INDUSTRIAL DESIGN LAW

Part One

BASIC PROVISIONS

Content of the Law

Article 1
This Law regulates the protection of product design, defines the requirements and
procedure for acquiring industrial design rights, rights and obligations of the right
holders, infringements of rights, duration, cancellation and termination of rights, and
judicial protection.

Subject Matter of the Protection

Article 2
(1) Industrial design right shall protect the three-dimensional or two-dimensional
design of the whole or a part of a product to the extent that it fulfils the requirements as to
novelty and individual character.
(2) For the purpose of this Law the term design shall mean the appearance (outer
look) of a product, or the part thereof, characterised by its visible features, in particular:
shape, contours, colour composition, texture, lines, motives, or a combination of these
features.
(3) For the purpose of this Law the term product shall mean any article
manufactured by industry or handicraft.
(4) A design incorporated in or applied to a product which embodies a part
intended for incorporation in a complex product may be protected by an industrial design
right, if the incorporated part, for the design of which protection is sought, remains visible
during normal use of the complex product, and if the visible features of the incorporated
part, taken individually, fulfil the requirements as to novelty and individual character.
(5) Normal use under the preceding paragraph of this Article shall mean a use
with purpose by the user of the product and shall exclude the maintenance and repair of
the product.

Novelty of Design

Article 3
A product design shall be deemed new if it is not identical to any design available
to the public prior to the filing date of the application or, if priority has been claimed,
prior to the granted date of priority.

Individual Character of Design

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Article 4
(1) A product design shall be considered to have individual character if the overall
impression it produces on the user of the product substantially differs from the overall
impression produced on such a user by any design which was previously available to the
public.
(2) A product design shall not be considered to have individual character for the
sole reason that it relates to other products.
(3) In assessing individual character of a product design, the degree of freedom of
the designer in developing the new product design shall be taken into consideration.

Availability to the Public

Article 5
(1) For the assessment of novelty and individual character of a product design
under the Articles 3 and 4 of this Law, the design shall be deemed to have been made
available to the public:
1. if it has been published following the application or the grant of the industrial
design right or otherwise, or
2. if it has been exhibited or used in trade, or
3. if it has been disclosed otherwise, in the normal course of business that has
made it known to the relevant business circles in the Republic of Croatia.
(2) There shall be no effect on the assessment of the novelty and individual
character within the meaning of Articles 3 and 4 of this Law when, for no more than
twelve months prior to the filing date of the application, respectively if the priority was
claimed prior to the granted priority date, it was made available to the public by the
designer, his successor in title or a third party as a result of the data provided or the
activities undertaken by the designer or his successor in title.
(3) Paragraph (2) of this Article shall also apply in the case when a design has
been made available to the public by a third person who acquired the information on the
product design in an unauthorised manner or to whom it has been disclosed as
confidential information.

Protection Requirements – Absolute Grounds for Exclusion

Article 6
An industrial design right shall not protect a product design which:
1. is not the subject matter of the protection under Article 2 of this Law;
2. is contrary to the public order and morality;
3. exclusively presents the technical plan or scheme;
4. exclusively presents the cartographic or photographic work;
5. contains, embodies or substantially imitates a national coat or any other public
coat of arms, a flag or an emblem, the name or abbreviated name of a country or
international organization, unless with the consent of the competent authority of that
country or organization;
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6. contains, embodies or substantially imitates the figure of a famous person,

unless with the consent of this person or the competent authority or a person empowered
to care of the image of a deceased famous person

Protection Requirements – Relative Grounds for Exclusion

Article 7
(1) An industrial design right may not protect a product design:

1. which is not new under Articles 3 and 5 of this Law;

2. which has no individual character under Articles 4 and 5 of this Law;
3. which is exclusively dictated by the type of that product or the product into
which it is to be incorporated, or by technical or functional characteristics necessary for
the achievement of a certain technical result or normal function of any of these products.

(2) An industrial design right may not protect a product design that infringes the
earlier acquired rights of the holders specified under Article 24, paragraph (1),
subparagraphs 1 to 5 of this Law.
(3) Grounds for the exclusion from the protection by industrial design right under
paragraph (2) of this Article may be invoked only by the applicant of the earlier
application or the holder of the earlier right.

Persons Entitled to the Acquisition of Industrial Design Right

Article 8
(1) The designer or his successor in title are entitled to initiate the procedure and
acquire the industrial design right under this Law.
(2) If the designer is not the applicant for industrial design, the applicant shall be
deemed entitled unless otherwise is proven.
(3) If several designers have jointly created an industrial design, all the designers
or their successors in title shall be deemed authorized persons, or joint holders of rights
by the subsidiary application of the Law on Ownership and Other Proprietary Rights
(Narodne novine: the Official Gazette of the Republic of Croatia, No. 91/96). The joint
holding of rights shall be established in proportion to the contributions of the designers
unless otherwise agreed. If the contributions of the designers have not been fixed, they
shall be deemed equal.
(4) A person who has only provided technical assistance in the creation of an
industrial design shall not be deemed as designer.

Equal Status of Foreign Natural and Legal Persons

Article 9
Foreign natural and legal persons shall enjoy under this Law equal rights as those
enjoyed by the nationals of the Republic of Croatia or legal entities having their seat in
the Republic of Croatia, if this results from the international treaties binding the Republic
of Croatia or from the application of the principle of reciprocity.
Part Two
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PROCEDURE FOR THE GRANT OF THE INDUSTRIAL DESIGN RIGHT

The Office Authority

Article 10
(1) Administrative procedures relating to the industrial design protection shall be
performed by the State Intellectual Property Office (hereinafter: the Office).
(2) Administrative decisions made by the Office may not be appealed against, but
an administrative lawsuit may be instituted.

Filing of the Application

Article 11
(1) The procedure for the grant of an industrial design right shall be initiated by a
submission containing a request to the grant of industrial design right and other specific
elements prescribed by this Law (hereinafter: industrial design application).
(2) If the application relates to one design (hereinafter: individual application), the
design may be applied to one or to several products.
(3) If the application relates to several different designs (hereinafter: multiple
application), all the designs for which protection is sought must relate to the products
classified under a single subclass under the Locarno Agreement Establishing an
International Classification for Industrial Designs (hereinafter: the International
Classification).

The Content of an Application (minimum requirements)

Article 12
(1) An industrial design application shall contain:
1. a request for the grant of an industrial design,
2. indications allowing the identity of the applicant to be established.
3. a photograph or a graphical representation of the design for which protection is
sought,
4. indications sufficient to contact the applicant or his representative, if any, by
mail,
5. an indication as to the products to which the design shall apply under the
International Classification,
6. an indication as to the single or multiple application, and in the case of the
multiple application, the indication of a total number of designs for which the protection
is requested.
(2) Should the request to deferment of publication of the industrial design
application be filed under Article 23, paragraph (1) of this Law, the design may be
presented by a pattern of the product itself or its part instead of on a photography or a
graphical representation.
(3) An application shall be deemed to have been filed if it complies with the
requirements referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article.
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(4) Other components and supplements to the application shall be filed in the way
and in the number of copies as provided by the Regulations whereby the implementation
of this Law has been regulated (hereinafter: the Regulations).

Division of Industrial Design Application

Article 13
(1) A multiple industrial design application at the applicant’s request during the
grant procedure of the industrial design may be divided into two or more applications,
each of which refers to one or several designs.
(2) The divided applications maintain the same priority right as the divided
multiple application.

Filing Priority

Article 14
If an industrial design application has been filed in compliance with Article 12,
paragraphs (1) and (2), the applicant shall acquire the priority right on the basis of the
application filing date over any other applicant filing the industrial design application at a
later date for the identical design within the meaning of Article 3 of this Law, or a design
differing only in minor details within the meaning of Article 4 of this Law.

Union Priority Right

Article 15
(1) If the applicant of industrial design has filed the application for the first time in
the member state of the international union founded by the Paris Convention for the
Protection of Industrial Property (hereinafter: the Paris Union), he may, when filing the
application for the same industrial design in the Republic of Croatia, invoke the date of
the first filing, provided that the application was filed in the Republic of Croatia within
six months starting from that date.
(2) The applicant invoking the union priority right shall in the application filed to
the Office, indicate the substantiality of the application he is invoking (State, date and
number of the application) and shall at the latest, within three months from the filing date
of the application to the Office, attach thereto a true copy of the first application certified
by the competent authority of the Paris Union State member, as well as a Croatian
translation thereof.
Exhibition Priority Right

Article 16
(1) If the applicant has exhibited the products containing or embodying the
industrial design at an official or officially recognized international exhibition in the
Republic of Croatia or in any of the member states to the Paris Union, he may request that
the date of the first exhibition day of the products be accorded as the date of the first
application, provided that the application is filed in the Republic of Croatia within six
months from that date.
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(2) The applicant invoking the exhibition priority right shall furnish with the
application filing to the Office a certificate issued by a competent authority of the Paris
Union member state indicating the type of the exhibition, the venue thereof, its opening
and closing dates and the first day of the exhibition of the products specified in the
application and a certificate on identity of the product design as exhibited and as applied
for.

Examination of the Correctness of Industrial Design Application

Article 17
(1) The examination process of the correctness of industrial design application
includes the examination of all the formal and legal requirements provided by this Law.
(2) An industrial design application shall be correct:

1. if a single or a multiple application has been filed under Article 11, paragraph
(2) and paragraph (3) of this Law;
2. if the prescribed application fee and the proceeding fee have been paid,
respectively the prescribed fee for the request of application publication deferment under
Article 23, paragraph (1), and the evidence of payment thereof attached thereto,
3. if it is drafted in the manner as to contain all the necessary components and
supplements under Article 12, paragraph (1), paragraph (2) and paragraph (4) of this Law,
4. if an orderly power of attorney is supplemented in case the application has been
filed through a representative.

Correction of an Industrial Design Application

Article 18
(1) If the application complies with the requirements under Article 12, paragraphs
(1) and (2) of this Law, but has not been filed in a way as to contain all the necessary
components and supplements in compliance with this Law and the Regulations, the
Office shall invite the applicant to remedy it within 60 days from the date of the receipt of
the invitation.
(2) If the applicant remedies the application within the prescribed term, it shall be
deemed to be correct from the outset.
(3) If the application does not comply with the requirements under Article 12,
paragraph (1) and paragraph (2) of this Law, it shall not be deemed an industrial design
application and the Office shall invite the applicant to supplement the filed request within
the term referred to in paragraph (1) of this Article.
(4) The date of receipt of the corrected application of industrial design under
Article 12, paragraph 1 and paragraph 2 of this Law, shall be deemed as the day for
establishing priority under Article 14 of this Law.

Extension of the Time Limit

Article 19
At the reasoned applicant’s request, the term under Article 18, paragraph (1) of
this Law may be extended for not more than 60 days out of justified reasons.
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Rejection of the Application

Article 20
If the applicant of the industrial design shall not within the prescribed term
comply with the invitation and shall not remedy the application under Article 18,
paragraph (1) and paragraph (3) of this Law, the application shall be rejected by a
decision.

Refusal or Partial Acceptance of an Industrial Design Application

Article 21
(1) If the design for which the industrial design application is filed has been
excluded or partially excluded from protection for the reasons specified in Article 6 of
this Law, the Office shall issue a decision on refusal or a decision on partial acceptance of
the application.
(2) The decision on the refusal or the decision on the partial acceptance of the
industrial design application may not be issued if the applicant has not been previously
notified in writing and invited to declare on the reasons for the exclusion of the proposed
design from protection, entirely or partially.
(3) The industrial design applicant shall have the right to make a declaration on
the reasons for the exclusion of the design from protection within 60 days from the day of
the receipt of a written notification and to submit evidence on the possible new facts that
might influence the final decision of the Office.
(4) At the applicant’ reasoned request, the term referred to in paragraph (3) of this
Article may, out of justified reasons, be extended for not more than 60 days.

Publication of the Application

Article 22
(1) If an industrial design application complies with all the requirements related to
the correctness of the application under Article 17, paragraph (2), if the product design is
not excluded from the protection under Article 6 of this Law and if the prescribed
publication fee has been paid, the application data shall be published in the Office
Official Gazette.
(2) The publication of the industrial design application shall be deferred if the
applicant filed with the application a publication deferment request under Article 23 of
this Law. In this case only the information shall be published that the application has been
filed.
(3) The content of the data from the application and the data on the application for
which the publication deferment has been requested and which are to be published in the
Office Official Gazette, shall be prescribed by the Regulations.

Deferment of the Application Publication

Article 23
(1) The applicant of the industrial design application for two-dimensional
industrial design may together with its application file a request for deferment of the
publication of the application for a term of 12 months counting from the date of filing the
application and the request to the Office.
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(2) In the case under paragraph (1) of this Article the Office shall upon the
expiration of the term for deferment of the application publication, invite the applicant to
furnish the photographs or the graphic representations of the two-dimensional designs
from the application within a term of 30 days from the date of the invitation receipt.
(3) Should the applicant of the industrial design not comply with the invitation
referred in the preceding paragraph of this Article, the protection shall cease on the
expiration date of the deferment term of the application publication.

Opposition

Article 24
(1) An opposition relating to the published industrial design application may,
within three months counting from the date of publication, be filed to the Office:

1. by the holder of an earlier industrial design, or by the applicant of an earlier

industrial design application;
2. by a person who at the time of filing the industrial design application had a
trade name provided that this trade name or the essential part thereof is identical to the
published design or is substantially imitated by the published design;
3. by a natural person whose name and family name, or the image is identical to
the published design or is essentially imitated by the published design;
4. by the holder of an earlier industrial property right, if the subject of such a right
is identical to the published design or is essentially imitated by the published design;
5. by any person having a copyright in the work which is identical to the published
design or is substantially imitated by the published design;
6. by any interested person who considers that the published design has not met
the requirements as to novelty or individual character or is exclusively dictated by the
kind or respectively by the functional features of the product under Article 7, paragraph
(1) of this Law.

(2) The filing term for an opposition prescribed under paragraph (1) of this Article
may not be extended.
(3) The opposition shall be filed in the manner as defined by the Regulations.

Opposition Procedure

Article 25
(1) The Office shall examine whether an opposition has been filed by a person
entitled to file the opposition under Article 24, paragraph (1) of this Law, whether the
opposition has been filed within the prescribed term and whether it is justified and
supported by the appropriate documentation.
(2) Should the requirements referred to in paragraph (1) of this Article not be met,
the Office shall make a decision on the rejection of the opposition.
(3) If the requirements referred to in paragraph (1) of this Article have been met,
the Office shall notify the applicant of the industrial design about the reasons specified in
the opposition and invite him to declare thereupon within 30 days.
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(4) Should the applicant not declare himself in respect of the reasons specified in
the opposition within the term referred to in paragraph (3) of this Article, the applicant
shall be deemed not to oppose the reasons specified in the opposition and the application
shall be rejected within the reasons specified in the opposition.

Examination of the Opposition

Article 26
(1) Should the applicant of the industrial design make a declaration on the reasons
specified in the opposition and submit his comments opposing the opposition, the Office
shall examine the justification of the opposition within the specified reasons, taking into
consideration the facts and filed evidence.
(2) Should the Office establish that the opposition is unjustified, it shall be refused
and the written decision to that effect shall be sent to the applicant of the application and
to the applicant of the opposition.
(3) Should, in the opposition examination procedure, the Office establish that the
opposition is justified, it shall refuse or partially accept the industrial design application
and shall to that effect send a written decision to the applicant of the application and to
the applicant of the opposition.

Grant of an Industrial Design Right and Entry in the Register

Article 27
(1) Should the reasons specified in Article 6 and Article 7, paragraphs (1) and (2),
not constitute a ban to the grant of an industrial design right, the industrial design shall be
entered into the register of industrial designs on the basis of the decision on the grant of
the industrial design right, provided that the fee and the maintenance fee for the first
five-year maintenance period of industrial design was previously paid.
(2) Should the maintenance fee for the first five-year term not be paid, the
application of industrial design shall be rejected by a decision.

Publication of an Industrial Design

Article 28
(1) The data on the industrial design shall be published in the Office Official
Gazette not later than within three months from the date of entry of the industrial design
in the register.
(2) Data to be published in the Office Official Gazette shall be prescribed by the
Regulations.
(3) The publication of an industrial design shall be subject to the payment of the
prescribed fee relating to the publication of the industrial design in the Office Official
Gazette.

Industrial Design Certificate

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Article 29
(1) Upon the entry in the register of an industrial design and the payment of the
prescribed fee for the issuance of the industrial design certificate, the Office shall issue to
the right holder the Industrial Design Certificate not later than within six months from the
date of publication of the industrial design in the Office Official Gazette.
(2) The data contained in the Industrial Design Certificate shall be provided by the
Regulations.

Part Three

EFFECTS OF AN INDUSTRIAL DESIGN RIGHT

Moral Rights of the Designer

Article 30
(1) The designer shall always have the right to be specified as the designer of the
industrial design in all the documents and public presentations, irrespective of the fact
whether he is the applicant or the right holder.
(2) The transfer or waiver of the right referred to in the preceding paragraph shall
be deemed null and void.
(3) Should several designers have jointly create an industrial design, all the
designers shall have an equal right to the title of the designer of the industrial design,
irrespective of their contribution to the creation of the industrial design therefore all of
them shall be listed.

Exclusive Rights

Article 31
(1) The holder of the industrial design shall acquire the exclusive rights to use the
protected industrial design and to prevent any unauthorised use of the industrial design by
third persons.
(2) Without the consent of the right holder of the industrial design the third person
may not manufacture, offer, put on the market, import, export or use any product
containing, constituting or substantially imitating the protected industrial design, nor store
such a product for the specified purposes.
(3) The applicant of the industrial design the publication of which was deferred
under Article 22, paragraph (2) of this Law, shall acquire the exclusive rights under this
Article by publication of the application from the filing date of the application or from the
date of granted priority right. Within the deferred term of the application publication the
right to prevent an unauthorised use refers only to an infringement action in the case the
third person obviously had knowledge of the product design from the application.
(4) The holder of an industrial design is entitled to demand from each person who
shall place or intends to place on the market a product containing, constituting or
imitating the industrial design, information about the origin of the product and trade
circulation of the product or the documentation relating to that product.

Limitation of Industrial Design Rights

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Article 32
(1) The exclusive industrial design rights shall not affect the use of the products
containing or constituting the protected product design:

1. for private and non-commercial purposes,

2. for experimental purposes;
3. for the purpose of informing the public or for the purpose of education, if this is
in compliance with good business practices and shall not harm the interests of the right
holder, and if it refers to the right holder and designer.

(2) The exclusive industrial design rights shall not relate to products containing
the protected design or to which the protected product design has been applied if they
constitute the equipment, accessories or spare parts of ships or aircrafts temporarily
entering the territory (territorial waters) of the Republic of Croatia, including also the
importation of the products for the purpose of repair, as well as the repair of such ships or
aircrafts.

Right of a Third Person on the Basis of Prior Use

Article 33
(1) The right holder may not invoke the exclusive rights in relation to a third
person who has used the same industrial design or who has performed the relevant
preparations for the use of the same industrial design prior to the filing date of the
application to the Office or to the date of granted priority right, if claimed, provided that
the third person created the industrial design knowing nothing of the existence of the
industrial design which was not available to the public at that time.
(2) The third person referred to in the preceding paragraph may not use the
industrial design under paragraph (1) of this Article in a manner exceeding the boundaries
of usual entrepreneurial activities.
(3) The third person may not transfer the right referred to in this Article not
transferring at the same time the ownership of the form of enterpreneurship he has used
exercising his right to use the industrial design.
(4) The data under this Article shall be entered in the register in the manner
provided by the Regulations.

Acquiescence in the Use of an Industrial Design

Article 34
(1) The holder of the prior industrial design right shall have no right to request the
invalidation of a later industrial design on the principles of his earlier priority right, nor
prohibit the use of the later identical or substantially similar industrial design, had he
within a five year period consciously acquiesced this usage, unless the later industrial
design was protected in bad faith.
(2) The holder of the industrial design with the later priority right shall have no
right to prohibit the use to the holder of the earlier industrial design right.

(3) Acquiescence in the use of an industrial design under paragraph (1) of this
Article may not constitute the reason for its cancellation from the register.
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Part Four

CHANGES TO AN INDUSTRIAL DESIGN

Entry of Changes

Article 35
(1) At the request of the applicant or the industrial design holder, the Office shall
enter in the register all the changes relating to the personal name or the residence, if a
natural person is concerned, to the company name or the residence of the applicant, as
well as other changes occurred after the filing of the industrial design application or after
the grant of the industrial design, provided that these changes reflect the actual situation
and shall have no affect on the industrial design itself.
(2) The changes entered in the register of industrial designs shall be published in
the Office Official Gazette.
(3) The data to be contained in the request for the entry of any change incurred on
the industrial design shall be prescribed by the Regulations.

License

Article 36
(1) The holder of an industrial design may transfer to third persons the right to use
the industrial design, for the whole or a part of the territory of the Republic of Croatia.
(2) The right to use an industrial design shall be acquired on the basis of a licence
contract, and such right shall have effect against third persons after the entry of the
licence in the register. The entry of the licence shall be made at the request of the
industrial design holder.
(3) The licence contract shall be drawn up in writing and signed by the contracting
parties.
(4) The holder of the industrial design may exercise the industrial design rights
against the licensee infringing any provision of the licence contract, particularly with
regard to the duration, the registered scope of the industrial design use, the kind of
products covered by the licence, the territory on which the industrial design may be used
and in respect to the quality of the products manufactured.
(5) The licensee may institute a court proceeding in respect to the infringement of
rights arising from the industrial design only if the holder of the industrial design shall
approve it.
(6) The licensee shall be entitled to grant a sub-license only if expressly stipulated.

Rights in Rem and Levy of Execution

Article 37
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(1) An industrial design may be the subject matter of the rights in rem and levy
of execution.
(2) The rights referred to in paragraph (1) of this Article shall be effective against
third persons only after the entry thereof in the register.

Assignment of Rights

Article 38
(1) The applicant or holder of the industrial design may assign, in whole or in part,
his right from the application or the industrial design to another person.
(2) In supplement to the request to assignment of rights shall be filed a true copy
of the contract or a part of the contract featuring the assignment of rights, or a certificate
on the assignment of rights signed by the prior or the actual right holder.
(3) The contract on the assignment of rights shall particularly contain the
indication of the contracting parties, the industrial design registration number or the
number of the industrial design application.
(4) The entry of the assignment of rights shall be made at the request of the prior
or the latest holder of the industrial design right and shall be published in the Office
Official Gazette.

Part Five

ACQUISITION, DURATION, MAINTENANCE

AND TERMINATION OF AN INDUSTRIAL DESIGN VALIDITY

Acquisition of an Industrial Design Right

Article 39
(1) An industrial design right shall be acquired by a decision on the grant of the
right and by the entry of the industrial design in the register.
(2) The date of entry of the industrial design in the register shall be equal to the
date of decision on the grant of the industrial design right.

Duration and Maintenance of an Industrial Design Right

Article 40
(1) An industrial design right shall be valid 10 years counting from the filing date
of industrial design application.
(2) The industrial design validity may be renewed by periods of five years each up
to the total term of 20 years of uninterrupted protection, provided that the industrial
design holder, during the last year of protection or at the latest within six months upon the
expiration of such a term files to the Office a request for the extension of the industrial
design validity and pays of the appropriate fee and maintenance costs.

(3) The new period of protection shall begin with the day of expiration of the
preceding term of protection.
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(4) The data to be contained in the request for extension of the industrial design
validity shall be prescribed by the Regulations.

Termination of an Industrial Design Validity

Article 41
(1) An industrial design shall cease to be valid:

1. if the term of the industrial design validity under preceding Article of this Law
has expired;
2. upon the written declaration by a right holder on the waiver of the industrial
design, on the day following the day of filing the waiver to the Office; this waiver shall
have no legal effect if a specific right has been entered into the register in favour of third
persons and the industrial design holder had not before obtained a written consent from
those persons:
3. after termination of the legal entity who is the industrial design holder or upon
the death of the natural person who is the industrial design holder or on the day of
termination or on the day of death, unless the right has been transferred to the legal
successors or the legal entity or to the heirs of the natural person.

(2) The termination of an industrial design validity shall be entered in the register
of industrial designs.

Declaration of the Decision on the Grant

of an Industrial Design Right Null and Void

Article 42
(1) The decision on the grant of an industrial design right shall be declared null
and void by the Office if established that the conditions for the grant of that right,
provided by this Law, did not exist.
(2) The decision on the grant of an industrial design right may be declared null
and void during the whole term of protection, as well as after the termination of the
validity of the industrial design right under preceding Article of this Law, ex officio, at
the request of an interested person or at the proposal of the state attorney.
(3) In supplement to the proposal to declare the decision on the grant of an
industrial design right null and void the necessary evidence shall be filed.
(4) The data to be contained in the proposal for the cancellation of the industrial
design on the grounds of nullity shall be prescribed by the Regulations..

Part Six
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COMMON PROVISIONS ON THE

PROCEDURE BEFORE THE OFFICE

Other Provisions Applied in the Procedure before the Office

Article 43
The Law on the General Administrative Procedure shall apply to the specific
matters of procedure which have not been regulated by this Law.

Payment of Procedure Fees and Costs

Article 44
(1) The acquisition and maintenance of an industrial design right shall be subject
to the payment of procedure fees and costs in compliance with special provisions.
(2) Should the fees and costs in the procedure for the grant of the industrial design
not be paid, the application shall be rejected and in the case of non-payment of the fees
and maintenance costs the right shall cease to be valid.

Registers

Article 45
(1) The Office shall keep the register of applications, the register of industrial
designs and the register of representatives.
(2) The registers referred to in paragraph (1) of this Article shall be open to the
public.
(3) The Office shall enable any interested persons the inspection of data related to
the published applications and the granted industrial design rights.
(4) The office shall issue at the request of any interested person an excerpt from
the industrial design register.
(5) The data to be entered in the register under paragraph (1) of this Article shall
be prescribed by the Regulations.

Office Official Gazette

Article 46
(1) The Office shall issue the Official Gazette in which shall be published the
industrial design applications, rights granted, extensions of industrial design validity,
transfers of rights, cancellations of industrial designs from the register and other data
related to the industrial designs prescribed by this Law.
(2) The content of the data to be published in the Office Official Gazette shall be
prescribed by the Regulations.

Search
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Article 47
At the request of any interested person, the Office shall carry out the services of
searches related to the identity and similarity of industrial designs filed and registered
with effect in the Republic of Croatia.

Representation

Article 48
General principles of representation and special requirements, on the basis of
which the natural persons or legal entities not having residence or real and effective
business seat on the territory of the Republic of Croatia may exercise the rights under this
Law in the procedure at the law-courts and administrative authorities through their
representatives, shall be regulated by special regulations.

International Registration

Article 49
In the procedure for the grant of the industrial design rights under the provisions
of the International treaties the Republic of Croatia is a member thereunder, the
provisions of this Law shall apply to all the issues not regulated by these treaties.

Part Seven

CIVIL PROTECTION

Legal Action related to the Infringement of Rights

Article 50
(1) An industrial design holder may, if his rights under Article 31 of this Law have
been infringed or threatened, institute a legal action in a law-court and request:

1. the establishment of the infringement of the industrial design rights;

2. the prohibition of committed or intended infringement of the industrial design
right;
3. remedy of the state caused by the infringement of the industrial design right
including the destruction of articles by which the industrial design right has been
infringed;
4. payment for the damages;
5. publication of the law-court decision at the defendant’s expense

(2) The procedure following the action under paragraph (1) of this Article shall be
urgent.
Limitation of an Action

Article 51
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A legal action related to the infringement of an industrial design right may be

instituted within three years upon the knowledge acquired on the infringement and the
infringing person, and not later than within five years from the infringement act.

Provisional Measures

Article 52
(1) Should the holder of registered industrial design make probable that his right
has been infringed or should a danger exist of his right to be infringed of which threatens
an irreparable harm, he may request in a law-court:
1. A declaration of injunction on the prohibition of the infringing acts on the right
of the industrial design holder;
2. Provisional seizure of articles which unlawfully contain, embody or
substantially imitate the industrial design or their exclusion from circulation;
3. The measures aimed at providing the evidence on the articles referred to in the
previous subparagraph of this paragraph and the measures securing the existing state.
(2) The holder of registered industrial design may request a declaration of
injunction even before instituting a legal action, provided that the action be instituted
within 20 working days or 31 calendar days, depending which term is longer.
(3) Should the holder of the industrial design not institute a legal action within the
term under paragraph (2) of this Article, a law-court may at the defendant’s request
suspend the procedure and cancel the requested measures.

Compensation for Damages

Article 53
(1) A law-court may order the holder of the registered industrial design to pay
damages if the measures requested under Article 52, paragraph (1) of this Law have been
proven unjustified.
(2) A law-court may order the holder of the registered industrial design to deposit
an appropriate amount of money as a security for the persons against whom the
provisional measure has been ordered.

Judicial Grant and Transfer of Rights

Article 54
(1) If the application was filed by an unauthorized person or if the industrial
design right has been granted and entered in the register to the name of an unauthorized
person contrary to the provisions of Article 8 of this Law, the authorized person may
bring to a law-court a request for the grant of authorities based on the law and/or for the
whole or a part of the pertaining rights transfer, irrespectively of other rights and requests
arising from the industrial design.
(2) The authorized person under preceding paragraph may initiate a court
proceeding within three years from the day of the publication of the application, or, in the
case when the court has established that the unauthorized person did not act in good faith,
during the entire term of protection of the industrial design.
(3) Should a law-court make a final decision on the grant and transfer of the rights
under this Article, the right of licence and other rights entered in favour of third persons
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shall cease on the day of entry of the changes in the register. If, before the grant of the
rights referred to in this Article, the unauthorized right holder or licensee used the right or
performed convincing preparations for the use of the right in good faith, they may obtain
the right of non-exclusive licence within the term and under the conditions usually
required for the use of the right, if requested within three months from the day of the
receipt of a notification sent to them by the Office after the entry of the new right holder.
(4) The Office shall enter in the register the facts established in the submitted final
court decision and other changes under this Article.

Part Eight

PROVISIONS ON INFRINGEMENT

Offenses

Article 55
(1) Any legal entity who shall manufacture, offer, place on the market, import,
export or use a product containing or embodying another person’s industrial design, or
shall store such a product for the stated purposes, shall be punished against offense by a
fine of 5,000.00 to 50,000.00 HRK.
(2) Any natural person and the responsible person in a legal entity who shall
refuse to provide data on the origin and the manner of a product acquisition, who has
been cought in the possession of such products unlawfully manufactured or put into
circulation, or who shall transfer the rights to a third person or use the licence contrary to
the provisions of the licence contract, or who shall unlawfully usurp the designer title of
the industrial design, shall be punished by a fine of 1,000.00 to 5,000.00 HRK.
(3) For the offense referred to in paragraph (1) of this Article, the responsible
person at the legal entity shall be punished by a fine of 6,000.00 to 60,000.00 HRK.
(4) For the offense referred to in paragraph (1) of this Article a natural person
shall be punished with a fine of 1,000.00 to 5,000.00 HRK.
(5) A natural person shall be punished by a fine of 20,000.00 HRK for the
offenses referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article committed in the purpose of a financial
gain.
(6) The products intended for or used in the offenses committed under paragraph
(1) of this Article shall be seized and destroyed.

Part Nine
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TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS

Pending Procedures

Article 56
(1) The procedures for the grant of industrial design, pending on the initial
implementation day of this Law, shall continue under the provisions of this Law.
(2) The holder of a model or pattern right, the validity of which has not ceased by
the day of entry into force of this Law, may, after a 10-year validity request the extension
of the protection twice by a five-year period each under the same conditions and with the
same rights as the holders of industrial design rights under this Law.
(3) In the case referred to in paragraph (2) of this Article, the Office shall rename
a model or a pattern the validity of which is being extended, enter it in the register of
industrial designs and publish the extension of the right in the Office Official Gazette.
(4) The procedures on the infringement of a model or a pattern or on the
infringement of the rights deriving from the application of model or pattern, and the
procedures declaring decisions on the grant of the right to a model and a pattern null and
void, pending on the initial implementation day of this Law, shall be finished under the
provision in force until the initial implementation day of this Law.

Termination of Validity of Other Regulations

Article 57
On the day the application of this Law shall start, the provisions of the Industrial
Property Law (“Narodne novine”- The Official Gazette of the Republic of Croatia, No.
53/91, 19/92, 61/92 and 26/93) in the section relating to models and patterns, shall cease
to be valid, except for the provisions on the representation (Article 172a) which shall
apply until the enactment of a special provision.

Implementing Provision Enacted by the Director to the Office

Article 58
The Director to the Office shall define, by the Regulations, the matters of this Law
under the Articles 12, paragraph (4), Article18, paragraph (1), Article 22, paragraph (2),
Article 24, paragraph (3), Article 28, paragraph (2), Article 29, paragraph (2), Article 33,
paragraph (4), Article 35, paragraph (3), Article 40, paragraph (4), Article 42, paragraph
(4), Article 45, paragraph (5) and Article 46, paragraph (2).

Entry into Force of this Law

Article 59
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This Law shall enter into force on the eighth day following the date of its
publication in “Narodne novine”- The Official Gazette of the Republic of Croatia, and
shall be applied starting from January 1, 2000.