Seminar held in Neum on the role of BiH Parliament in harmonizing intellectual property regulations with the European acquis

Neum, September 28, 2023 - Seminar was held in Neum on September 27 and 28, 2023 for representatives and delegates of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, under the title "Role of the Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina in harmonizing intellectual property regulations with the European legal acquis", organized by the Institute for Intellectual Property of Bosnia and Herzegovina, within the framework of the project "EU support for intellectual property rights in BiH", financed by the European Union.

Seminar was organized to familiarize members of the BiH Parliament with the topic of intellectual property and the most important news in future legislative proposals in this area, taking into account that Bosnia and Herzegovina received the status of a candidate country for the EU last year, as well as that one of the chapters for negotiations with the EU, chapter 7, refers to intellectual property.

Opening the seminar, Josip Merdžo, director of the Institute for Intellectual Property of BiH, emphasized that harmonizing domestic legislation with the EU acquis is one of the most significant legal and political activities of Bosnia and Herzegovina on the path to European integration.

"Role of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina is irreplaceable in this area, especially if we bear in mind that this process does not only mean the transposition of ACQUIS into the legal system of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but also its subsequent consistent implementation. Parliament's task is to ensure democratic environment and fluency of this process. Namely, it is known that according to the latest report of the European Commission, Bosnia and Herzegovina is moderately prepared in the area of intellectual property rights, and by adopting new and harmonized set of laws that is being prepared as part of the project 'EU Support for Intellectual Property Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina', a step forward would be made in the process of fulfilling obligations from the Stabilization and Association Agreement," Merdžo concluded.

Prerequisite for improving economic development of Bosnia and Herzegovina and reaching European standards in the field of intellectual property are strong institutions, modern legislation, international cooperation and effective protection of all holders of intellectual property rights. It is the representatives of the legislative authority who represent the first instance on this path.

After the seminar, Predrag Kožul, a member of the House of Representatives of BiH, said that for him, as a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, the seminar was very useful and important because this project will produce a set of important laws. "It is a complex and expert matter. For this reason, it was very important to familiarize ourselves with the legal solutions so that in the parliamentary procedure we could more competently come up with laws that are good and of high quality. Furthermore, this legal regulation, once it is adopted, will be part of the negotiations with the European Union, where the Parliament of BiH will also have its role, and that is why it is extremely important that we get to know this matter well," said Kožul.

Team leader of the project "EU support for intellectual property rights in BiH", Miodrag Marković, said that familiarizing representatives and delegates of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH with the essence of these laws and the concept of regulating intellectual property rights is a necessary step in strengthening this extremely important segment for the overall progress of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

"European Union finances this project in order to help Bosnia and Herzegovina harmonize legislation with the European acquis, improve the competitiveness and innovation of the economy in BiH, by providing necessary expertise and support to the Institute for Intellectual Property and creative industries in BiH. Seminar with members of the BiH Parliament is another important step in the process of achieving deeper understanding of the public and respecting the protection of intellectual property rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina," said Marković.

This is the third in a series of events that the Institute, in cooperation with the project "EU support for intellectual property rights in BiH", held in the past period for representatives of interest groups. Previous two seminars in Sarajevo and Banja Luka were organized by the Institute in cooperation with the Chambers of Commerce and held free of charge for business entities, business support organizations, as well as all those who are professionally interested in this issue. The following seminars, planned until the end of the year, are intended for representatives of law enforcement agencies.