Croatia Country Profile
KEY INFORMATION
- Population: 4 million
- GDP: US$ 60.7 billion (2019)
- GDP growth: 2.9% (2019)
- Export from Australia: US$2.46 million (2019)
- Import from Croatia: US$30.05 million (2019)
Opportunities in Croatia
Croatia offers a long coastline with over a thousand islands along its coast at the Adriatic Sea (Mediterranean Sea), a variety of medieval towns and villages, and a pleasant Mediterranean climate, such features made it a popular holiday destination within Europe.
Australia and Croatia enjoy friendly relations, based on strong people-to-people links. Australia recognised Croatia on 16 January 1992, following its declaration of independence from Yugoslavia on 25 June 1991.
Croatia experienced relatively high rates of economic growth in the decade preceding the global crisis, driven by a boom in domestic investment and consumption financed by large inflows of foreign capital. The economy of Croatia is now a service-based economy and this sector accounts for 70 percent of total GDP. The industrial sector is responsible for 25 percent of Croatia’s GDP, with agriculture, forestry, and fishing accounting for the remaining 5 percent.
Australia’s merchandise trade with Croatia in 2018 was $41.1 million, up 3.9% from 2017. Australian goods exports to Croatia totalled $2.8 million in 2018, with fruit and nuts, and specialised machinery and parts as the major sectors. Imports from Croatia totalled $38.3 million in 2018, with electric power machinery and products, and edible products and preparations as the major sectors.
Why Register Your Trade Mark in Croatia?
A Trade Mark is a sign capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one undertaking from goods or services of another undertaking.
In Croatia, Trade Mark registration is mandatory to be granted rights over a Trade Mark, as it is a “first to file” jurisdiction. Extensive use of an unregistered mark can prevent the use or registration of a similar mark by a third party, but would not grant actual rights over the Trade Mark.
How to Apply for a Trade Mark in Croatia?
To obtain Trade Mark protection in Croatia, you can register it either locally via the State Intellectual Property Office of Croatia (DZIV), or regionally by filing a European Union Trade Marks (EUTM) which grants protection in the whole European Union. Croatia is also a member state to the Madrid Protocol.
Once the application has been filed before the DZIC, the Office examines whether the application satisfies the conditions established by Law. A 30 days period is granted in order to satisfy any condition which has not been complied with.
The Office then examines the application as to its registrability. If the requirements for the application to comply with are fulfilled and if there are no absolute grounds for refusal, the application shall be published in the official gazette. Within a period of three months from the date of publication of an application for the registration of a Trade Mark, opposition to registration of the Trade Mark can be filed.
Where an application for registration of a Trade Mark meets all the requirements and where no notice of opposition has been given, the Office shall order the applicant to pay the prescribed charges for the maintenance of the valid Trade Mark for the first ten-year period and for the publication of the Trade Mark. If the charges are paid, the Trade Mark shall be entered in the Register of Trade Marks and published in the official gazette of the Office and the Office shall issue the decision on Trade Mark registration to the Trade Mark holder.
Filing an application through EUTM or WIPO
Filing through EUTM: Since this country is a member of the European Union, Trade Mark protection could be obtained by registration of a Community Trade Mark (CTM), which is valid for a period of 10 years in all countries of the European Union.
Filing through WIPO: The Madrid system that is governed by the Madrid agreement and the Madrid protocol provides one single procedure for the filing, registration and maintenance of Trade Marks in several territories, as long as those territories are party to the system. Registration of a mark under the Agreement provides for the legal equivalent of registration in member countries designated by the Trade Mark owner.
The cost for an international Trade Mark registration includes the basic fee CHF 653, plus additional costs depending on where you want to protect your Trade Mark. For Croatia, this fee is CHF 100 for the first three classes of goods and services and CHF 100 for each additional class.
Maintaining your Trade Mark rights in Croatia
A Trade Mark in Croatia shall be registered for a period of ten years from the date of filing of the application. Registration may be renewed for further periods of ten years. The request for renewal shall be submitted within a further period of six months following the expiry of registration, provided that the double amount of the administrative fee and charges have been paid within this further period.
A Trade Mark may be revoked if, within a continuous period of five years after the registration date, it has not been put to genuine use, and there are no justified reasons for non-use. A Trade Mark may also be revoked if, after the date on which it was registered:
-in consequence of acts or inactivity of the holder, it has become a common name in the trade for products or services in respect of which it is registered;
-in consequence of the use made of it by the holder of the Trade Mark or with his consent, in respect of the goods or services for which it is registered, it is liable to mislead the public, particularly as to the nature, quality or geographical origin of those goods or services.
