Bosnia Trademark Information

Bosnia and Herzegovina is located on the Balkan Peninsula in South-Eastern Europe, bordered by Coatia in the north, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast with 16 miles of Adriatic Sea coastline. The population is estimated at 4,600,000 with a GDP of $29.48 billion.

Bosnia and Herzegovina's declaration of sovereignty in October 1991 was followed by a declaration of independence from the former Yugoslavia on 3 March 1992 after a referendum boycotted by ethnic Serbs. The Bosnian Serbs - supported by neighboring Serbia and Montenegro - responded with armed resistance aimed at partitioning the republic along ethnic lines and joining Serb-held areas to form a "Greater Serbia." In March 1994, Bosniaks and Croats reduced the number of warring factions from three to two by signing an agreement creating a joint Bosniak/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. On 21 November 1995, in Dayton, Ohio, the warring parties initialed a peace agreement that brought to a halt three years of interethnic civil strife (the final agreement was signed in Paris on 14 December 1995). The Dayton Peace Accords retained Bosnia and Herzegovina's international boundaries and created a multi-ethnic and democratic government charged with conducting foreign, diplomatic, and fiscal policy. Also recognized was a second tier of government composed of two entities roughly equal in size: the Bosniak/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Bosnian Serb-led Republika Srpska (RS). The Federation and RS governments were charged with overseeing most government functions. The Dayton Accords also established the Office of the High Representative (OHR) to oversee the implementation of the civilian aspects of the agreement. The Peace Implementation Council (PIC) at its conference in Bonn in 1997 also gave the High Representative the authority to impose legislation and remove officials, the so-called "Bonn Powers." In 1995-96, a NATO-led international peacekeeping force (IFOR) of 60,000 troops served in Bosnia to implement and monitor the military aspects of the agreement. IFOR was succeeded by a smaller, NATO-led Stabilization Force (SFOR) whose mission was to deter renewed hostilities. European Union peacekeeping troops (EUFOR) replaced SFOR in December 2004; their mission is to maintain peace and stability throughout the country. EUFOR's mission changed from peacekeeping to civil policing in October 2007, with its presence reduced from nearly 7,000 to less than 2,500 troops. Troop strength at the end of 2009 stood at roughly 2,000. In January 2010, Bosnia and Herzegovina assumed a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2010-11 term.

Trademarks are assigned through the Institute for Intellectual Property of Bosnia and Herzegovina under the supervision of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bosnia and Herzegovina is a member of the Madrid Protocol. A trademark is valid for 10 years.

The following are not eligible to be registered in Bosnia and Herzegovina:

• sign which is contrary to public policy and moral,
• sign which is not capable of being represented graphically,
• sign which is devoid, by its overall appearance, of distinctive character in relation to the goods or services in commerce,
• sign which consists exclusively of indications and data which serve to indicate in commerce the kind, quality, quantity, intended purpose, value, locality or geographical source of products, the time or manner of production of the goods or of providing the services or to indicate other characteristics of the goods or services,
• sign which consists exclusively of indications or data which are customary in the everyday language or the professional language or the established practices of trade,
• sign which may deceive the public by its appearance or content, in particular in relation to its geographical source, kind, quality or any other feature of a good or service,
• sign which contains a national or other coat of arms, a flag or emblem, a name or abbreviation of the name of a country or of an international organization, unless it is authorized by the competent authority of that country or organization