Pursuant to Article IV, 4, a) of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, at the session of the House of Representatives on 9 June 2004 and at the session of House of Peoples on 29 June 2004, adopted

LAW

ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE INSTITUTE FOR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

I – BASIC PROVISIONS

Article 1

1. This Law establishes the Institute for Intellectual Property of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the Institute) as an independent state administrative organisation. It further defines its status, competences and authorizations, as well as other issues relevant for the organisation, functioning and work of the Institute.

2. The Institute shall take over tasks in the field of intellectual property protection which are set forth in the Law on the Establishment of the Institute for Standards, Measurements and Intellectual Property of Bosnia and Herzegovina ("Official Gazette of BiH", No. 29/00 and 19/01), in accordance with this Law.

Article 2

1. The Institute shall, within the scope defined by this Law, perform administrative and other expert tasks within the rights and responsibilities of the state administrative organisations, provided that these tasks are not within the competence of other state organisations, i.e. provided that they are not entrusted to other organisations by law.

2. The Institute shall supervise the enforcement of the law and other regulations within the competence of the Institute in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, unless prescribed otherwise by another regulation.

3. Bosnia and Herzegovina, shall, through the Institute, obtain membership and establish cooperation with relevant international institutions or akin national institutions in the field of intellectual property. Cooperation with international institutions shall be implemented through memberships, public communications, exchange of documents, technical assistance, education and other forms of cooperation depending on the nature and method of its implementation.

Article 3

1. The Institute shall be capacitated as legal entity.

2. The seat of the Institute shall be in Mostar.

Article 4

1. The work of the Institute shall be transparent.

2. The transparency in the work of the Institute may be restricted or excluded only in cases prescribed by the law.

3. The Institute shall ensure the equity of all parties in accordance with the Law on Administrative Procedure ("Official Gazette of BiH", No. 29/02).

4. Within the Institute, an appropriate national representation of civil servants and employees shall be secured in accordance with the Law.

Article 5

1. The Institute shall have a stamp made in accordance with the Law on the Stamps of Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina ("Official Gazette of BiH", No. 12/98 and 14/03).

2. The name of the Institute and the state coat of arms shall be displayed on the building where the Institute will be accommodated.

3. The name of the Institute shall be written in Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian languages, and in Latin and Cyrillic scripts.

Article 6

1. The official languages: Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian shall be equally used in the Institute.

2. The official scripts shall be Cyrillic and Latin.

3. Other languages, which are not in the official use, may also be used in proceedings before the Institute.

II – COMPETENCIES OF THE INSTITUTE

Article  7

The Institute shall be responsible for performing expert and administrative tasks in the field of intellectual property, namely for:

a) protection of industrial property,

b) protection of copy rights and akin rights,

c) protection of intellectual property.

aa) In the field of the protection of industrial property, tasks are pertaining to:

 conducting an administrative procedure for the acquisition, maintenance, traffic and cessation of the right to patent, trademark for goods and services, industrial design and geographical mark, in accordance with the provisions of international conventions, treaties and agreements that Bosnia and Herzegovina signed onto or ratified and the laws and enforcement regulations regulation which regulate this matter,

 administrative tasks related to the protection of topography of integrated circuits (LayoutDesigns).

bb) In the field of the protection of copy rights and akin rights, tasks are pertaining to:

 administrative and expert tasks related to the author’s rights in literature, science, art, the rights of artists performing phonograms, the rights of radiodiffusion organisations, the rights of videograms and databases producers, in accordance with the provisions of international conventions, treaties and agreements that Bosnia and Herzegovina signed onto or ratified and the laws and enforcement regulations regulation which regulate this matter,

 supervision of the work of associations for collective exercise of the copy rights.

cc) In the field of the protection of intellectual property, tasks also include the following:

 information and documentation tasks in accordance with standards proposed by the World Intellectual Property Organisation  (WIPO/OMPI), and legal provisions and enforcement regulations which regulate the field of intellectual property,

 preparation of bilateral and multilateral agreements, conventions, arrangements, laws and other regulations in the field of intellectual property,

 tasks aimed at implementing international cooperation with relevant institutions from other countries and international organisations in the field of intellectual property established at world, regional or other levels,

 publishing work in the field of intellectual property,

 and other administrative and expert tasks within its competencies in accordance with the acts of state institutions.

III – INTERNAL ORGANISATION

Article 8

1. The internal organisation of the Institute is based on the principles set forth in the Law on Administration ("Official Gazette of BiH", no. 32/02) and the Law on Civil Service in the Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina ("Official Gazette of BiH", no. 19/02 and 35/03).

2. The Institute shall establish branches in both Entities, as its organisational units, which shall perform tasks in the field of the protection of industrial property set forth by Article 5, paragraph 1 of the Law on Industrial in BiH ("Official Gazette of BiH", no. 3/02).

3. The internal organisation of the Institute shall be regulated by a Rulebook on Internal Organisation, issued by the Director of the Institute with the consent from the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina .

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IV – MANAGEMENT OF THE INSTITUTE

Article  9

1. The Director shall manage the Institute.

2. The Director shall represent and act on behalf of the Institute. The Director shall: be responsible for performing special tasks stipulated in the decisions of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina; organise and ensure lawful and efficient performance; issue regulations as prescribed by the law of Bosnia and Herzegovina; issue other acts as appropriate and undertake other measures within the competence of the Institute; and decide, in accordance with the law of Bosnia and Herzegovina, about the rights, duties and responsibilities of civil servants and employees in performing their service.

3. The Director of the Institute shall have his/her Deputy, who shall substitute him/her when he/she is unable to perform his/her authorities and obligations.

4. The Director and the Deputy Director shall be appointed by the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina , having obtained an opinion of the Civil Service Agency, in accordance with the Law on Administration ("Official Gazette of ", no. 32/02).

5. The mandate of the Director and the Deputy Director shall be for the period of five years and may be extended for another five years, thus the maximum period for the appointment on the same position shall last ten years.

6. Pursuant to the Constitution, the law and other rules and guidelines of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Director and the Deputy Director shall be obliged to consciously perform the entrusted tasks and shall be personally be held responsible for their execution, as well as for the work of the Institute.

Article 10

The managerial civil servants shall assist the Director and the Deputy Director in managing individual fields of work.

Article 11

1. The Director of the Institute shall be obliged to adopt a work programme and submit a performance report for each year.

2. The work programme and the performance report shall be submitted to the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the manner and according to the procedure prescribed in the Law on Ministries and Other Bodies of Administration of Bosnia and Herzegovina ("Official Gazette of BiH", no. 5/03 and 42/03).

V – CIVIL SERVANTS AND EMPLOYEES

Article 12

1. Tasks pertaining to basic activities, which are placed under the competencies of the Institute by this Law, shall be performed by civil servants appointed to the positions stipulated by the La won Civil Service in the Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina ("Official Gazette of BiH", no. 19/02 and 35/03).

2. The categories within the positions held by civil servants shall be regulated by the Rulebook on Internal Organisation of the Institute.

3. The appointment of civil servants to the positions within the Institute, their rights, duties and responsibilities and other status issues, salaries and other financial allowances of civil servants, and the prevention of conflict of interest in performing their duties, shall be regulated in accordance with the Law on Civil Service in the Institutions of BiH ("Official Gazette of BiH", no. 19/02 and 35/03) and other special law.

4. Employees shall perform logistical tasks in the Institute in accordance with valid regulations.

5. The employment of employees, their rights, duties and responsibilities and other status issues, as well as salaries and other financial allowances of the employees shall be regulated in accordance with a special law.

VI – FUNDING OF THE INSTITUTE

Article 13

1. The Institute shall be funded from the budget of Bosnia and Herzegovina . The Institute shall contribute to the budgetary income of Bosnia and Herzegovina by the funds obtained by offering services in its field of work and the funds obtained as indemnities for the membership in international organisations and other institutions in the field of intellectual property.

2. The funds allocated for the work of the Institute shall be included in the budget, which is adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina .

3. The funds for the work of the Institute shall comprise: funds for salaries and allowances, funds for material and services, capital expenditures and funds for special purpose programmes.

4. The funds from the budget of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall be secured in accordance with the Law on Budget Execution of the Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina .

5. The Director of the Institute shall be an orderissuing authority for the preparation of an estimate of budgetary funds and the execution of the financial plan of the Institute.

VII – TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 14

1. The Institute for Standards, Measurements and Intellectual Property of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was established by the Law on the Establishment the Institute for Standards, Measurements and Intellectual Property of Bosnia and Herzegovina ("Official Gazette of BiH", no. 29/00 and 19/01), shall cease to work after 60 days from the day when the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina approved the Rulebook on Internal Organisation of the Institute.

2. A Joint Commission, which shall be nominated by the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina and composed of representatives of the Institute for Standards, Measurements and Intellectual Property and representatives of newly established Institutes in accordance with Article 13, paragraph 3, of the Law on the Establishment of the Institute for Standards, Measurements and Intellectual Property of Bosnia and Herzegovina ("Official Gazette of BiH ", no. 29/00 and 19/01),

(the Institute for Intellectual Property of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Institute for Standardisation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Institute for Measurements of Bosnia and Herzegovina), shall determine the mode of handover and distribution of tasks, equipment, archive and funds, and taking over of civil servants and employees with this status in the Institute for Standards, Measurements and Intellectual Property of Bosnia and Herzegovina on the day of entry into force of this Law.

3. The Institute for Intellectual Property of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall take over tasks, equipment, archive and funs, and civil servants and employees on the day of signing of the minutes on the handover, composed by a Commission referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article and in accordance with the Decision on the Mode of Tasks Handover between Ministries Established by the Earlier Law on the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Ministries of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Ministries Established by the Law on  Ministries and Other Bodies of Administration of Bosnia and Herzegovina ("Official Gazette of BiH", no. 15/03).

Article 15

1. The Director of the Institute for Intellectual Property of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall issue the Rulebook on Internal Organisation of the Institute at latest within 60 days from the day of his/her appointment to the position of the Director.

2. The deployment of civil servants and employees to appropriate positions and tasks, in accordance with the Rulebook referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, shall be completed at latest within 30 days from the day of the adoption of the Rulebook on Internal Organisation.

Article 16

1. The Director of the Institute, Assistant Directors and other managers at the Institute for Standards, Measurements and Intellectual Property of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall perform their tasks until the completion of the legal procedure for the appointment to managerial positions in accordance with this Law and the Rulebook on Internal Organisation of the Institute.

2. The rights of the managers who are at disposal shall be settled in accordance with the Law on Civil Service in the Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Rulebook on Labour Relation of the Institute.

Article 17

All decisions, agreements and other acts in the field of intellectual property, issued by the Institute for Standards, Measurements and Intellectual Property of Bosnia and Herzegovina before the day of entry into force of this Law, shall remain in force until replaced in the legal procedure.

Article 18

This Law shall enter into force on the eight day after its publication in the "Official Gazette of BiH", and it shall be published in the official gazettes of the Entities and the Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Parliamentary Assembly of BiH no. 81/04, 29 June 2004. Sarajevo

Chairman of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly Martin Raguž, signed

Chairman of the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH Goran Milojević, signed