The National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia adopted the Law on Amendments to the Patent Law (Official Gazette of RS No.68/2015), which entered into force on 16 December 2018.
The most significant amendments may be summarized under the following headings:
1. Harmonization with EU legislation
The amendments aim at further harmonization with the EU legislation, i.e. the Directive on Protection of Legal Biotechnological Inventions (98/44/EC) and the Directive on Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights (2004/48/EC).
2. Improvement of Protection under the Civil Law
The system of civil protection has been improved in terms of resolving issues observed in the application of the law.
In this regard, a legal claim may be filed not only for infringement of the right but also based on a serious threat of right infringement. Furthermore, the legal claim may be directed against a party whose services were used in connection with the infringement of a patent (intermediary).
In terms of damages, the law now explicitly prescribes that the injured party may seek both material and immaterial damage. In determining the number of damages, the courts will consider all circumstances of the case, particularly the adverse economic consequences the injured party has suffered, the loss of profit and the profit which the infringing party gained through patent infringement.
Should circumstances allow, the court may award a lump-sum compensation instead of damages. However, such compensation may not be smaller than what the injured party would have received had the use of patent been lawful.
by Predrag Groza, TSG Law