04 | 10 | 2011

Memorandum of Understanding signed between OHIM and the Office (SIPO)

On the occasion of attending The Forty-Ninth Series of Meetings of the Assemblies of the Member States of the World International Property Organization (WIPO) held in Geneva, the MoU concerning bilateral cooperation between the two Offices was signed on 27 September 2011, on behalf of the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) by President Antonio Campinos and on behalf of the State Intellectual Property Office by Mr. Željko Topić, Director General of SIPO Croatia.
The MoU is affirming commitment of both parties, OHIM as the Office of the European Union for trademarks and industrial designs and the State Intellectual Property Office of the Republic of Croatia, to strengthening cooperation in the light of pre-accession activities of the Republic of Croatia towards the membership of the European Union, as well as the common interest of both parties in harmonizing the practice of registration proceedings with the objective to establish the European network of trademarks and designs.
Within a framework of such agreement, the cooperation is particularly focused on the following areas: trademark and design statistics, electronic exchange of priority documents for trademark registrations, data exchange of registered trademarks and designs, development of electronic systems in support of trademark and design registrations, as well as development of classification tools and harmonization of classification proceedings.
Moreover, a potential cooperation in other areas of common interest has also been provided for and shall be in force until the accession of the Republic of Croatia to the European Union; thereafter the cooperation shall continue by virtue of the institutional cooperation mechanisms, between OHIM and the Member States of the European Union.