IPLegals - News and Publications

Kosovo celebrates World Intellectual Property Day!

On the occasion of World IP Day and Creativity and Innovation Day, the Ministry of Industry, Entrepreneurship, and Trade (MINT), along with other partners, organized a national conference titled "The Significance of Innovation and Creativity in Shaping Our Collective Future."
Our founder and attorney-at-law, Ms. Kujtesa Nezaj-Shehu, participated as a distinguished panelist alongside the Deputy Minister of MINT, the Customs Director General, the Head of the Copyright Office, and representatives from two successful ventures, namely Autostrada Biennale and Shkolla Digjitale.
Ms. Nezaj-Shehu emphasized the importance of intellectual property protection, the unsatisfactory understanding of the business community in Kosovo regarding this matter, and the negative impact caused on local businesses expanding internationally due to the inability to access regional and international mechanisms for protecting industrial property rights. Happy World IPDay

Training on Arbitration as an alternative mechanism for resolving disputes.

The Kosovo Chamber of Advocates in cooperation with the USAID Project for Commercial Law organized a training for lawyers of the Chamber on the topic of Arbitration as an alternative mechanism for resolving disputes. This training was held by the founder and lawyer of IPLegals, Kujtesa Nezaj, who is also listed as an arbitrator at the Arbitration Center of the American Chamber of Commerce. She shared theoretical and practical insights with a focus on the validity of an arbitration agreement, specifics of an arbitration procedure as well as court intervention and the challenges encountered in the court recognition and enforcement of awards procedure. We are confident that the knowledge shared will prove valuable in their professional engagements.

New Law on Copyright enters into force in Kosovo

A new Law on Copyright and Related Rights entered into force on October 27, 2023. The new law aims to harmonize the legislative framework with, among others, the Directive 2019/790/EU on copyright and related rights in the Digital Single Market and Directive 2014/26/EU on collective management of copyright and related rights and multi-territorial licensing of rights in musical works for online use in the internal market.

Forum on strengthening the system of collective rights management.

The Forum on strengthening the system of collective rights management was successfully concluded on September 7 and 8, 2023 after two days of insightful discussions and informative sessions on best practices adopted by the CMOs when setting the tariffs, collecting, and distributing the same to the right holders.

New trademark implementation rules have been adopted.

The bylaw on Trademark registration procedure which entered into force on August 15, 2023 intends to streamline the procedures and practices of the Kosovo IP Agency, in particular regarding examination on absolute grounds, handling of the oppositions/invalidations filed on the basis of (unregistered) well-known trademarks and bad faith grounds as well as use of alternative dispute mechanisms during the opposition procedure.

Patent laws and regulations - Kosovo

Innovations and patents are fundamental for societal progress. States vary in their patent-granting conditions. Our attorney, Kujtesa Nezaj, has recently contributed a guide on patent laws and regulations in Kosovo for the Comparative Legal Guides - Patents 2024. This edition addresses key patent-related issues such as enforcement, amendment, licensing, term extension, and prosecution. Comparative Legal Guides - Patents 2024.

Street art and copyright

The relationship between copyright and street art is complex and is handled differently in various countries. The article “Street art and copyright” published in the magazine “Autori” observes important issues, such as authorship and ownership, economic rights and legal limitations, further transfer of rights, as well as the moral rights of the mural artist. The article has been published and is available only in the Albanian language.

IP and SMEs: Bringing Your Ideas to Market

While tangible assets hold value, it is indeed the products, services, and innovations that distinguish a company for consumers and competitors. The article titled "IP and SMEs: Bringing Your Ideas to Market," published in the "Autori" magazine, aims to offer young entrepreneurs significant insights into establishing a successful IP portfolio for their businesses. The article has been published and is available only in the Albanian language.