SERBIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Djordje Lukic and Katarina Kostic, Popović, Popović & Partners
10.3 Attorneys’ Fees and Costs The losing party is generally ordered to pay proce - dural costs to the other party, generally official court taxes and attorneys’ fees (to some extent). However, the sums often do not fully compensate for the actual costs. Translation costs are rarely awarded. Also, if the plaintiff does not succeed in all claims, the courts award reimbursement of costs in proportion to suc - cess. 10.4 Ex Parte Relief Seeking relief is not conditioned by sending a prior notice to the defendant. 10.5 Customs Seizures of Counterfeits or Parallel Imports Customs seizures are regulated by the Customs Law and the Regulation on Border Measures for the Pro - tection of IP Rights. Seizures may be initiated ex offi - cio or upon a right holder’s request. The request has to specify the IP right and include proof of ownership, along with supporting material such as product iden - tification manuals, photographs, information on the origin of goods, authorised distributors and manuals for recognition of counterfeit goods. Once granted, customs supervision is valid for one year and may be renewed. When goods suspected of infringing IP rights are seized, the right-holder is notified and has ten working days to request their destruction, pro - vided the importer does not object. Otherwise, court proceedings have to be initiated within 20 working days; if not, the goods are released. Customs measures primarily apply to counterfeit and infringing goods. Parallel imports of genuine goods are not subject to customs seizure.
mark proprietor to oppose further commercialisation, in particular where the condition of the goods has been changed or impaired after they were placed on the market.
10. Remedies 10.1 Injunctive Remedies
Trade mark and copyright holders may seek issuance of provisional measures where it is probable that the right has been or is about to be infringed. The court may order seizure of infringing goods and materials used for their production, removal of goods from the channels of commerce and prohibition of infringing activities. Where necessary to secure damages, the court may also order seizure of the defendant’s assets and/or blocking of their bank accounts, although this is rare in practice. Courts may grant provisional measures without hear - ing the defendant only when delay may cause irrep - arable damage. If a provisional measure is ordered before the initiation of civil proceedings, the lawsuit has to be filed within 30 days to justify the measure. A defendant may oppose an injunction by challeng - ing the probability of infringement or the existence of a threat of infringement. Common arguments include the absence of trade mark similarity or likelihood of confusion, lawful use of the sign and the existence of prior rights. 10.2 Monetary Remedies Trade mark and copyright holders may claim pecuni - ary and non-pecuniary damages in infringement pro - ceedings. Courts consider all relevant circumstances of the case, including lost profits and the profits made by the defendant, and may award lump-sum compen - sation where appropriate. If the infringement was not intentional or not a result of gross negligence, com - pensation may be limited to the profit obtained by the infringer. In general, non-pecuniary damages are mostly awarded to authors for breach of their moral rights.
11. Appeal 11.1 Appellate Procedure
Court decisions in trade mark and copyright infringe - ment cases may be appealed. Upon appeals against first-instance decisions rendered by the Commercial Court, the Commercial Court of Appellation decides. Upon appeals against first-instance decisions ren - dered by the Higher Court, the Belgrade Court of Appellation decides in the second instance. An
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