CROATIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Lovro Badžim, Badžim Law Practice
5. Intellectual Property, Data and Data Protection 5.1 Trade Marks In Croatia, trade marks are protected through regis - tration under the Trade Mark Act with the State Intel - lectual Property Office (DZIV). The process is straight - forward: applicants usually begin with an availability search, file an application identifying the goods and services, and pay the required fees. DZIV examines the application, publishes it for possible objections, and, if no issues arise, registers the mark. Protec - tion lasts ten years and can be renewed indefinitely. International protection is also available through the Madrid system. The law excludes marks that are descriptive, generic, misleading, contrary to public order, or that conflict with earlier rights, although a sign that has gained distinctiveness through use may still be registered. Registration gives the owner exclusive rights, enables licensing and enforcement against infringers, and is especially important in sport for protecting identity, merchandising, and sponsorship value. A trade mark does not need to be used before regis - tration, but it must be genuinely used within five years or it risks revocation. In practice, Croatian sports fed - erations, clubs, and event organisers routinely register names and logos to prevent unauthorised commercial use and to secure brand and sponsorship exclusivity. 5.2 Copyright/Database Rights Croatia has a fully statutory copyright system, based on the Copyright and Related Rights Act and aligned with EU and international law. Copyright arises auto - matically upon creation of an original work with an individual character; no registration or formalities are required. Protection covers the expression of a work, not ideas, methods, facts, or official legal texts, and rights belong to the natural person who created the work. Because there is no copyright register, authorship and the date of creation are proven through evidence such as files, drafts, publications, or witness testimony. The law recognises standard limitations and exceptions, including private use, education and research, quota -
as those supporting school sport, parasport, or stra - tegic development projects. Alongside this, cities and counties play a major role by financing local clubs, sports communities, infrastructure, and grassroots programmes from their own budgets. Private and own-source funding is also significant. Clubs and federations generate income through ticket sales, membership fees, participation fees, sponsor - ships, donations, merchandising, marketing activities, and, in professional sport, broadcasting and commer - cial rights. While these sources are crucial for elite sport, they rarely replace public funding at the ama - teur and youth levels. The distribution of public funds is regulated by the Sports Act and takes place through structured pro - grammes at state, regional, and local level. National programmes are adopted by the ministry responsible for sport and implemented partly through umbrella bodies such as the Croatian Olympic Committee, which allocate funds for elite sport, youth develop - ment, scholarships, anti-doping measures, and gov - ernance standards. Allocation criteria typically include athlete and sport categorisation, development priori - ties, and compliance with good governance princi - ples. At local and regional level, municipalities and coun - ties adopt their own programmes for “public needs in sport,” focusing on children and youth sport, rec - reational activities, clubs and associations, competi - tions, athlete health protection, and sports facilities. Funding is often awarded through public calls, usually on a co-financing basis, with beneficiaries required to contribute part of the budget themselves. In practice, most public money flows to grassroots sport and local clubs, while national-level funding supports federations, top athletes, and strategic pro - grammes. Elite athletes may also receive targeted scholarships, awards, and additional financial support based on sporting results.
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