SERBIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Djordje Lukic and Katarina Kostic, Popović, Popović & Partners
not be divided if the division would separate goods or services that are the subject of an opposition in a way that extends the opposition to more than one divisional application. Division is not allowed in case of essentially identical or significantly similar goods/ services. Division mostly applies to different classes of goods/services. 4.9 Incorrect Information in an Application Providing incorrect or incomplete information in a trade mark application may have procedural conse - quences, and such issues are examined and adjudi - cated on by the IP Office. If inaccuracies are identified during the examination, the IP Office invites the appli - cant to correct them within a prescribed time limit. Failure to do so may result in refusal of the application in whole or in part. Incorrect or incomplete information may be corrected either at the invitation of the IP Office or on the appli - cant’s own initiative. The IP Office may also correct obvious errors at any time. 4.10 Refusal of Registration A sign cannot be protected as a trade mark on abso - lute grounds if it: • is contrary to public policy or morality; • is descriptive; • is not distinctive; • consists exclusively of a shape or other charac - teristic that results from the nature of the goods, is necessary to obtain a technical result or gives substantial value to the goods; • is generic; • is deceptive to the public as to the nature, quality or geographical origin of the goods or services; • contains official signs or hallmarks of quality control or warranty, or imitations thereof, unless approved by the competent authority; • does not fulfil the conditions for registration within the meaning of Article 6ter of the Paris Convention, unless authorised; • comprises a state coat of arms, flag or other emblem, or another official sign of the Republic of Serbia, unless authorised; • represents or imitates a national or religious sym - bol;
• consists of or contains an indication of geographi - cal origin valid in Serbia and relates to the same or similar goods/services; or • contains an earlier protected plant variety denomi - nation or reproduces it in its significant elements; If the IP Office raises objections, the applicant has 30 days to respond to the official action; this term may be prolonged for justified reasons. 4.11 The Madrid System Serbia participates in the Madrid system as a mem - ber of both the Madrid Agreement and the Madrid Protocol. 5. Trade Mark Procedure for Inter Partes Proceedings 5.1 Timeframes for Filing an Opposition or Cancellation Opposition After the application is published, an opposition may be filed within three months from the publication date in the Official Gazette, or three months from the first day of the month following the month indicated in the WIPO Official Gazette for international applications. The three-month deadline cannot be extended. Dur - ing the procedure, parties may settle or withhold the procedure for up to 24 months to negotiate. Revocation There are no statutory deadlines for initiating a revoca - tion action. A trade mark may be revoked based on the following grounds: • non-use – if it has not been put to genuine use, without justified reasons, on the Serbian market for an uninterrupted period of five years from the date of registration or from the date of last use; • it has become a generic term for the goods/ser - vices for which it was registered, due to acts or omissions of the right-holder or its successor; • it has become misleading as to the geographical origin, type, quality or other characteristics of the goods/services because of the manner of its use; • it has become contrary to public policy or morality; or
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