Craft makers in Bosnia and Herzegovina can protect their products from intellectual property theft with a new registry developed by the Institute for Intellectual Property with the aid of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
USAID’s Developing Sustainable Tourism in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Turizam) worked with the institute to create the registry, which will allow craft makers to protect their products through one or more forms of intellectual property such as patent, industrial design, trademark, or protection of the indications of geographical origin.
“Intellectual property theft is a global problem that harms creators large and small, commercial and private,” said USAIDBiH Mission Director Courtney Chubb. “The registry is a great innovation for the sectors of the BiH economy driven by intellectual property designs.”
USAID’s Turizam activity initiated the idea of the registry with the Institute and worked to help develop it. The goal is to increase the number of certified products in the market.
Registering a product will require an application to the Institute, which, when approved, will publish the trademark application in the Institutes official gazette, available on the Institute’s website (www.ipr.gov.ba). Once the trademark document is approved, it also will be published in the gazette, which means the mark is protected. Intellectual property violations are potentially subject to criminal punishment or litigation.
