SERBIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Djordje Lukic and Katarina Kostic, Popović, Popović & Partners
paid or other statutory or contractual obligations towards the right holder are violated. 7.4 Prerequisites and Restrictions to Filing a Lawsuit There are no formal prerequisites for filing a trade mark or copyright lawsuit. A cease-and-desist letter, a warning letter or mediation is not mandatory. Court proceedings may be initiated directly. 7.5 Lawsuit Procedure Trade mark and copyright infringement proceedings are conducted before the courts – ie, the Commer - cial Court in Belgrade for legal entities and the Higher Court in Belgrade for natural persons and non-com - mercial entities. Several costs may arise before filing a trade mark or copyright lawsuit, related to collecting and preserving evidence such as purchasing infringing goods, pho - tographing points of sale, or preserving screenshots of infringing websites or online content. A further common step is sending a cease-and-desist letter, which involves attorneys’ fees. Also, depending on the case, certain documents may need to be notarised to be submitted at the preliminary court hearing. The court procedure is conducted in Serbian, and costs of translation into Serbian are sometimes relatively high. Foreign persons have to be represented by a Serbian lawyer. Foreign trade mark and copyright holders may bring infringement claims before the Serbian courts where the infringement takes place in Serbia or produces effects in Serbia, or where the defendant is domiciled in Serbia or the trade mark is registered in Serbia. 7.6 Declaratory Judgment Proceedings and Other Protections for Potential Defendants Declaration of infringement can be claimed only by the right holder, who may file an action seeking it. Negative declaratory actions by alleged infringers (eg, declarations of non-infringement) are not available. 7.7 Small Claims Serbian law does not provide a specific small claims procedure for IP disputes, but parties may opt for
mediation or arbitration as faster alternatives to liti- gation. 7.8 Effect of Trade Mark and Copyright Office Decisions In trade mark infringement proceedings, the courts are bound by the decisions of the IP Office concerning trade mark validity. 7.9 Counterfeiting and Bootlegging Trade mark counterfeiting refers to the use of a trade mark without the authorisation of the right holder. Copyright counterfeiting consists of unauthorised reproduction, distribution, sale or other commercial exploitation of copyrighted works, particularly on a commercial scale. Right-holders may request cus - toms and market inspection surveillance measures, including the seizure and destruction of goods infring - ing IP rights, as well as civil remedies such as injunc - tions, seizure and destruction, damages, publication of the judgment and disclosure of information on third parties involved. Unauthorised trade mark use and large-scale copy - right piracy may also constitute criminal offences, punishable by fines (up to approximately EUR25,000 for legal entities and approximately EUR500 for natu - ral persons) and imprisonment of up to three years. The term “bootlegging” is not used as a legal con - cept in Serbian law, but conduct typically described as bootlegging (illegal manufacture, distribution or sale of goods, including recordings) is fully covered by copyright legislation and may give rise to civil and criminal liability. 8. Litigating Trade Mark and Copyright Claims 8.1 Special Procedural Provisions for Trade Mark or Copyright Proceedings In litigation proceedings, a single judge conducts the proceedings and decides at first instance. At second instance, appeals are decided by a panel of three judges. The Supreme Court, acting as an extraordi - nary legal remedy instance, decides in panels of three judges. Serbia does not have specialised IP courts or
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