4.7. Chapter 7: Intellectual property law

Some progress has been made on copyright and neighbouring rights. The amendments to the Criminal Code regarding breach of copyright and increasing the maximum prison term have had a positive impact. The number of court proceedings has increased. They lasted between one month and about three years. The website on copyright protection established by the Ministry of Culture is not regularly updated.

The administrative court instructed the second-instance commission to annul within one month its decisions suspending the activities of two of the three collective rights management societies. However, this has yet to be done. The Constitutional Court annulled some provisions of the rulebook on the levy scheme and the rulebook on the calculation of royalties of the Association for Protection of Copyright on Musical Works (ZAMP). Concerns have been expressed about this decision, which relates to interpretation of Article 146(6) of the current Copyright Law. The court stated that copyright royalties should be calculated only on the profit, not on the income, from using a copyright work. Overall, in the area of copyright and related rights the country is moderately advanced.

There has been good progress in the area of industrial property rights. The country became a member of the European Patent Organisation. The State Office for Industrial Property (SOIP) is responsible for implementing the European Patent Convention (EPC). A new Law on Industrial Property provides the basis for implementing the EPC. Alignment has yet to be confirmed. Several pieces of legislation implementing the new Law on Industrial Property have been adopted.

A Law on Plant-Breeders’ Rights was enacted. Alignment has yet to be confirmed. The International Convention for Protection of New Varieties of Plants has been ratified. More staff were recruited to the SOIP, bringing the total number to 34. The SOIP and the Ministry of Economy undertook a number of public awareness-raising activities. The SOIP, in cooperation with the European Patent Office, organised seminars on patent applications and drafting patent claims. Alignment of the trademark law is not satisfactory. Overall, in the area of legislative alignment on industrial property rights the country is advanced.

There has been good progress on enforcement, both at the borders and throughout the country. However, piracy and counterfeiting remain widespread. A national strategy and an action plan for building up the capacity needed to implement and enforce the acquis in the area of copyright, related rights and industrial property rights was adopted.

The Coordination Body for Intellectual Property (CBIP) was active, taking frequent and well-coordinated action across the country. The government was informed about CBIP activities twice a month and provided support. Appropriate criminal and misdemeanour procedures were initiated and outlets were closed. Seized goods that had been the subject of a court decision were publicly destroyed with media coverage. However, the efforts made to combat counterfeiting are not sufficient. The goods seized were mainly audio/video CDs, clothing, cigarettes and alcohol. Equipment used to produce counterfeit goods and computers running unlicensed software are confiscated but not destroyed. Cooperation with the Agency for Managing Confiscated Property has yet to be established.

Some progress was made on the awareness, experience and qualifications of inspectors and judges. The State Market Inspectorate was provided with extensive IT equipment to strengthen its capacity and received training on intellectual property rights (IPR). The customs administration increased its IPR enforcement activities. IPR protection has been made an integral part of the training curriculum of the academy for training judges and prosecutors from the 2009-2010 academic year on.

The Ministry of Justice has supported the work of the specialised IPR departments of the 13 basic courts and submitted monthly statistics on IPR-related court proceedings to the SOIP. The number of misdemeanour, civil and criminal proceedings is unsatisfactory. About 40 copyright and industrial property cases were completed in 2008. Fines and other sanctions were imposed in about half of them. However, fines were not imposed effectively and averaged €250, ranging from €15 to €10,000. A reliable enforcement record has yet to be established and the method for collecting statistical data on enforcement is weak. Some awareness-raising activities have been carried out, but the overall level of awareness about IPR is still unsatisfactory. Although the country has started to address its priorities, the resources allocated are still insufficient for proper IPR enforcement.

Conclusion

Some progress has been made towards strengthening the legal framework and enhancing administrative capacity and institutional cooperation in the area of intellectual property law. The track record regarding the number and value of goods seized and destroyed and the number of court proceedings initiated and completed is not yet satisfactory. Overall, enforcement, though improving, is not yet satisfactory.

Од THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA 2009 PROGRESS REPORT.