Trademark registration Croatia

In Croatia, trademark protection takes place on a first-to-file basis, which means that whoever registers a trademark first obtains the exclusive rights to it. Extensive use of an unregistered trademark may prevent the registration of a similar trademark by a third party, but is not a ground for obtaining actual rights. At the time of the application you submit to register a trademark in Croatia, it does not have to be in use. Active use can be useful, however, because it considerably reduces the risk of objection based on poor distinctiveness.

Croatia uses the Nice Classification, an international classification for goods and services that applies to the registration of trademarks. It is important to read the list of goods and services carefully. This cannot be extended after the application has been submitted. Classes 1 to 34 refer to goods, and classes 35 to 45 refer to services. Each class describes in general terms the nature of the goods and services it covers.

To register a trademark in Croatia, please contact the local DZIV, the State Intellectual Property Office of Croatia, or by submitting an application for registration through the EUIPO headquarters in Alicante. With such an EUTM application you obtain trademark protection in all 27 countries of the European Union. An EUTM trademark registration is by definition valid in all member states of the European Union and cannot be geographically limited to just a few members.

However, you can also apply for a trademark in Croatia in a third way. Croatia is a member of the Madrid Protocol. Expansion of an international registration via the Madrid System is therefore possible in this country. The route to international trademark protection starts in Switzerland, where WIPO’s headquarters are located. After an initial formal review, the application is forwarded to the relevant countries, where the local patent office will continue to process the application.

Before you register a trademark in Croatia, it is in the case of combined trademarks – i.e. trademarks that consist of both word elements and figurative elements – important to check whether you want to be able to use these two elements separately for commercial purposes. If this is the case, it is recommended to also file this distinctive part of the trademark in Croatia.

Although it is not mandatory to follow this advice, many entrepreneurs do. By registering the elements of their trademark separately, they prevent a third party from using these elements for their own product or service. If your elements have not been registered separately, you cannot do anything about this. There is one exception to this: does the other entrepreneur offer goods or services that are very similar to what you offer? Then you can lodge an objection based on confusing resemblance.