent application, a consensual patent and a Supplementary Protection Certificate." 
 
Article 20 
 
After Article 62, headings and Artic les 62a and 62b are added to read: 
 
"RIGHTS IN REM AND LEVY OF EXECUTION" 
Article 62a 
 (1) A patent may be the subject of the rights in rem and levy of execution.  (2) A right in rem shall be entered in the register  upon the request of a lien creditor or a lien debtor. 
The granting of a right in rem shall have effect agai nst third parties as of the date of its entry in the 
register.  (3) The court levying an execution ex officio sha ll inform the Office without delay of the execution 
levied upon a patent for the purpose of the entry of the levy of execution in the register. The entry of 
the levy of execution in the register shall be carri ed out at the expense of the execution creditor. 
 (4) The provisions of this Article shall also apply mutatis mutandis to the grant of the rights in rem 
and to the levy of execution upon the right conferred by a patent application, a consensual patent and 
a Supplementary Protection Certificate. IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
Page 52  
 
   
BANKRUPTCY PROCEEDINGS 
Article 62b 
 Where a patent, or the right conferred by a patent a pplication, a consensual patent or a Supplementary 
Protection Certificate forms part of a bankruptcy estate, the bankruptcy estate manager shall inform 
the Office ex officio of the institution of the bankr uptcy proceedings for the purpose of the entry of 
the bankruptcy in the register."  
Article 21 
 
Article 66 is amended to read:  "(1) The placing on the market in the territory of the Republic of Croatia, or, after the accession of the 
Republic of Croatia into the full membership of the European Union, in the territory of any of the 
States of the European Union, or States Parties to the Agreement Creating the European Economic 
Area, of a product made according to the invention or a product directly obtained by a process which is the subject matter of an invention by the owner of a patent, or with his express authorization shall 
exhaust for the territory of the Republic of Croatia , the exclusive rights conferred by the patent in 
respect to such a product.  
(2) The provisions of paragraph (1) of this Article shall also apply mutatis mutandis to the exclusive 
rights conferred by the Supplementary Protection Certificate."  
Article 22 
 After the Title "VII COMPULSORY LICENCES", a s ubheading 1, Article 67a and subheading 2 are 
added to read:  "1. Common Provisions  
COMPETENCE AND PROCEDURE FOR THE GRANT OF A COMPULSORY LICENCE 
Article 67a 
 (1) The Commercial Court in Zagreb shall be  competent to grant compulsory licences. 
 (2) The procedure for the grant of a compulsory licen ce shall be instituted by a legal action against the 
owner of a patent or a holder of a Supplementary Pr otection Certificate, containing an application for 
the grant of a compulsory licence. In the notice of le gal action, the plaintiff shall indicate all the facts 
and present all the evidence, on which the application is based. The court shall decide on the grant of 
a compulsory licence by a judgment.  (3) The decisions of the court issued in the pro cedures for the grant of a compulsory licence may be 
appealed in accordance with the rules la id down in the Act on Civil Proceedings. 
 (4) In the absence of proof to the contrary, it shall be considered that , in the procedure for the grant of 
a compulsory licence, the owner of a patent or the holder of a Supplementary Protection Certificate is 
the person who is entered as such in the Register of Patents. 
 
(5) The Act on Civil Proceedings shall apply to par ticular matters relating to the procedure for the 
grant of a compulsory licence, not regulated by this Act.   IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
 Page 53 
 
 
  2. Compulsory licences in the cases of  insufficient exploitation of a pa tent, national emergencies, the 
need for protection from unfair market competition, exploitation of another patent or protected plant 
variety, and cross-licensing."  
Article 23 
 
In Article 68, paragraph (4), the words cited at the end of the first sentence "or protected plant variety" 
are deleted.  
Article 24 
 
After Article 69, a subheading "3. Compulsory li cences for patents relating to the manufacture of 
pharmaceutical products intended for export to countries having public health problems", and 
headings and Articles 69a to 69h are added to read: 
 
"GRANTING OF A COMPULSORY LICENCE" 
Article 69a 
 (1) The court may grant to any person filing an appli cation pursuant to the provisions of this Act, a 
compulsory licence for a patent and/or issue a Supplementary Protection Certificate required for the manufacture and sale of pharmaceutical products, wh en such products are intended for export to 
importing countries having public health problems. When deciding on the grant of a compulsory 
licence the court shall take into consideration in  particular, the need to implement the Decision 
adopted by the WTO General Council on 30 August 2003 on the implementation of paragraph 6 of the 
Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Pub lic Health (hereinafter: the Decision) of 14 
November 2001. 
 
(2) The pharmaceutical product referred to in paragraph (1) of this Article shall be any product of the 
pharmaceutical industry, including medicinal products for human use, comprising any substance or combination of substances intended for treating or preventing disease in human beings, and any 
substance or combination of substances, which may be  administered to human beings with a view to 
restoring, correcting or modifying physiological functions in humans, by exerting a pharmacological, 
immunological or metabolic action, or to making a medicinal diagnosis, including active ingredients 
and diagnostic kits ex vivo.  (3) The importing country referred to in paragraph (1) of this Article shall be any country to which the 
pharmaceutical product is to be expor ted. The importing country may be: 
 
(a) any least-developed country appeari ng as such in the United Nations list; 
 (b) any member of the WTO, other than the least -developed country members referred to in item (a) 
of this paragraph that has made a notification to  the Council for TRIPS of its intention to use the 
system as an importer, including whether it will use the system in whole or in a limited way; 
 
(c) any country that is not a member of the WTO,  but is listed in the OECD Development Assistance 
Committee's list of low-income countries with a gross national product per capita of less than USD 745, and has made a notification to the Office of  its intention to use the system as an importer, 
including whether it will use the system in whole or in a limited way. 
 
(4) Any WTO member that has made a declaratio n that it will not use the system as an importing 
WTO member is not an eligible importing country.  IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
Page 54  
 
  (5) Importing countries, which are not WTO member s, and are least deve loped or developing 
countries, eligible under paragraph (3) of this Ar ticle shall comply with additional requirements: 
 (a) the importing country shall make the notification pursuant to the Decision directly to the Office;  
(b) the importing country shall state in the notificat ion that it will use the system to address public 
health problems, and not as an instrument to pursue industrial or commercial policy objectives, and that it will adopt the measures referred to in paragraph 4 of the Decision; 
 (c) the court may, upon a legal action instituted by a right holder or by the Office, terminate a 
compulsory license, if the importing country has failed to comply with its obligations referred to in 
item (b).  (6) A legal action containing an application for the grant of a compulsory license shall be instituted 
before the court pursuant to the provisions of Article 67a  of this Act, if in the territory of the Republic 
of Croatia there is a patent or a Supplementary Pr otection Certificate the effects of which cover the 
intended manufacturing and sale activity for export purposes.  (7) A legal action shall contain:  (a) information concerning the applications for co mpulsory licences filed in other countries for the 
same product with details of the quantit ies and importing countries concerned; 
 (b) information concerning the applicant for a co mpulsory licence and of her/his representative, if 
any;  
(c) the non-proprietary name of the pharmaceuti cal product, which the applicant intends to 
manufacture under the compulsory licence;  (d) the quantity of the pharmaceutical product, wh ich the applicant intends to manufacture under the 
compulsory licence;  
(e) the importing country; 
 (f) evidence of prior negotiations with the right holder pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (10) of 
this Article;  
(g) evidence of a specific request from an authorized representative of the importing country, or a 
non-governmental organization acting with the fo rmal authorization of one or more importing 
countries, or UN bodies or other international health organization acting with the formal authorization 
of one or more importing countries, indica ting the quantity of the product required. 
 (8) When deciding on an application for the grant of  a compulsory license, the court shall verify in 
particular the following: 
 (a) whether each importing country cited in the ap plication, which is a WTO member, has made a 
notification to the WTO pursuant to the Decision, or whether each importing country cited in the 
application, which is not a WTO member, has ma de a notification to the Office pursuant to the 
provisions of this Article in respect of each of the products covered by the application. This shall be 
without prejudice to the possibility, which the least -developed countries have pursuant to the Decision 
of the TRIPS Council of 27 July 2002;   IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
 Page 55 
 
 
  (b) that the quantity of the product cited in the a pplication does not exceed that notified to the WTO 
and the Office, respectively, by an importing country, which is a WTO member;  (c) that, taking into account other compulsory licen ses granted elsewhere, the total amount of the 
product authorized to be produced for any importi ng country does not significantly exceed the amount 
notified by that country to the WTO, and the Office, respectively. 
 (9) The information referred to in paragraph (8) of  this Article shall be provided and presented in a 
legal action by the applicant for the grant of a compulsory licence.  
(10) A compulsory license may be granted only if the applicant has made efforts to obtain 
authorization from the patent owner for the expl oitation of the protected invention on reasonable 
commercial terms and conditions, and if such efforts have not been successful within thirty days prior 
to a legal action. This provision shall not apply in situations of national emergency or other 
circumstances of extreme urgency, or in cases of pu blic non-commercial use, pursuant to Article 31, 
item (b) of the TRIPS Agreement. 
 
COMPULSORY LICENSE CONDITIONS 
Article 69b 
 (1) A compulsory license shall be granted as a non- exclusive license, and its scope and duration, 
which shall be cited in a decision on its grant, sha ll be exclusively limited to the purpose for which it 
has been granted. The quantity of products to be  manufactured under such licence shall not exceed the 
quantity necessary to satisfy the needs of the importi ng country, or importing countries cited in a legal 
action, taking into account the quantity of the products manufactured under compulsory licenses 
granted elsewhere. 
 
(2) A compulsory license shall be transferred only wi th the production plant in which the invention, it 
is granted for, has been exploited.  (3) In its decision the court shall specify the acts, which the applicant is entitled to perform, and which 
are necessary for the purpose of manufacturing the produc ts intended for export and distribution in the 
country or countries cited in the application. No product made or imported under a compulsory 
license shall be offered for sale or put on the market  in any country other than that cited in the 
application, except where an importing country av ails itself of the possibilities under subparagraph 
6(i) of the Decision to export to fellow members of  a regional trade agreement that share the health 
problem in question. 
 
(4) In its decision the court shall order that th e products made under such license shall be clearly 
identified, through specific labeling or marking, as being produced under a compulsory licence. The 
products shall be distinguished from those made by the right holder through special packaging and/or special coloring or shaping, provided that such dis tinction is feasible, and does not have a significant 
impact on price. The packaging and any associated lite rature shall bear an indication that the product 
is subject to a compulsory license, giving the name of the competent court which granted it, the file 
number and specifying clearly that the product is inte nded exclusively for export to and distribution in 
the importing country or countries. Details of the pro duct characteristics shall be made available to the 
customs authorities in the Republic of Croatia a nd the Member States of the European Union. 
 
(5) In its decision the court shall order that before  shipment to the importing country the licensee shall 
post on a web site, the address of which shall be  communicated to the Office, the following 
information:  (a) the quantities of products being supplied under the licence to the importing countries; IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
Page 56  
 
   
(b) the distinguishing features of the product concerned.  (6) If a product covered by a compulsory licence grante d in the Republic of Croatia, is patented in the 
importing country cited in the application, the produ ct shall only be exported if those countries have 
issued a compulsory licence for the import, sale and/or distribution of the product concerned. 
 (7) In its decision the court shall order the app licant to pay remuneration to the right holder, as 
determined by the court as follows:  
(a) in the cases of national emergency or other circ umstances of extreme urgency or in cases of public 
non-commercial use under Article 31 item (b) of the TRIPS Agreement, the remuneration shall be a 
maximum of 4% of the total price to be pa id by the importing country or on its behalf; 
 (b) in all other cases, the remuneration shall be de termined taking into account the economic value of 
the use authorized under the license to the importi ng country or countries concerned, as well as 
humanitarian or non-commercial circumstances relating to the issue of the license. 
 (8) When the court decision on the grant of a com pulsory license has become final, the court may, 
upon a claim for the preservation of evidence filed by the right holder, inspect books and other records kept by the licensee, for th e sole purpose of checking whether all the obligations contained in 
the court decision on the grant of a compulsory licen se, and in particular those relating to the final 
destination of the products, have been complied with . The books and records shall contain a proof of 
exportation of the product, in the form of a d eclaration of exportation certified by the customs 
authority, and a proof of importation.  
(9) The license conditions shall be without prejudice to the method of distribution in the importing 
country.  
REFUSAL OF AN APPLICATION FOR THE GRANT OF A COMPULSORY LICENCE 
Article 69c 
 
The court shall refuse by a decision an application fo r the grant of a compulsory license if it does not 
contain elements necessary for taking a decision, or if any of the conditio ns for the grant of a 
compulsory licence laid down in this Act have not been met.  
TERMINATION OR MODIFICATION OF A COMPULSORY LICENCE 
Article 69d 
 (1) The right holder or the licensee may institute a legal action claiming from the court to terminate a 
compulsory licence, if it has estab lished that the counter party has failed to respect a decision on the 
grant of a compulsory license. In its decision to terminate the compulsory license, the court shall 
specify the time period within which the licensee shall arrange for any pr oduct in his possession, 
custody, power or control to be redirected at hi s expense to the countries in  need referred to in 
Article 69a of this Act, or otherwise dispo sed of, in consultation with the right holder. 
 (2) When notified by the importing country that the amount of pharmaceutical product has become 
insufficient to met its needs, the licensee may institute a legal action, claiming the modification of the 
licence conditions, for the purpose of permitting th e manufacture and export of additional quantities 
of the product to the extent necessary to meet the needs of the importing country concerned. In such 
cases the court shall apply expeditious proceedings. If the additional quantity of the product requested 
does not exceed 25%, the provisions of Article 69a paragraph (8) of this Act shall not apply. 
  IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
 Page 57 
 
 
  NOTIFICATIONS 
Article 69e 
 (1) The court shall notify the Council for TRIPS thr ough the intermediary of the Office of its final 
decisions on the grant of compulsory licenses, and of the license conditions, as well as of its 
termination or modification. 
 (2) The information provided shall include in particular:  (a) the name and address of the licensee; 
 
(b) the product concerned;  (c) the quantity to be supplied;  
(d) the importing country; 
 (e) the duration of the licence;  (f) the website address referred to in Arti cle 69b, paragraph (5) of this Act. 
 
PROHIBITION OF IMPORTATION 
Article 69f 
 (1) The import into the Republic of Croatia and the member countries of the European Union of 
products manufactured under a compulsory license gran ted pursuant to the provisions of this Act for 
the purposes of release for free circulation, re-import, placing under suspensive procedures or placing 
in a free zone or free warehouse shall be prohibited.  (2) Paragraph (1) of this Article shall not apply in  the case of re-export to the importing country cited 
in the application and identified in the packaging and documentation associated with the product, or 
placing under a transit or customs warehouse procedur e or in a free zone or free warehouse for the 
purpose of re-export to that importing country. 
 
ACTION BY CUSTOMS AUTHORITIES 
Article 69g 
 
(1) If there are sufficient grounds for suspecting that products manufactured under a compulsory 
license granted pursuant to the provisions of this Act are being imported in the Republic of Croatia 
contrary to the provisions of Artic le 69f paragraph (1) of this Act,  the competent customs authorities 
shall detain the products concerned for checking, as long as necessary, but not more than 10 working 
days. If special circumstances apply, the competen t customs authorities may decide on the extension 
of the detention period by a maximum of 10 working days. 
 
(2) The competent customs authorities shall inform without delay the right holder and the manufacturer or the exporter of the products c oncerned, about the detention referred to in 
paragraph (1), and shall invite him to furnish information and evidence on the products concerned. 
 
(3) If in the detention period the competent custom s authorities establish violation of the compulsory 
license, contrary to the prohibition referred to in Arti cle 69f paragraph (1) of this Act, it shall seize the 
products and put them out of circulation in accordance with the customs regulations. 
 IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
Page 58  
 
  (4) The procedure of detention and seizure of the goods shall be carried out at the expense of the 
importer in accordance with the customs regula tions. The importer and any other person who 
attempted illicit importation shall be severally responsib le for the recovery of the expenses concerned.  
 (5) If established that the importation of the produc ts detained in accordance with the provisions of 
this Article would not violate the prohibition referred to in Article 69f paragraph (1) of this Act, the 
customs authorities shall release the products in the territory of the Republic of Croatia, provided that 
the customs regulations have been complied with.  (6) The customs authorities shall notify the Office of any seizures and destruction of the products 
made in accordance with the provisions of this Article. 
 
Article 69h 
 The provisions of Articles 69f and 69g of this Ac t shall not apply to import of small quantities of 
products within the limits laid down in respect of relief from customs duty, contained in traveler's 
personal luggage intended for pe rsonal and non-commercial use." 
 
Article 25 
 
The headings above Articles 71, 72 and 73,  and Articles 71, 72 and 73 are deleted. 
 
Article 26 
 
In Article 76, paragraph (1) is amended to read:  "(1) The patent owner may surrender a patent in its entirety or in part by a written declaration on the 
surrender thereof, certified by the public notary. Th e declaration on surrender shall take effect on the 
day following the day of its communication to the Office."  After paragraph (2), paragraph (3) is added to read:  "(3) The surrender of a patent shall be entered into the register, and published in the official gazette of 
the Office." 
 
Article 27 
 
A heading above Article 77, and Article 77 are deleted. 
 
Article 28 
 
In Article 81, paragraph (4) the second sentence is added to read:  "At the same time the Office shall invite the applican t to file, where necessary, the description, claims 
and drawings as amended, provide d that the subject matter of the protection does not extend beyond 
the content of a patent as granted." 
 
Paragraphs (5), (6) and (7) are amended to read: 
 "(5) Before taking a decision to maintain a patent as amended, the Office shall inform the parties that 
it intends to maintain the patent as amended in the procedure for the declaration of nullity, and shall 
invite them to file their reasone d observations within a period referre d to in paragraph (3) of this 
Article, if they disapprove of the text in which it intends to maintain the patent. If the parties 
disapprove of such text, the procedure for th e declaration of nullity may be continued.  IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
 Page 59 
 
 
   
(6) If the parties approve of the text in which the Offi ce intends to maintain the patent or if they fail to 
reply to the invitation referred to in paragraph (5) of  this Article, the Office shall invite the owner of 
the patent to pay the administrative fee and procedur al charges for printing a new patent specification 
within a period of 60 days from the receipt of the i nvitation. If the fee and procedural charges are not 
paid in due time, the patent shall be declared  null and void within the limits of the proposal. 
 (7) Upon a reasoned request, the Office may extend the time limits referred to in this Article for a 
period it considers to be justified, but which shall not exceed 60 days." 
 
After paragraph (7), paragraphs (8) and (9) are added to read: 
 "(8) The Office may hold oral proceedings, if it co nsiders it necessary in order to establish the facts 
essential for its decision.  
(9) If a proposal for the declaration of nullity of a consensual patent is filed, and where the supporting 
evidence referred to in Article 80, paragraph (2) of this Act is sufficient for likelihood that the 
consensual patent does not comply with the requireme nts referred to in Article 41 of this Act, a reply 
to the invitation referred to in paragraph (3) of this Article shall also contain a request for the 
substantive examination."  
Article 29 
 
In Article 83, paragraph (1) after the word "in part," the words "taking into consideration the 
amendments of a patent made by the owner in th e procedure concerning a proposal for the declaration 
of nullity of a patent," are added". 
 
Article 30 
 
A heading above Article 84 and Article 84 are deleted.  
Article 31 
 
After Article 87, a Title "Xa SUPPLEMENTARY PROTECTION CERTIFICATE", the headings and Articles 87a to 87n are added to read:  
"MEANING OF TERMS 
Article 87a 
 (1) In relation to Supplementary Protection Certif icates granted for medicinal products intended for 
humans or animals (hereinafter: the Certificate), the following terms mean:  (a) "medicinal product" is any substance or co mbination of substances intended for treating or 
preventing disease in human beings or animals, an d any substance or combination of substances, 
which may be administered to human beings or an imals with a view to restoring, correcting or 
modifying physiological functions in humans or in animals, or to making a medicinal diagnosis; 
 (b) "product" is the active ingredient or combina tion of active ingredients of a medicinal product; 
 
(c) "basic patent" is a patent whic h is designated by its owner for the purpose of the procedure for the 
grant of a Supplementary Protection Certificate, pr otecting a product as such, as defined in item (b) of 
this paragraph, or a process for obtaining a product or an application of a product; 
 IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
Page 60  
 
  (d) "first authorization to place on the market" is the first authorization to place a medicinal product 
intended for humans or animals on the market in the Republic of Croatia or in the European Union. 
 (2) In relation to Supplementary Protection Cer tificates, granted for plant protection products 
(hereinafter: the Certificate), the following terms mean: 
 
(a) "plant protection product" is an  active substance or a preparat ion containing one or more active 
substances, put up in the form in which th ey are supplied to the user, intended to: 
 - protect plants or plant products against harmful or ganisms or prevent the action of such organisms, 
in so far as such substances or prep arations are not defined otherwise; 
 - influence the life processes of plants, other th an as a nutrient (e.g. plant growth regulator); 
 - preserve plant products, in so far as such substan ces or products are not subject to special provisions 
on preservatives; 
 - destroy undesirable plants; or  - destroy parts of plants, check or prevent undesirable growth of plants;  
(b) "substance" is a chemical element or its com pounds, as they occur naturally or by manufacture, 
including any impurity inevitably resulting from the manufacturing process;  (c) "active substance" is a substance or a microor ganism, including viruses, having general or specific 
action: 
 
- against harmful organisms; or  - on plants, parts of plants or plant products;  (d) "preparation" is a mixture or a solution composed of two or more substances, of which at least one 
is an active substance, intended for use as a plant protection product; 
 (e) "plant" is a live plant and live part of plants, including fresh fruit and seeds; 
 (f) "plant product" is a product in the unprocessed st ate or having undergone only simple preparation 
such as milling, drying or pressing, derived from plan ts, but excluding plants themselves as defined in 
item (e) of this paragraph;  (g) harmful organisms" are pests of plants or plan t products belonging to the animal or plant kingdom, 
such as viruses, bacteria and mycoplasmas and other pathogens;  
(h) "product" is the active substance as defined in ite m (c) of this paragraph, or combination of active 
substances of a plant protection product;  (i) "basic patent" is a patent which is designated by  its owner for the purpose of the procedure for the 
grant of a Supplementary Protection Certificate, pr otecting a product as such, as defined in item (h) of 
this paragraph, a preparation as defined in item (d ) of this paragraph, or a process for obtaining a 
product or an application of a product;  (j) "first authorization to place on the market" is the first authorization to place plant protection products on the market in the Republic of Croatia or in the European Union.  IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
 Page 61 
 
 
   
DURATION OF THE CERTIFICATE 
Article 87b 
 (1) The Certificate may be granted in accordance w ith the provisions of this Act in the cases where a 
basic patent has been granted for a medicinal pro duct intended for humans or animals, or for a plant 
protection product, the placing on the market of wh ich requires prior authorization by the competent 
State authority.  (2) The Certificate shall take effect promptly after the expiration of the lawful term of the basic 
patent. 
 (3) The rights conferred by the Certificate shall run for a period equal to the period which elapsed 
between the date of filing of the application for a basi c patent, and the date of the first authorization to 
place the medicinal product intended for humans or an imals, or the plant protection product protected 
by a patent on the market, reduced by a period of five years. 
 (4) The duration of the Certificate may not exceed five years from the date on which it takes effect. 
 (5) The duration of the Certificate shall be specified by a decision issued by the Office. 
 
CONDITIONS FOR OBTAINING THE CERTIFICATE 
Article 87c 
 The Certificate shall be granted upon a request of the owner of the basic patent, if the following 
conditions are met on the date of filing of the application for the Certificate: 
 
1. the medicinal product intended for humans or anim als, or the plant protection product, respectively, 
is protected by a basic patent in force;  2. authorization to place the medicinal product intend ed for humans or animals, or the plant protection 
product, respectively, on the market has been gran ted in the Republic of Croatia, and is in force; 
 
3. the basic patent for the medicinal product intende d for humans or animals, or the plant protection 
product, respectively, has not already been the subject of the Certificate;  4. the application for a basic patent is filed in the Republic of Croatia after 1 January 1993; and 
 
5. the first authorization to place the medicinal product intended for humans or animals, or the plant protection product, respectively, on the mark et has been granted after 1 January 2005. 
 
APPLICATION FOR THE CERTIFICATE 
Article 87d 
 
The application for the Certificate shall be filed with  the Office within 6 months from the date of the 
grant of the authorization, referred to in Article 87c item 2 of this Act, to place the medicinal product 
intended for humans or animals, or the plant protecti on product, respectively, on the market, and if the 
authorization has been granted before the grant of th e basic patent, within six months from the date of 
publication of the mention of the grant of the pa tent referred to in Article 51 of this Act. 
    IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
Page 62  
 
  CONTENT OF THE APPLICATION FOR THE CERTIFICATE 
Article 87e 
 (1) The Certificate granting procedure shall be instituted by filing an application containing: 
 
1. a request for the grant of the Certificate, stating in particular: 
 (a) an express indication of the fact that the Certificate is applied for;  (b) the name and address of the applicant; 
 
(c) the name and address of the representative, if any;  (d) the number of the basic patent and the title of the invention;  
2. the number and date of the first authorizati on to place the product on the market, or indication of 
the number and date of the first authorization, if the authorization as filed is not the first authorization 
to place the product on the market;  3. the authorization to place the product on the ma rket, issued by the comp etent authority in the 
procedure prescribed by special regulation; 
 
4. evidence showing the identity of the product, the content of the authorization procedure, and the gazette in which indication concerning the authoriza tion was published, if the authorization referred to 
in item 2 is not the first authorization to place the product on the market;  
5. evidence as to payment of the administrative f ee and procedural charges for the grant of the 
Certificate.  (2) If the applicant for the Certifi cate is the owner of more than one  patent for the same product, he 
shall be granted only one Certificate for that product.  
(3) If two or more applications concern the sa me product, and are emanating from two or more 
owners of different patents, one Certificate for this product may be granted to each of these owners. 
 (4) The request referred to in paragraph (1), item 1 of this Article shall be filed on the form, the 
content of which shall be prescribed by the Ordinance. 
 
FORMALITIES EXAMINATION PROCEDURE 
Article 87f 
 (1) The Office shall carry out formalities examin ation procedure upon the application for the 
Certificate as filed. 
 
(2) The formalities examination pro cedure shall establish whether: 
 1. the application is filed in the required form  and contains all the indications prescribed by 
Article 87e, paragraph (1), item 1 of this Act; 
 
2. the administrative fee and procedural charges are paid;  3. the application is filed within a pe riod prescribed by Article 87d of this Act; 
  IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
 Page 63 
 
 
  4. the application is accompanied by the evidence pr escribed by Article 87e, paragraph (1), items 3 
and 4 of this Act; and  5. the basic patent was in force at the time of  filing of the application for the Certificate. 
 
(3) If the application for the Certificate does not c ontain the elements prescribed by paragraph (2) of 
this Article, the Office shall invite the applicant to  remedy the deficiencies indicated in the invitation 
within a period of 30 days from the receipt of the invitation.  (4) If the applicant fails to remedy the found defici encies within a prescribed  time limit, the Office 
shall issue a decision on the rejection of  the application for the Certificate. 
 (5) If the applicant remedies the deficiencies within  a period referred to in paragraph (2) of this 
Article, the Office shall carry out a substantive examination procedure. 
 
SUBSTANTIVE EXAMINATION PROCEDURE 
Article 87g 
 
(1) In the course of a substantive examination procedure the Office shall examine whether: 
 1. the conditions for obtaining the Certificate laid down in Article 87c of this Act were met on the 
filing date of the application;  
2. the product for which the Certificate is a pplied for is protected by the basic patent; 
 3. the authorization to place the product on the mark et has been granted in the manner as prescribed 
by special regulation;  
4. the product has already been the subject of the Certificate. 
 (2) If, in the course of the examination procedure,  the Office establishes that all of the prescribed 
conditions are met, it shall issue a decision on the gr ant of the Certificate. The decision shall also 
specify the duration of the Certificate.  
(3) If, in the course of the examination procedure, the Office establishes that not all of the prescribed 
conditions are met, it shall refuse an appli cation for the Certificate by a decision. 
 
CONTENT OF THE CERTIFICATE 
Article 87h 
 
The Certificate shall contain: 
 (a) the name and address of the holder of the Certificate; 
 
(b) the number of the basic patent; 
 
(c) the title of the invention; 
 
(d) the number and date of the authorization to pl ace the product on the market, and the name of the 
product identified in that authorization; 
 (e) the number and date of the first authorization to place the product on the market, where necessary pursuant to the provisions of Article 87e , paragraph (1), item 2 of this Act; 
 
(f) the duration of the Certificate. IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
Page 64  
 
   
ENTRY IN THE REGISTER 
Article 87i 
 The indications concerning the procedure for the gran t of the Certificate and the duration thereof shall 
be entered in the register of the Office pur suant to the provisions of the Ordinance. 
 
SUBJECT MATTER AND EFFECTS OF PROTECTION 
Article 87j 
 
(1) Within the limits of the protection conferred by  the basic patent, the protection conferred by the 
Certificate shall extend only to the medicinal product intended for humans or animals, or to the plant 
protection product, respectively, covered by the authorization to place it on the market, as well as for any use of the product as a medicinal product intended for humans or animals or as a plant protection product, respectively, that has been authori zed before the expiry of the Certificate. 
 
(2) The Certificate shall confer to the owner of th e basic patent or to his successor in title the same 
rights as are conferred by the basic patent and shall be subject to the same limitations and the same 
obligations.  
PUBLICATION 
Article 87k 
 (1) In its official gazette, the Office shall publish data concerning the filing of an application for the 
Certificate, the issue of the decision on the grant of the Certificate, or the rejection of the application 
for the Certificate, respectively and the termination of the Certificate. 
 
The data to be published shall be defined by the Ordinance.  
EXPIRY OF THE CERTIFICATE 
Article 87l 
 
(1) The Certificate shall lapse at the expiry  of the period for which it was granted. 
 (2) The Certificate shall lapse before the expiry of the period for which it was granted:  1. if the Certificate-holder surrenders it, on the day following the day on which a certified written 
declaration of surrender is furnished to the Office; 
 2. if the annual fee for the maintenance thereof is not paid within the prescribed time limit; 
 3. if the product for which the Certificate was gran ted may no longer be placed on the market as a 
result of the withdrawal of the authorization to  place it on the market in accordance with a national 
regulation. 
 (3) The Office shall decide on the expiry of the Certifi cate ex officio, or at the request of an interested 
person.  
DECLARATION OF NULLITY OF A SUPPLEMENTARY PROTECTION CERTIFICATE 
Article 87m 
 (1) The Certificate shall be declared null a nd void in the procedure before the Office: 
  IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
 Page 65 
 
 
  1. if it was granted contrary to the provisions of this Act; 
 2. if the basic patent has lapsed pursuant to the provisions of Articles 75, 76 and 85 of this Act;  3. if the basic patent is declared null and void in its entirety or in part, whereby the product for which 
the Certificate was granted would no longer be protecte d by the claims of the basic patent or, if, upon 
the expiry of the basic patent, grounds exist wh ich would justify such a declaration of nullity. 
 (2) The provisions of this Act relating to the procedure concerning a proposal for the declaration of nullity of a patent shall apply mutatis mutandis to th e procedure for the declaration of nullity of the 
Certificate. 
 
RELATION TO A CONSENSUAL PATENT 
Article 87n 
 
The provisions concerning the Certificate sh all not apply to a consensual patent." 
 
Article 32 
 
The Title "XI. ENFORCEMENT OF RIGHTS" is ame nded to read: "XI. APPEAL", and a subheading 
"1. Civil Protection" is amended to read "1. Appeal Procedure". 
 
A heading above Article 88 is amended to read: "RIGHT OF APPEAL"  Article 88 is amended to read:  
"(1) Any party entirely or partially adversely affected  by the decisions of the Office issued in the first 
instance shall have the right to file an appeal w ithin 30 days from the date of communication of the 
decision.  (2) Other parties to the procedure terminated by a d ecision appealed shall have the right to be parties 
to the appeal procedure." 
 
Article 33 
 
A heading above Article 89 is amende d to read: "CONTENT OF AN APPEAL" 
 
Article 89 is amended to read: 
 "In addition to the indications, which shall be c ontained in any communication, an appeal shall 
contain:  1. an indication of the decision appealed; 
 
2. a statement defining whether the decision is contested in its entirety or in part; 
 3. the grounds for appeal;  
4. a statement of reasons for appeal, and all the evidence supporting the appellant's allegations 
contained in the appeal;  5. the signature of the appellant  IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
Page 66  
 
  6. a power of attorney, if the appeal is filed through a representative." 
 
Article 34 
 
A heading above Article 90 is amende d to read: "DECIDING ON AN APPEAL" 
 
Article 90 is amended to read:  "(1) The Board of Appeal shall take d ecisions in sessions, by a majority vote. 
 
(2) The Board of Appeal shall decide on the basis of communications filed by the parties, and if it 
considers it necessary, or upon the request of any party to the procedure, it may order oral proceedings. The parties shall be summoned to oral proceedings at least 45 days before it takes place. 
 (3) The provisions of Articles 47 and 48, or 81 and 83, respectively, of this Act shall apply mutatis 
mutandis to the decisions of the Board of Appeal on an appeal." 
 
Article 35 
 
After Article 90, a subheading is added to read "2. Composition and Organization of the Boards of 
Appeal" 
 
Article 36 
 
A heading above Article 91 is ame nded to read: "BOARDS OF APPEAL" 
 
Article 91 is amended to read: 
 "(1) The Boards of Appeal for industrial propert y rights responsible for deciding on appeals against 
the decisions issued by the State Intellectual Prope rty Office in the first instance (hereinafter: the 
Boards of Appeal) shall be established as indepe ndent bodies responsible for deciding on appeals in 
accordance with the provisions of this Act. 
 
(2) In their operations, the Boards of Appeals sh all use a seal containing the coat-of-arms of the 
Republic of Croatia.  (3) The provisions regulating the content of the headings of official documents of the State 
administration bodies shall apply to the content of the headings of official documents of the Boards of 
Appeal.  (4) The Boards of Appeal shall have their seat at the Office. The Office shall place at the disposal of 
the Boards of Appeal such premises and equipm ent as necessary for the perfo rmance of their tasks. 
 
(5) The Secretariat of the Boards of Appeal, orga nized as an organizational unit within the Office, 
shall perform clerical and other administrative tasks for the Boards of Appeal.  (6) The President of the Boards of Appeal (hereinaft er: the President) shall administer the work of the 
Boards of Appeal. 
 
(7) The President and members of the Boards of  Appeal shall be independent, not bound by any 
instructions of the Director General of the Offi ce, and shall perform their tasks impartially, in 
accordance with the law.   IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
 Page 67 
 
 
  (8) The President and members of the Boards of App eal shall have the status of independent experts, 
and shall be awarded remuneration for their work pursuant to the Ordinance on Remunerations for the 
Work of the Boards of Appeal for industrial property rights. They may, during their term of office in the Boards of Appeal, perform other tasks and dutie s, and may at the same time be officials and 
employees of the Office. 
 
(9) The President shall, subject to approval by the Director General of the Office, enact the Rules of 
Procedure of the Boards of Appeal for industrial property rights."  
Article 37 
 
A heading above Article 92 is amended to read: "APPOINTMENT AND REMOVAL FROM 
OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARDS OF APPEAL"  Article 92 is amended to read: 
 
"(1) The President, two Vice-Presidents and 14 memb ers of the Boards of Appeal shall be appointed 
by the Government, upon a public invitation and a pr oposal from the Director General of the Office, 
for a term of 5 years, with a possibility to be re-appointed.  (2) The President may be any bachelor of laws who,  after passing a bar examination, worked in the 
legal field related to intellectual property for 4 years, and is an expert in the field of industrial property 
law.  (3) The Vice-Presidents may be:  
- any bachelor of engineering who, after passing the State vocational examination, worked in the field 
related to intellectual property for 4 years, and is an expert in the patent law; and 
 - any bachelor of laws, or a bachelor of economics, or a bachelor of arts in the French, English or 
Croatian languages, who, afte r passing the State vocational examinati on, worked in the field related to 
intellectual property for 4 years, and is an expe rt in the trademark and industrial design laws. 
 
(4) The members of the Boards of Appeal shall be:  - two bachelors of law, who have passed the Stat e vocational examination, and are experts in the 
patent and the topographies of semiconductor products  law, having worked in the field related to 
intellectual property for 4 years; 
 - five bachelors of engineering, who have passed th e State vocational examination, and are experts in 
the patent law, having worked in the field re lated to intellectual property for 4 years; and 
 - seven persons who are either bachelors of laws, or  bachelors of economics, or bachelors of arts in 
the French, English or Croatian languages, and are experts in the trademark, industrial design and 
geographical indications laws, having worked in the field related to intellectual property for 4 years; 
 (5) The Government may, upon a reasoned request by the Director General of the Office, remove from office the President, the Vice-President or a member of the Boards of Appeal: 
 
- on his own request;  - if he has permanently lost the capacity to pe rform his duties due to illness or the like reasons; 
 IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
Page 68  
 
  - if he has been convicted for a criminal act, making him unworthy of performing such a duty; 
 - if established that he has misused his position;  - if established that he has seriously violated the la w or rules of profession, or has seriously neglected 
his duties causing thereby dysfunction of the Boards of Appeal and prejudicing the lawful and timely 
performance of their duties; or  - when he has reached seventy.  
Article 38 
 
A heading above Article 93 is amended to r ead: "BOARD OF APPEAL FO R EACH INDIVIDUAL 
CASE"  
Article 93 is amended to read: 
 "(1) Taking into consideration the circumstances and nature of any individual case, the President 
shall, from among the persons appointed in accordance with the provisions of Article 92 of this Act, 
constitute the Board of Appeal composed of three persons (hereinafter: the Board of Appeal), and a 
Chairman from among them to decide on an appeal. 
 
(2) A person who has participated in taking the deci sion appealed may not be a member of the Board 
of Appeal referred to in pa ragraph 1 of this Article." 
 
Article 39 
 
A heading above Article 94 is amended to read: "EXCLUSION OF A MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF APPEAL"  Article 94 is amended to read:  
"(1) A member of the Board of Appeal, referred to in Article 93 of this Act shall be excluded from 
taking part in decisions on appeals in the cases in  which he has any personal interest, or has 
previously been involved as a representative, or au thorized legal representative of one of the parties, 
or in which he participated in taking the decision ap pealed, or if there are other circumstances, likely 
to doubt his impartiality. 
 
(2) The exclusion may be requested by a party to the procedure, or by a member as appointed. The 
Director General of the Office shall decide on the ex clusion. He shall issue a decision within 15 days 
from the communication of the request for exclusion. Pending the decision of the Director General of 
the Office, a member whose exclusion is to be deci ded on shall refrain from any further activity in the 
case concerned. The decision of the Director General of the Office may not be appealed, but may be 
subject to the institution of an administrative dispute. 
 (3) The Director General of the Office shall inform without delay the President and the member of the 
Board of Appeal concerned of the request for exclus ion as filed. If the Director General of the Office 
decides that the appointed member of the Board of  Appeal shall be excluded, the President shall 
appoint, without delay, other member to take his place."  IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
 Page 69 
 
 
  Article 40 
 
After Article 94, a Title "XI.a PROTECTION OF  RIGHTS IN THE CASE OF INFRINGEMENT" is 
added.  
Article 41 
 
A heading above Article 95 is amended to read: "PERSONS ENTITLED TO CLAIM THE 
PROTECTION OF RIGHTS"  
Article 95 is amended to read: 
 "The protection of the rights under this Act may be claimed by a right holder, or a person authorized 
by her/him pursuant to the general provisions on re presentation, and, apart from her/him by the holder 
of the exclusive licence, to the extent that he has acquired the right of exploitation of an invention on 
the basis of a legal transaction or law." 
 
Article 42 
 
After Article 95, headings and Articles 95a to 95m are added to read:  
"CLAIM TO ESTABLISH THE RIGHT TO THE GRANT OF A PATENT" 
Article 95a 
 (1) If a patent application is filed by a person not enti tled to the grant of a patent for an invention, the 
inventor or his successor in title, respectively, my institute a legal action claiming establishment of his 
right to the grant of a patent for the invention. 
 (2) If a patent application is filed by a person who is not entitled to it and who is one of several 
persons having jointly created the invention, other inventors or their successors in title, respectively, 
may claim establishment of their right s to the grant of a joint patent. 
 
(3) The legal actions referred to in paragraphs (1 ) and (2) of this Article may be filed up to the 
decision on the grant of a patent.  (4) The inventor or his successor in title, respectively, whose entitlement to the grant of a patent for an 
invention has been established by a final court decision may: 
 
- resume the procedure for the grant of a patent within 3 months from the day on which the court 
decision becomes final, or  - file a new patent application for the same inve ntion claiming the accordance of the filing date and 
priority date, if any, of the application filed by the person not entitled to it. 
 
(5) The inventor whose entitlement to the grant of a patent for the invention has been established by a 
final court decision may, at any time, claim from the Office to enter his name into the patent application and all the documents issued for a pate nt, as well as into the appropriate Office registers. 
The entry of the inventor's name may also be claimed by his successor in title. 
 IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
Page 70  
 
  CLAIM DUE TO INFRINGEMENT OF THE RIGHT OF THE INVENTOR  
TO BE MENTIONED AS SUCH 
Article 95b 
 (1) If the person who is not the inventor is ment ioned as such in the patent application and/or 
documents relating to a patent and/or the registers of  the Office, or if the inventor is not mentioned, 
the inventor may institute a legal action claiming the mention of his name.  (2) If the person who is not the inventor is ment ioned as such in the patent application and/or 
documents relating to a patent and/or the register s of the Office, a legal action shall be instituted 
against such person, and if the inventor is not men tioned, a legal action shall be instituted against the 
Office.  (3) The right to the claim referred to in paragraph (1 ) of this Article shall also belong to the inventor 
of a joint invention. 
 
(4) The claim referred to in paragraph (1) of this  Article shall not be subject to the statute of 
limitations and shall not be inherited.  
CLAIMS FOR ESTABLISHMENT AND TERMINATION OF INFRINGEMENT 
Article 95c 
 
(1) The patent owner may institute a legal action against any person who has infringed a patent by 
performing without authorization any of the acts referr ed to in Article 58, paragraphs (2) and (3) and 
Article 59 of this Act, claiming establishment of the infringement.  
(2) The patent owner may institute a legal action against any person who has infringed a patent by 
performing without authorization any of the acts referr ed to in Article 58, paragraphs (2) and (3) and 
Article 59 of this Act, claiming termination of th e infringement and prohibition of such and similar 
future infringements.  (3) The patent owner may institute a legal action ag ainst any person who has by performing any of the 
acts without authorization caused a serious threat that his patent might be infringed, claiming 
desistance from the act concerned and prohibition of the infringement of the patent.  (4) The claims referred to in paragraphs (1), (2) an d (3) of this Article may also be made against a 
person who in the course of her/his economic activiti es renders services used in the acts infringing a 
patent or threatening to infringe it. 
 
CLAIM FOR SEIZURE AND DESTRUCTION OF OBJECTS 
Article 95d 
 (1) The patent owner may institute a legal action against any person who has infringed a patent by 
performing without authorization any of the acts referr ed to in Article 58, paragraphs (2) and (3) and 
Article 59 of this Act, claiming that the products  resulting from or acquired by the infringement of a 
patent, and the objects (implements and tools) predom inantly used in the manufacture of the products 
infringing the patent be removed from the market, sei zed or destroyed at the expense of that person. 
 
(2) The court shall order the measures referred to in paragraph (1) of this Article against the 
defendant, unless there are special reasons for not deciding so.  (3) When ordering the measure referred to in paragr aph (1) of this Article, the court shall take due 
care that they are proportionate to the nature and seriousness of the infringement.  IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
 Page 71 
 
 
  CLAIM FOR DAMAGES, USUAL COMPENSATION AND UNJUST ENRICHMENT 
Article 95e 
 (1) The patent owner may take a legal action against any person who has caused him damage by 
performing without authorization any of the acts referr ed to in Article 58, paragraphs (2) and (3) and 
Article 59 of this Act, claiming damages pursuant to  the general rules on legal redress laid down in 
the Obligations Act.  (2) The patent owner may institute a legal acti on against any person who has performed without 
authorization any of the acts referred to in Article 58, paragraphs (2) and (3) and Article 59 of this 
Act, claiming payment of remuneration in the amount that he would have claimed, given the 
circumstances, in the licence agreement, if concluded.  (3) The patent owner may take a legal action against any person who has infringed a patent by 
performing without authorization any of the acts referr ed to in Article 58, paragraphs (2) and (3) and 
Article 59 of this Act, without having basis for it in any legal transaction, court decision or the law, 
and has benefited from it, claiming the recovery or  compensation of such benefits pursuant to the 
general rules on unjust enrichment laid down in the Obligations Act.  (4) The claims referred to in paragraphs (1), (2 ) and (3) shall not be mutually excluding. When 
deciding on the claims referred to in paragraphs (1 ), (2) or (3), filed cumulatively, the court shall 
observe the general principles laid down in the Obligations Act. 
 
CLAIM FOR DAMAGES DUE TO INFRINGEMENT OF THE RIGHTS CONFERRED BY A 
PATENT APPLICATION OR A CONSENSUAL PATENT APPLICATION 
Article 95f 
 
(1) The patent applicant may institute a legal ac tion against any person who has within the period 
from the date of publication of the patent applicati on and the date of publication of the mention of the 
grant of the patent infringed the provisional rights conferred by a patent a pplication by performing 
without authorization any of the acts referred to in Article 58, paragraphs (2) and (3) and Article 59 of 
this Act, claiming damages pursuant to the general rules on legal redr ess laid down in the Obligations 
Act. 
 
(2) The right to the claim referred to in paragraph (1) of this Article shall also belong to the owner of a 
consensual patent, provided that he attaches to th e notice of legal action evidence that he has filed 
with the Office a request for the grant of a patent on the basis of a substantive examination of the 
patent application. 
 
(3) Upon the request of the court or any of the parti es to the procedure, referred to in paragraphs (1) 
and (2) of this Article, the Office shall promptly acce pt the application concerned and shall subject it 
to expeditious proceedings.  
CLAIM FOR PUBLICATION OF THE JUDGEMENT 
Article 95g 
 
The owner of a patent may claim that the final judgment even partially upholding the claim for 
protection of the patent in the case of infringement  is published in the means of public communication 
at the expense of the defendant. The court shall decide , within the limits of the claim, on the means of 
public communication in which the judgment shall be published, and whether it shall be published 
entirely or partially. If the court decides that only a part of the judgment shall be published, it shall 
order, within the limits of the claim, that at least the dispositive part of it and, if necessary, the part of 
the judgement specifying the in fringement concerned and the person having committed it is 
published. IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
Page 72  
 
  BURDEN OF PROOF 
Article 95h 
 In the civil proceedings concerning the infringement  of the patent protected process for obtaining a 
new substance, any equal substan ce or any substance of equal com position shall be considered as 
resulting from the protected process, until proven to the contrary by the person obtaining such a 
substance or composition.  
CLAIM FOR PROVISION OF INFORMATION 
Article 95i 
 
(1) The owner of a patent who has instituted civil proceedings for the protection of the patent in the 
case of infringement may claim the provision of inform ation on the origin and distribution channels of 
the goods infringing his patent.  
(2) The claim referred to in Article 1 may be made  in the form of a legal action or a provisional 
measure against:  - a person who has been sued in the civil proceedi ngs referred to in paragraph (1) of this Article; 
 - a person who is within her/his economic activities in possession of the goods suspected of infringing 
a patent; 
 - a person who provides, within her/his economic ac tivities, services suspected of infringing a patent; 
 - persons who provide, within their economic activ ities, services used in th e activities suspected of 
infringing a patent; 
 - a person who is indicated by any of the mentioned persons as being involved in the manufacture or distribution of the goods or the provision of the services suspected of infringing a patent; 
 (3) The claim referred to in Article 1 may also be included in a gradual legal action as the first claim, 
provided that a person acting as a counter party to th e defendant is also included in the main claim. 
 (4) The claim for information on the origin of th e goods and distribution channels of the goods and 
services referred to in paragraph (1) of this Article may include in particular:  
- information on the names and addresses of the produ cers, distributors, suppliers and other previous 
holders of the goods and providers of the services,  respectively, as well as the intended wholesalers 
and retailers;  - information on the quantities produced, delivered, r eceived or ordered, as well as the price obtained 
for the goods or services concerned. 
 
(5) The person required to provide the information re ferred to in this Article may refuse to provide 
such information on the same grounds as those allo wing the refusal to present evidence as a witness 
pursuant to the provisions of the Act on Civil Pro ceedings. If the person concerned refuses to provide 
information without justified reasons, she/he shall be  responsible for the damage incurred, pursuant to 
the provisions of the Obligations Act.  IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
 Page 73 
 
 
  (6) The provisions of this Article shall be without prejudice to the provisions on the manner of use of 
confidential information in civil and criminal pro ceedings, the provisions regulating the responsibility 
for misuse of the right to acquire informati on, and the provisions re gulating the processing and 
protection of personal data.  
(7) The provisions of this Article shall be without prejudice to the provisions of Article 91.l of this 
Act regulating the taking of evidence.  
PROVISIONAL MEASURES DUE TO INFRINGEMENT OF A PATENT 
Article 95j 
 
(1) Upon the request of the owner of a patent wh o makes it likely that her/his patent has been 
infringed or threatened to be infringed, the court may order any provisional measure comprising termination or prevention of the infringement, and in particular:  
- order the opposing party to cease or desist from, respectively, the acts infringing a patent; the court 
may also issue such order against an intermediary whose services are being used by a third party to 
infringe a patent;  - order the seizure or removal from the market of the goods resulted from or acquired by the 
infringement of a patent, and objects (implements and tools) predominantly used in the creation of the 
goods infringing a patent. 
 (2) Upon the request of the owner of a patent who ma kes it likely that his patent has been infringed on 
a commercial scale for the purpose of acquiring commercial or economic benefit, and that such infringement has threatened to cau se him irreparable damage, the court may, in addition to the 
provisional measures referred to in paragraph (1) of this Article, order the seizure of the movable and 
immovable property of the opposing party, not dire ctly related to the infringement, including the 
blocking of his bank accounts and other assets.  (3) For the purpose of ordering and enforcing the pr ovisional measure referred to in paragraph (2) of 
this Article, the court may require from the opposing pa rty or other relevant pe rsons disposing with it, 
the communication of the banking, financial and othe r economic information, or the access to other 
relevant information and documents . The court shall ensure the protection of confidentiality of such 
information, and prohibit any misuse thereof.  (4) The provisional measure referred to in paragr aph (1) of this Article may be ordered without 
informing the opposing party thereof, if the appli cant for measures makes it likely that otherwise the 
provisional measure would not be effective, or that irreparable damage is threatened to occur. The 
provisional measure referred to in paragraph (2) of this Article may be ordered without informing the 
opposing party thereof, if the applicant for measu res makes it likely that otherwise the provisional 
measure would not be effective, or that, taking into  consideration a very serious circumstances of the 
infringement, this would be necessary. If a provis ional measure is ordered without informing the 
opposing party thereof, the court shall communicate a decision on the provisional measure to the 
opposing party, promptly upon its enforcement.  (5) In the decision ordering a provisional measure the court shall specify the duration of such 
measure, and, if the measure has been ordered be fore the institution of a legal action, the period, 
within which the applicant for m easures shall institute a legal acti on to justify the measure, which 
shall not be less than 20 working days and not more than 31 calendar days, from the day of communication of the decision to the applican t for measures, whichever expires later. 
 (6) The provisions of the Execution Act shall a pply to matters, not regulated by this Article. IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
Page 74  
 
  (7) The provisions of this Article shall be wit hout prejudice to the possibility to order provisional 
measures pursuant to other provisions of this Act, and the provisions of the Execution Act.  
PROVISIONAL MEASURES COMPRISING THE PRESERVATION OF EVIDENCE 
Article 95k 
 
(1) Upon the request of the owner of a patent who ma kes it likely that his patent has been infringed, or 
threatened to be infringed, the court may order a provisional measure comprising the preservation of 
evidence.  
(2) By the provisional measure referred to in paragr aph (1) of this Article, the court may order in 
particular:  - preparation of a detailed description of the goods made likely to infringe a patent, with or without 
taking of samples; 
 
- seizure of the goods made likely to infringe a patent;  - seizure of the materials and implements used in  the production and distribution of the goods made 
likely to infringe a patent and the documentation relating thereto.  
(3) The provisional measure referred to in this Ar ticle may be ordered even without informing the 
opposing party thereof, if the applicant for measures makes it likely that there is a risk of evidence 
being destroyed or irreparable damage of incurring,  or that otherwise the provisional measure would 
not be effective. If a provisional measure is ordere d without informing the opposing party thereof, the 
court shall communicate a decision on the provisiona l measure to the opposing party, promptly upon 
its enforcement. 
 (4) In the decision ordering a provisional measure the court shall specify the duration of the measure, 
and, if the measure has been ordered before the in stitution of a legal action, the period, within which 
the applicant for measures shall institute a legal ac tion to justify the measure , which shall not be less 
than 20 working days and not more than 31 calendar days from the date of communication of the 
decision to the applicant for measures, whichever expires later. 
 (5) The provisions of the Execution Act shall a pply to matters, not regulated by this Article. 
 (6) The provisions of this Article shall be without  prejudice to the possibility of the court to order 
provisional measures comprising the preservation of evidence pursuant to the provisions of the Act on 
Civil Proceedings.  
TAKING OF EVIDENCE IN THE COURSE OF THE CIVIL PROCEEDINGS 
Article 95l 
 
(1) Where a party to the civil proceedings inv okes evidence claiming that it lies with the opposing 
party or under its control, the court shall invite the opposing party to present such evidence within a 
specified time limit.  (2) Where the owner of a patent as a plaintiff in a le gal action claims that the infringement of a patent 
has been committed on a commercial scale for th e purpose of acquiring commercial or economic 
benefit, and has made it likely during the proceed ings, and where he invokes in the proceedings 
banking, financial or similar economi c documents, papers or the like evidence, claiming that they lie 
with the opposing party or under its control, the co urt shall invite the opposing party to present such 
evidence within a specified time limit.  IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
 Page 75 
 
 
   
(3) Where the party, which is invited to present evid ence, denies that the evidence lies with it or under 
its control, the court may take evidence to establish such a fact. 
 (4) The provisions of the Act on Civil Proceedings re lating to the right of refusal to present evidence 
as a witness shall apply mutatis mutandis to the ri ght of the party to re fuse to present evidence. 
 (5) The court shall, taking into consideration all the circumstances of the case, decide at its own discretion, on the importance of the fact that the pa rty having the evidence refuses to comply with the 
court's decision ordering it to present evidence, or denies, contrary to the court's opinion, that the 
evidence lies with it. 
 (6) Against the decision of the court referred to in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this Article a separate 
appeal shall not be allowed.  
EXPEDITIOUS PROCEEDINGS AND APPLICATION OF THE PROVISIONS  
OF OTHER ACTS 
Article 95m 
 (1) A procedure concerning the infringement of th e rights under this Act shall be expeditious. 
 
(2) The provisions of the Act on Civil Proceedings, a nd the Execution Act, respectively, shall apply to 
the procedures concerning the infringement of a patent.  (3) Upon the request of the court or any of the par ties to the procedure concerning the infringement of 
a patent, the Office or the Board of Appeal, r espectively, shall promptly accept a request for the 
declaration of nullity of the decision on the grant of a patent, filed before or during the civil action, 
and shall subject it to the expeditious proceedings . The court shall, taking into consideration the 
circumstances of the case, decide whether it shall stay the proceedings up to the final decision on the 
request for the declaration of nullity of the decision on the grant of a patent, or not."  
Article 43 
 
A heading above Article 96, and Article 96 are deleted.  
Article 44 
 In Article 97 paragraph (1), item 4 is amended to read: 
 "4. offering or delivering a product which constitutes the essential elem ent of the protected invention 
to persons not entitled to use such invention (Article 58, paragraph (3), and Article 59). 
 In paragraph (2), number "8,000" is  replaced by number "10 000.00". 
 
After paragraph (3), a new para graph (4) is added to read: 
 "(4) A natural person – a craftsman or other self-emp loyed person, respectively, shall be punished for 
the misdemeanor, referred to in pa ragraph (1) of this Article, by a fine amounting from HRK 5 000.00 
to 50 000.00, where the misdemeanor has been commi tted in the performance of her/his activities as a 
craftsman or other self-employed person, respectively."  In the former paragraph (4), which becomes para graph (5), numbers "1, 2 and 3" are replaced by 
numbers "1, 2, 3 and 4". IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
Page 76  
 
   
Article 45 
 
Title "XII. EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION  AND EUROPEAN PATENT" is amended to 
read: "XII. EXTENDED EUROPEAN PATENT". 
 
Article 46 
 
A heading above Article 103 "EFFECTS OF EUROPEAN PATENTS" is amended to read: 
"EFFECTS OF EXTENDED EUROPEAN PATENTS". 
 
In Article 103, paragraph (2) is amended to read:  "(2) Within three months from the date on which the mention of the grant of the European patent has 
been published, the owner of the patent shall commun icate to the Office a request for the entry of the 
extended European patent into the Register of Pa tents, a specification of the European patent as 
published in the Official Journal of EPO, a transl ation of such patent specification in the Croatian 
language, and shall pay the prescribed administrativ e fee and procedural charges for publication and 
printing of the translation of the specification of the European patent in the Croatian language, in 
accordance with special regulation."  
Article 47 
 
After Article 108, a Title "XII.a EUROPEAN PATENT ", as well as headings and Articles 108a to 
108o are added to read:  
"EFFECT OF EUROPEAN PATENTS IN THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA" 
Article 108a 
 (1) A European patent application and a European patent shall, subject to the provisions of this 
Chapter, have the effect of and be subject to the same conditions as a national patent application and a 
national patent under this Act. 
 
(2) Pursuant to this Act:  1. European patent application means an applica tion for a European patent filed under the European 
Patent Convention (hereinafter: EPC), as well as an international patent a pplication filed under the 
Patent Cooperation Treaty (hereinafter: PCT) for which the European Patent Office (hereinafter: 
EPO) acts as the designated or elected Office and in  which the Republic of Croatia is designated; 
 2. European patent means a European patent grante d by the EPO on a European patent application in 
accordance with EPC, and designating the Republic of Croatia;  
3. national patent application means a patent application filed with the Office under this Act; 
 4. national patent means a patent granted on the basis of a national patent application. 
  IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
 Page 77 
 
 
  FILING OF THE EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION 
Article 108b 
 (1) A European patent application may be filed:  
(a) with the European Patent Office or 
 (b) with the Office  (2) A European patent application filed with the O ffice shall have the same effect as if it has been 
filed on the same date with the European Patent Of fice, provided that it has been transmitted by the 
Office to the EPO in due time.  (3) A European divisional patent applicati on shall be filed directly with the EPO. 
 
(4) If the Office finds at first sight that a possible co nfidential invention of interest for the Republic of 
Croatia is concerned, it shall not transmit the Europ ean patent application to the EPO in accordance 
with paragraph (2) of this Article, but shall act in  accordance with special regulations on confidential 
inventions.  (5) The European patent application, which is to  be filed with the Office in accordance with the 
provisions of this Article, may be filed in any of the languages referre d to in Article 14, paragraphs 1 
and 2 EPC.  
FEES AND PROCEDURAL CHARGES FOR EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATIONS 
Article 108c 
 
The fees and procedural charges payable in respect of  European patent applications shall be paid in 
accordance with the provisions of th e EPC and regulations to the EPC. 
 
EFFECTS OF EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATIONS 
Article 108d 
 
A European patent application which has been acco rded a filing date and designating the Republic of 
Croatia shall be equivalent to a regular national patent application, where appropriate, with the 
priority claimed for the European patent application, whatever its outcome may be. 
 
A published European patent application shall pr ovisionally confer protection as conferred by a 
published national patent applica tion under Article 60 of this Act, from the date on which the 
applicant has communicated a translation of the clai ms of a published European patent application 
into the Croatian language to the person usi ng the invention in the Republic of Croatia. 
 The European patent application shall be deemed not  to have had ab initio the effects referred to in 
paragraph (2) of this Article, if it has been withdraw n, deemed to be withdrawn, finally refused or if 
the designation of the Republic of Croatia h as been withdrawn or is deemed withdrawn. 
 
EFFECTS OF EUROPEAN PATENTS 
Article 108e 
 
(1) A European patent designating the Republic of Croa tia shall, subject to the conditions laid down in 
this Article, confer from the date of publication of the mention of its grant by the EPO the same rights 
as would be conferred by a national patent granted under this Act. 
 IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
Page 78  
 
  (2) Within three months from the date on which the mention of the grant of the European patent has 
been published, the owner of the patent shall furn ish the Office with a request for entry of the 
European patent into the Register of Patents, a sp ecification of the European patent as published in the 
Official Journal of EPO, a translation of such sp ecification in the Croatian language and shall pay the 
administrative fee and procedural charges for pub lication and printing of the translation of the 
specification of the European patent in the Croatia n language, in accordance with special regulation. 
 (3) The Office shall issue a decision on the entry of a European patent in th e Register of Patents 
referred to in Article 49 of this Act.  
(4) If, as a result of an opposition filed with the EPO,  the European patent is maintained with the 
amended claims, or as a result of a request for limita tion referred to in Article 105a EPC the European 
patent is limited by the amendment of the claims, th e owner of the patent shall furnish the Office with 
a translation of the amended claims in the Croatian language, and shall pay the prescribed 
administrative fee and procedural charges for publicati on in the official gazette of the Office, within 
three months from the date of publica tion of the EPO decision concerned. 
 (5) Where the text of claims contains reference si gns used in the drawings, such drawings shall be 
attached to the translation referred to in  paragraphs (2) and (4) of this Article. 
 (6) The Office shall publish as soon as possible the mention of any translation duly filed under 
paragraph (2) or (4) of this Article in its offici al gazette. The content of the publication shall be 
prescribed by the Ordinance.  (7) If the translation referred to in paragraph (2) or  (4) of this Article is not filed in the prescribed 
time-limit or the prescribed administrative fee and procedural charges for publication are not paid 
within the period referred to in paragraph (2) or (4 ) of this Article, the European patent shall be 
deemed to be void ab initio for the Republic of Cr oatia. Article 122 EPC relating to the restitutio in 
integrum shall apply mutatis mutandis.  (8) A European patent and the European patent app lication on which it is based shall be deemed not to 
have had ab initio the effects specified in paragra ph (1) of this Article and Article 108d, paragraph (2) 
of this Act, to the extent that the patent has been revoked in the opposition proceedings, or revoked or 
limited in the procedure concerning the request referred to in Article 105a EPC before the EPO. 
 
AUTHENTIC TEXT OF EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATIONS  
OR EUROPEAN PATENTS 
Article 108f 
 (1) The text of a European patent application or a European patent established in the language of the 
proceedings before the EPO shall be the authentic te xt in any proceedings in the Republic of Croatia. 
 (2) Where the translation in the Croatian language confers protection narrower than that conferred by 
a European patent application or a European patent , such translation shall be regarded as authentic, 
except in the procedures concerning the declaration of a patent null and void.  (3) An applicant for or the owner of a European pa tent may file a corrected translation at any time. 
The corrected translation of the claims of a publishe d European patent application shall not have any 
legal effects in the Republic of Croatia until it has been communicated to the person using the 
invention in the Republic of Croatia. The corrected  translation of the specification of a European 
patent designating the Republic of Croatia shall not have any legal effect, until the Office has 
published the mention of the correction, as soon as possible after payment of the administrative fee 
and procedural charges prescribed for the publication.  IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
 Page 79 
 
 
  (4) Any person who, in good faith, uses or has made effective and serious preparations for using an 
invention, the use of which would not constitute infringement of a European patent application or a 
European patent in the original translation may, af ter the corrected translation takes effect, continue 
such use in the course of his business or for the needs thereof without payment. 
 
RIGHTS OF EARLIER DATE 
Article 108g 
 (1) In the Republic of Croatia, a European patent application and a European patent designating the 
Republic of Croatia shall have, with regard to a na tional patent application and a national patent, the 
same state of the art effect as a national patent application a nd a national patent. 
 (2) In the Republic of Croatia, a national patent ap plication and a national patent shall have, with 
regard to a European patent designating the Republic of Croatia, the same state of the art effect as 
they have with regard to a national patent. 
 
SIMULTANEOUS PROTECTION 
Article 108h 
 Where a European patent designating the Republic of Croatia and a national patent having the same 
filing date or, where priority has been claimed, the same priority date, has been granted to the same 
person or his successor in title, the national patent sha ll have no effect to the extent that it covers the 
same invention as the European patent designating the Republic of Croatia from the date on which the 
time limit for filing an opposition to the European  patent has expired without an opposition having 
been filed, or from the date on which the opposition procedure has resulted in a final decision maintaining the European patent. 
 
CONVERSION INTO A NATIONAL PATENT APPLICATION 
Article 108i 
 (1) The Office shall carry out a procedure for the grant of a national patent upon the request of an applicant for or the owner of a Eur opean patent in the following cases: 
 
(a) where the European patent application is deem ed to be withdrawn under Article 77, paragraph 3 
EPC, or  (b) where the translation of a European patent appli cation has not been filed in  due time in accordance 
with the provision of Article 14, paragr aph 2 EPC and Article 90, paragraph 3 EPC. 
 (2) In the case referred to in paragraph (1) item (a) of this Article, a request for conversion shall be 
filed with the Office. The Office shall, subject to the provisions on national security, transmit the request directly to the central industrial property offices of the Contracting States specified therein. 
 
(3) In the cases referred to in pa ragraph (1) item (b) of this Article , a request for conversion shall be 
filed with the EPO, which shall transmit it to the Office,  if the Republic of Croatia is specified therein. 
 (4) The request shall be deemed as filed after the conversion fee and procedural charges have been 
paid. The effects of the European patent applicatio n referred to in Article 66 EPC shall lapse if the 
request for conversion is not filed in due time. 
 (5) Within two months from filing of the request for conversion of a European patent application to a 
national patent application, the applicant shall pa y the prescribed administrative fee and procedural 
charges for conversion and publicatio n in accordance with special regulations, and shall file with the IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
Page 80  
 
  Office the translation of the original text of th e European patent application into the Croatian 
language. Mention of the conversion shall be published in the official  gazette of the Office. If the 
administrative fee and procedural charges have not been  paid in due time, or if the translation of the 
original text of the European patent application in to the Croatian language is not filed in due time, the 
request for conversion shall be deemed not to be filed, concerning which the Office shall issue a 
corresponding decision. 
 
RENEWAL FEES FOR EUROPEAN PATENTS 
Article 108j 
 
(1) Renewal fees for European patents shall be paid  to the Office for the years following the year in 
which the mention of the grant of the European  patent was published in accordance with special 
regulations.  (2) Article 141, paragraph 2 EPC shall apply mutatis mutandis. 
 
DISPOSITIONS OF EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATIONS AND EUROPEAN PATENTS 
Article 108k 
 The provisions of this Act on the transfer, li cence, right in rem, execution, bankruptcy and 
compulsory licences shall apply to Eu ropean patent applications and Eu ropean patents with effect in 
the territory of the Republic of Croatia. 
 
PROTECTION AGAINST INFRINGEMENT 
Article 108l 
 
The provisions of this Act on the protection of pa tents in the case of infringement shall apply to 
European patent applications and European  patents designating the Republic of Croatia. 
 
DECLARATION OF NULLITY OF THE EUROPAN PATENT 
Article 108m 
 
(1) Subject to the provisions of Article 139 EPC, a nd Articles 78 and 79 of this Act, respectively, a 
European patent may be declared null and void in the procedure before the Office in accordance with 
the provisions of this Act, with the effect for the Republic of Croatia. 
 (2) If a request for the declaration of nullity of a Eu ropean patent is filed with the Office after the 
initiation of the opposition procedure before the EPO re ferred to in Article 99 EPC or the procedure 
concerning a request for limitation or revocation refe rred to in Article 105a EPC, the Office shall stay 
the procedure concerning a request for the declaration of nullity up to the termination of the mentioned procedures before the EPO.  
APPLICATION OF EPC 
Article 108n 
 EPC shall apply to the European pa tent applications and European pa tents, which have, in accordance 
with the provisions of EPC and this Ac t, effect in the Republic of Croatia. 
  IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
 Page 81 
 
 
  TRANSLATIONS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE AGREEMENT ON THE  
APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 65 EPC 
Article 108o 
 (1) The provisions of Article 108e, para graphs (2), and (4) of this Act, providing for that the owner of 
a European patent shall furnish the Office with a translation of a patent specification and amended 
claims into the Croatian language, shall apply up to  the entry into force of the Agreement on the 
application of Article 65 EPC of 17 October 2000.  (2) After the entry into force of the Agreement referr ed to in paragraph (1) of this Article, the owner 
of a patent shall furnish the Office with: 
 1. a patent specification in the English language, or a translation of such specification into the English 
language, if the patent has been granted in the la nguage of the proceedings other than the English 
language, and a translation of the claims into the Croatian language filed in due time and subject to 
payment of the prescribed administrative fee and procedural charges for publication laid down in 
Article 108e, paragraph (2) of this Act;  2. a translation of the amended claims into the En glish and Croatian languages, if the European patent 
has been maintained with amended claims, filed in due time and subject to payment of the prescribed 
administrative fee and procedural charges for publica tion laid down in Article 108e, paragraph (3) of 
this Act. 
 (3) In the case of a dispute relating to a European patent, the patent owner, at his own expense, shall 
furnish, at the request of a person allegedly infri nging a patent, or at the request of the competent 
court or quasi-judicial authority condicting a le gal proceedings a full translation of a patent 
specification into the Croatian language. 
 (4) The translation referred to in paragraph (3) of th is Act shall be considered as authentic text in any 
proceedings in the Republic of Croatia, except in the nullity proceedings, if the translation in the 
Croatian language confers protection narrower than that conferred by the European patent in the 
language of the proceedings." 
 
 
TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS 
Article 48 
 (1) The administrative disputes instituted before the Administrative Court before 1 June 2008 shall be 
completed before the Administrative court in accord ance with the provisions, which were in force up 
to that date.  (2) A party, which instituted a legal action before  the Administrative Court before 1 June 2008, in 
accordance with the provisions which were in force up to that date, may require from the 
Administrative Court to stay the proceedings, provided  that it has filed within 30 days from that date 
an appeal based on the same grounds and with the sam e statement of reasons as are those contained in 
the legal action, where an appeal against such ad ministrative decision is admissible pursuant to the 
provisions of this Act. The administrative decision issued on such appeal in the second instance, may 
be subject to an administrative dispute pursuan t to the provisions of the Act on Administrative 
Disputes." 
  IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
Page 82  
 
  SPECIAL PROTECTION CONFERRED BY  A PATENT OR A SUPPLEMENTARY 
PROTECTION CERTIFICATE IN A MEMBER STATE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION 
Article 49 
 
(1) If, before the day of the accession of the Republic  of Croatia into the full membership of the 
European Union, a patent or a Supplementary Pr otection Certificate for a medicinal product intended 
for humans or animals has been acquired in any of the Member States of the European Union, at the 
time when a patent or a Supplementary Protectio n Certificate could not be acquired for such 
medicinal product in the Republic of Croatia, the owner of such a patent or a Supplementary 
Protection Certificate may prohibit export from the Republic of Croatia for the purpose of offering for 
sale, selling, using, or stocking for such purposes,  of the product carried out according to such a 
patent, to the Member States of the European Union in which the patent or the Supplementary Protection Certificate concerned is in force, even  if such a product is manufactured or placed on the 
market for the first time in the territory of the Re public of Croatia by the owner of the patent or the 
holder of the Supplementary Protection Certificate acquired in the Member State of the European 
Union concerned before the accession of the Republic  of Croatia to the European Union, or with 
his/her express authorization.  (2) The manner of information of the competent customs authorities concerning the intended export 
referred to in paragraph (1) of this Article  shall be regulated by special regulation. 
 
DEFERRED APPLICATION OF THE PROVISIONS ON A SUPPLEMENTARY 
PROTECTION CERTIFICATE AND SPECIAL RIGHTS IN THE TRANSITIONAL PERIOD  
Article 50 
 
The owner of the basic patent in the Republic of Croatia, granted for a medicinal product intended for 
humans or animals or a plant protection product, re spectively, for which the authorization to place it 
on the market is granted by a competent authority in  any of the States of the European Union, on the 
day of the accession of the Republic of Croatia into th e full membership of the European Union, or, in 
the Republic of Croatia, after 1 January 2008, may a pply for a Supplementary Protection Certificate in 
the Republic of Croatia, within 6 months as of the day of the accession of the Republic of Croatia into 
the full membership of the European Union. 
 
Article 51 
 
On the date of the entry into force of Article 47 of  this Act, the provisions of Articles 99 to 108 of the 
Patent Act (Official Gazette 173/ 2003 and 87/2005) shall cease to have  effect. All the procedures 
instituted in accordance with such provisions  shall be completed in accordance with them. 
 
Article 52 
 
(1) The procedures concerning the protection of a patent in the case of infringement, pending on the 
day of the entry into force of this Act, shall be  completed in accordance with the provisions, which 
were in force up to the entry into force of this Act. 
 (2) The provisions of Articles 10 to 14 of this Ac t shall not apply to any procedures relating to the 
grant of a patent, declaration of a patent null and void, and revocation of the decision on the grant of a patent, which have been institute d and not completed up to the entry into force of this Act. 
  IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
 Page 83 
 
 
  Article 53 
 
(1) The Ordinance referred to in Article 115 of  the Patent Act (Official Gazette 173/2003 and 
87/2005) shall be aligned with the provisions of this  Act, on a proposal given by the Director General 
of the Office, by the Minister responsible for the wo rk of the Office, not later than within 3 months 
from the entry into force of this Act. 
 (2) The Ordinance referred to in Article 36 of this  Act shall be enacted, on a proposal given by the 
Director General of the Office, by the Minister res ponsible for the work of the Office, not later than 
up to 1 June 2008. 
 
(3) The Rules of Procedure referred to in Article 36 of this Act shall be enacted not later than up to 1 
June 2008.  
Article 54 
 
The Legislation Committee of the Croatian Parliament  shall hereby be authorized to prepare and 
publish a revised version of the Patent Act.  
Article 55 
 This Act shall enter into force on the eight day foll owing the day of its publication in the Official 
Gazette, with the exception of Article 4, and Articl es 32 to 39 thereof, which shall enter into force on 
1 June 2008, Articles 31 and 49 thereof, which sha ll enter into force on the day of the acceptance of 
the Republic of Croatia into the European Union, a nd Article 47 thereof, which shall enter into force 
on the day of the entry into force of the EPC in the Republic of Croatia. 
 IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
Page 84  
 
   
THE ACT 
ON AMENDMENTS TO THE PATENT ACT 
 
Article 1 
 
In the Patent Act (OG Nos. 173/03, 87/05 and 76/07), in Article 4, paragraph (1) is amended to read: 
 (1) A legal or a natural person not having a principle place of business, a domicile or a habitual residence in the territory of the Republic of Croatia, must be represented in the proceedings before the 
State Intellectual Property Office (hereinafter: the Office) by an authorized patent representative, 
pursuant to the provisions of this Act and special regulations.  
Article 2 
 In Article 29, paragraph (1), item 5, the Croatian wo rds translated as: "a patent representative entered 
in the Register of Representatives kept by the Offi ce" are replaced by the Croatian words translated 
as: "an authorized patent representative".  
Article 3 
 In Article 57, paragraph (5), afte r item 8, item 9 is added to read: 
 "9. filing of the appeal referred to in Article 88 of  this Act and taking other actions in the procedure 
before the Board of Appeal".  
Article 4 
 
In Article 57a, paragraph (4), a new item 4 is added to read: 
 "4. For filing the appeal referred to in Article 88 of  this Act and taking other actions in the procedure 
before the Board of Appeal". 
 
The former item 4 becomes item 5.  
Article 5 
 In Article 65, paragraph (1), after the words: "of the Republic of Croatia" a comma is inserted and is 
followed by the words: "or upon the accession of th e Republic of Croatia to the European Union 
respectively, on the market of any of the States of  the European Union, or States Parties to the 
Agreement Creating the European Economic Area".  
Article 6 
 
In Article 69a, paragraph (2), the words: "by ex erting a pharmacological, immunological or metabolic 
action" are deleted.  
Article 7 
 
In Article 69b, paragraph (6), the Croatian words translated as: "those countries have issued", are 
replaced by the Croatian words translated as: "this country has issued".   IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
 Page 85 
 
 
  Article 8 
 
In Article 69f, paragraph (1), the Croatian word translated as: "re-import", is replaced by the Croatian 
word translated as: "re-export".  
Article 9 
 
In article 87a, paragraph (1), item d), after the words:  "is the first authorisation to place", the words "a 
product as" are inserted.  
In paragraph (2), item i), a spelling error of the Croatian word translated as "grant" is corrected. 
 In item j), the words: "plant protection products" are replaced by the words: "the products as plant 
protection products".  
Article 10 
 
In Article 87b, paragraph (1) is amended to read:  "(1) The Certificate may be granted in accordance wi th the provisions of this Act in the cases where a 
basic patent has been granted for a product which is  a component part of a medicinal product intended 
for humans or animals, or for a plant protection product, the placing on the market of which requires 
prior authorisation by the competent State authority."  Paragraph (3) is amended to read:  
"(3) The rights conferred by the Certificate sha ll run for a period equal to the period which elapsed 
between the date of filing of the application for a basi c patent and the date of the first authorisation to 
place the product protected by auch a patent on the market, reduced by a period of five years." 
 
Article 11 
 Article 87c is amended to read: 
 "The Certificate shall be granted upon a request of  the owner of the basic patent, if the following 
conditions are met on the date of filing of the application for the Certificate:  
1. that the product is protected by a basic patent in force, 
 2. that an authorisation to place the product on th e market as a medicinal product intended for humans 
or animals, or a plant protection product respectiv ely, which is in force, has been granted in 
accordance with special regulations,  
3. that the product has not already b een the subject of the Certificate, 
 4. that the authorisation referred to in item 2 of this Article, is the first authorisation to place the product on the market as a medicinal product intende d for humans or animals, or a plant protection 
product, respectively." 
 IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
Page 86  
 
  Article 12 
 
Article 87d is amended to read:  "The application for the Certificate shall be filed with the Office within six months from the date of 
the grant of the authorisation, referred to in Article 87c, item 2 of this Act, and if the authorisation has 
been granted before the grant of the basic patent, w ithin six months from the date of publication of the 
mention of the grant of the patent, refe rred to in Article 51 of this Act." 
 
Article 13 
 
In Article 87f, paragraph (4), the word: "deci sion" is replaced by the word: "conclusion". 
 
Article 14 
 In Article 87j, paragraph (1) is amended to read: 
 "(1) Within the limits of the protection conferred by the basic patent, the protection conferred by the Certificate shall extend only to the product covere d by the authorisation to place on the market a 
medicinal product intended for humans or animals, or a plant protection product respectively, as well 
as for any use of the product as a medicinal product  intended for humans or animals, or a plant 
protection product, respectively, that has been aut horized before the expiry of the Certificate. 
 
Article 15 
 
In Article 108o, paragraph (1), the words: "and 4", are replaced by the words: "to 5". 
 
In paragraph (2), item 1, twice repeated words in the Croatian version of the text are deleted with no 
relevance to the English translation.   
TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS 
SPECIAL RIGHTS IN TRANSITIONAL PERIOD 
Article 16 
 
The owner of the basic patent in the Republic of Croatia, granted for the product as a medicinal 
product intended for humans or animals, or the product as a plant protection product, respectively, for 
which the authorization to place it on the market is granted by a competent authority in any of the 
Member States of the European Union, on the day of  the accession of the Republic of Croatia to the 
European Union, or, in the Republic of Croatia, af ter 1 January 2003, may apply for a Supplementary 
Protection Certificate in the Republic of Croatia, w ithin 6 months as of the day of the accession of the 
Republic of Croatia to the European Union.  
Article 17 
 
The Agreement on the application of Article 65 EPC  (London Agreement) shall apply to all European 
patents and extended European patents granted afte r 1 May 2008, irrespective of whether they have 
been granted after the first instance procedure or opposition procedure or appeal procedure, and the 
mention of the grant or amendment of which have been published by the EPO. 
  IP/N/1/HRV/P/2 
 Page 87 
 
 
  Article 18 
 
In the Act on Amendments to the Patent Act ( OG 76/07), Article 50 and the heading above it shall 
cease to have effect.  
Article 19 
 
This Act shall enter into force on the eighth day fo llowing the day of its publication in the "Official 
Gazette".  
 
__________