Copyright and Related Rights Protection Procedure in BH

The principle according to which copyright is acquired without formalities is applicable in most countries worldwide, including BIH.

In order to preserve evidence of his or her creativity or for other various reasons, an author may deposit his or her originals or copies of their works of authorship or items of their related rights within the Institute for Intellectual Property of Bosnia and Herzegovina. A deposited work is entered into the book of records of authorship works maintained by the Institute.

Depositing is not an obligation of the author, nor does it constitute a requirement for acquisition of copyright protection, but it is only a possibility.

Copyright is an exclusive right and it lasts for the entire lifetime of the author plus a period of 70 years after his or her death. When it comes to the collective works, the term of 70 years starts running from the day of legal publication of the work. If it involves a work of an anonymous author, the said term is calculated in the same way. If the subject matter of copyright on a collective work or a computer program is a legal entity, copyright runs for 70 years from the disclosure of the work or the creation of the computer program.