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URLs in responses should meet the following requirements:
Patent and SPC activities in 2025:
2024 | 2025 | Change | Increase/Decrease (%) | |
National patent applications | 41 | 65 | +24 | +58,5% |
Request for validation EP extension patent | 231 | 195 | -36 | -15,6% |
Supplementary protection certificate, applications | 11 | 6 | -5 | -45,5% |
National patent applications published | 37 | 30 | -7 | -18,9% |
National patents granted | 3 | 6 | +3 | +100,0% |
EP patents valid in BA | 217 | 207 | -10 | -4,6% |
Consensual patents published | 11 | 12 | +1 | +9,1% |
Supplementary protection certificate, applications published | 0 | 18 | +18 | |
Supplementary protection certificate granted | 5 | 29 | +24 | +480,0% |
By the BA IPR plan for 2025, the following main activities were set:
Preparation of a new Patent Law and submission to parliamentary procedure
Activities related to the preparation of a new Patent Law were focused on aligning national legislation with relevant international standards and the EU acquis. Special attention was given to modernizing procedures for filing, examination, and protection of patents, as well as strengthening legal certainty for rights holders. Following internal drafting and consultations with relevant institutions and stakeholders, the draft law was submitted to the parliamentary procedure. The new law is expected to contribute to a more efficient, transparent, and predictable intellectual property protection system in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Continuation of work of the Team for IP Pre-diagnosis Service
The IP pre-diagnosis service team continued providing support to small and medium-sized enterprises in identifying and protecting their intellectual property rights. Activities included advisory services, analysis of existing IP portfolios, and recommendations for improving the protection of innovations and trademarks. A particular focus was placed on raising awareness of the importance of timely IP protection in business operations. During the year, internal tools and working methodologies were further improved to enhance service efficiency and quality.
Continuation of development of the PATLIB Center hosted by the Institute for Intellectual Property of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The PATLIB Center continued developing its capacities as part of the European Patent Information Centres network. Activities focused on improving access to patent information for users and enhancing educational and information services. Workshops and training sessions were organized for users from academia and the business sector to improve their understanding of patent documentation and search tools. The Center also strengthened cooperation with European and international IP institutions.
Continuation of development of the financial register
Development of the financial register continued with the aim of digitalizing and improving financial data management within the institution. The focus was on increasing data accuracy, integrating the register with other internal systems, and enhancing reporting functionalities. New technical solutions were implemented to enable better control and transparency of financial flows. These activities contribute to more efficient resource management and overall modernization of business processes.
Work on the implementation of the Front Office in cooperation with EPO.
A dedicated team was established for the development of a Front Office system in cooperation with the European Patent Office (EPO), aimed at improving digital services for users. The team’s activities include analysis of existing processes, design of new electronic services, and implementation of modern ICT solutions. Special emphasis is placed on improving user experience and ensuring interoperability with European IP systems. This project represents an important step towards the digital transformation of the institution and alignment with European standards.
Other matters and useful links (URLs): annual report of the Office, news page, statistics, etc.
https://www.ipr.gov.ba/en/news
Information on the following topics is desired:
SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES RELATED TO PATENT INFORMATION CARRIED OUT BY THE OFFICE
The Office continued to provide comprehensive information and support to applicants regarding the filing of patent applications in both paper and electronic form. This includes the publication of detailed filing instructions, user guides, and frequently asked questions on the official website. In addition, seminars and training sessions were organized for applicants, IP professionals, and business entities with the aim of facilitating the transition to electronic filing systems.
Patent documentation is classified in accordance with the International Patent Classification (IPC) system, thereby ensuring a standardized and harmonized categorization of technical information.
In addition to its core functions, the Office carries out other supporting activities aimed at improving the patent information system. These include continuous improvement of internal business processes, participation in international cooperation projects, and alignment with best practices of leading intellectual property offices. A particular focus is placed on digital transformation, improvement of data quality, and strengthening cooperation with relevant institutions and partners. These activities contribute to the modernization and more efficient functioning of the intellectual property system.
All relevant data concerning the patent protection in Bosnia and Herzegovina is available on the website https://www.ipr.gov.ba/en
Information on the following topics is desired:
The Intellectual Property Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the basis of Patent Law, publishes its official gazette, Intellectual Property Gazette, on the official website. The Intellectual Property Gazette is published four times per year (31.03, 30.06, 30.09 and 31.12).
Gazettes can be found on our official web site: https://www.ipr.gov.ba/en/forms-and-publications/official-gazette
Official Gazette contains the following published information on patents: Publication of patent applications, Patent application indexes by numbers, classification symbols and applicants, publication of requests for the grant of a patent on the basis of the substantive examination procedure of patent applications, publication of requests for the grant of a patent without the substantive examination of patent applications (Consensual Patents), publication of granted patents and consensual patents, Patent /consensual patent indexes by numbers, classification symbols and owners, Publication of Record of Changes to the respective Register, Publication of the proposals for the Restitutio in Integrum and Continued Processing, publication of the lapse of Patents/Consensual Patents, Publication of a Declaration of Nullity of Patents, Publication of Correction of deficiencies in the published data, publication of Requests for the Extension of the European Patent Applications, publication of European patent application indexes by numbers, classification symbols and applicants, Publication of extended European patents, Lapse of extended European patents, Publication of European Patents, European patent index by numbers, classification and owners, Lapse of European Patents, Corrections of Data to Published European Patents, Publication of Requests for Supplementary Protection Certificates (SPC) and of its extension, Publication of indications concerning the grant of SPC and its refusal, publication of the lapse of SPC.
Detailed legal status information is available in the Patent Register, accessible only to the Office staff, while the basic information on the legal status of EP patent in BA are publicly available in the public patent database via Federated European Patent Register.
A wide set of software tools has been developed in-house to support business procedures of the Office, providing a range of tools for efficient processing of the applications and other documents.
Information on the following topics is desired:
Information on the following topics is desired:
The Office exchanges its patent data in machine –readable form with the European Patent Office. All published documents are sent monthly (every two weeks since October 2013) in PDF format as well as bibliographic data in the XML format.
The European Patent Office (EPEO) supported the establishing a PATLIB center hosted by the Institute for Intellectual Property of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The EPO project “Knowledge and Quality” aims to implement the recommendations from the PATLIB Summit in 2019 and the vision embedded in the EPO Strategic Plan 2025 towards a solid , international network of PATLIB centers to facilitate the access to IP for researchers and technology pioneers that is constantly improving in the range of services offered and their quality.
In 2025, the Institute for Intellectual Property of Bosnia and Herzegovina continued activities related to the implementation of the Front Office system with EPO. The project is currently under development and aims to establish an electronic platform that will facilitate communication with applicants and users of intellectual property services. The implementation of the system represents an important step towards further digitalization and modernization of the Institute's services.
In 2025, the Institute for Intellectual Property of Bosnia and Herzegovina continued activities under the cooperation framework with WIPO aimed at improving IP business services and supporting the digital transformation of the Office. The activities included the continued implementation and enhancement of WIPO business systems for IP rights administration, document management and online services, as well as the analysis and improvement of business processes and Office workflows. Further activities were related to digitalization, data quality improvement and the exchange of IP data for operational purposes and dissemination of IP information. In addition, support was provided through software upgrades, systems documentation, knowledge transfer and training activities in order to optimize the use of WIPO business systems and strengthen the autonomy of the Office.These activities contribute to the modernization of the Office and the continuous improvement of intellectual property services in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Institute participated at Regional Patent Drafting Program for countries in the Central European and Baltic States and Mediterranean Countries (CEBSMC), that took place in Belgrade, from December 8 to 12, 2025.
Institute for Intellectual Property of Bosnia and Herzegovina continued to use the WIPO ePCT system in its full scope, enabling secure and efficient electronic processing and management of international patent applications and related communications. The Office benefits from the complete range of ePCT functionalities, ensuring streamlined workflows, timely exchange of documents and access to up-to-date PCT data.
"Fully implemented"
The WIPO Standard has been implemented in a manner compliant or compatible with the Standard.
"Partially implemented"
The WIPO Standard has been implemented in part. The Office practice aligns with some, but not all, requirements of the Standard.
"On implementation phase"
The decision to implement the WIPO Standard has been made and it is currently being deployed, configured, or integrated into systems and workflows.
"Planning to implement"
The decision to implement the WIPO Standard has been made; planning activities (resource allocation, timeline development, technical design) are underway before actual implementation begins.
"On assessment phase"
The WIPO Standard is under active evaluation to determine its feasibility, technical requirements, costs, benefits, and alignment with organizational needs before making an implementation decision.
"No plan to implement"
The WIPO Standard has been reviewed and there is currently no intention or plan to implement it.
WIPO Standard ST.1: Recommendation concerning the minimum data elements required to uniquely identify a patent document
Fully implemented
The Institute uniquely identifies patent documents using the minimum bibliographic data elements in accordance with WIPO Standard ST.1.
WIPO Standard ST.2: Standard manner for designating calendar dates by using the Gregorian calendar
Fully implemented
The Instmplementeditute records and publishes calendar dates using the Gregorian calendar in accordance with WIPO Standard ST.2.
WIPO Standard ST.3: Recommended standard on two-letter codes for the representation of states, other entities and intergovernmental organizations
Fully implemented
The Institute uses WIPO Standard ST.3 two-letter codes for countries and intergovernmental organizations in patent documentation and electronic data exchange.
WIPO Standard ST.6: Recommendation for the numbering of published patent documents
Fully implemented
The Institute assigns publication numbers to patent documents in accordance with WIPO Standard ST.6.
WIPO Standard ST.8: Standard recording of international patent classification (IPC) symbols on machine-readable records
Fully implemented
The Institute records International Patent Classification (IPC) symbols in machine-readable form in accordance with WIPO Standard ST.8.
WIPO Standard ST.9: Recommendation concerning bibliographic data on and relating to patents and SPCs
Fully implemented
The Institute presents bibliographic data in patent documents using INID codes in accordance with WIPO Standard ST.9.
WIPO Standard ST.10: Published patent documents
Partially implemented
The Institute publishes patent documents in accordance with the general recommendations of WIPO Standard ST.10.
WIPO Standard ST.10/A: Format (margins, size) of patent documents
Partially implemented
WIPO Standard ST.10/B: Layout of bibliographic data components
Partially implemented
WIPO Standard ST.10/C: Presentation of bibliographic data components
Fully implemented
the Institute presents bibliographic data using INID codes in accordance with WIPO Standard ST.10/C
WIPO Standard ST.10/D: Guidelines on physical characteristics of patent documents particularly relevant to reproducibility and legibility of such documents
Partially implemented
The Institute publishes patent documents in electronic (PDF) format, ensuring good readability and reproducibility. However, not all recommendations of WIPO Standard ST.10/D relating to the physical characteristics of printed patent documents are fully applied.
WIPO Standard ST.11: Recommendation on the minimum of indexes to be inserted in patent gazettes or published in association with patent gazettes
Partially implemented
The Official Gazette includes indexes for published patent information in accordance with the capabilities of the current publication system.
WIPO Standard ST.12: Guidelines for the preparation of abstracts of patent documents
Fully implemented
Patent abstracts are prepared and published as part of patent documents and are available in electronic publications and databases in accordance with WIPO Standard ST.12.
WIPO Standard ST.12/A: General guidelines for the preparation of abstracts of patent documents
Fully implemented
The general guidelines for the preparation of patent abstracts are applied in the drafting of abstracts of patent documents, ensuring that abstracts are concise, technically relevant, and suitable for search and information purposes in accordance with WIPO Standard ST.12/A.
WIPO Standard ST.12/B: Guidelines for the preparation of categorized patent abstract
No plan to implement
The Institute does not use categorized patent abstracts, as classification and retrieval of patent information is carried out through IPC symbols and modern electronic search tools. Therefore, there is no plan to implement WIPO Standard ST.12/B.
WIPO Standard ST.12/C: Guidelines for the physical characteristics of separately published abstracts in selective dissemination of information (SDI) presented in the form of card files
No plan to implement
The Office does not publish abstracts as separate SDI card files. Patent abstracts are included in electronic publications and databases; therefore, there is no plan to implement WIPO Standard ST.12/C.
WIPO Standard ST.13: Recommendation for the numbering of applications for industrial property rights (IPRs)
Fully implemented
Application numbers are assigned in accordance with WIPO Standard ST.13 and include a code for the type of industrial property right, the year of filing, and a sequential serial number ensuring unique identification of applications.
WIPO Standard ST.14: Recommendation for the inclusion of references cited in patent documents
Partially implemented
References cited during substantive examination may be recorded internally; however, they are not systematically included in published patent documents or structured search reports in accordance with WIPO Standard ST.14. Therefore, implementation is partial.
WIPO Standard ST.15: Guidelines for the wording of titles of inventions in patent documents
Fully implemented
Titles of inventions are prepared and reviewed to ensure clarity, technical relevance, and consistency in accordance with WIPO Standard ST.15. The titles are published in patent documents and electronic databases.
WIPO Standard ST.16: Recommended standard code for the identification of different kinds of patent documents
Fully implemented
WIPO document kind codes are used in patent publications in accordance with WIPO Standard ST.16, ensuring consistent identification of different stages of patent documents.
WIPO Standard ST.17: Recommendation for the coding of headings of announcements made in official gazettes
Fully implemented
Headings in the Official Gazette are coded and structured in accordance with WIPO Standard ST.17, ensuring consistent presentation and classification of patent-related announcements.
WIPO Standard ST.18: Recommendation concerning patent gazettes and other patent announcement journals
Fully implemented
Patent information is published in the Official Gazette in accordance with WIPO Standard ST.18, including bibliographic data, legal status information, and other relevant patent publication details in a structured format.
WIPO Standard ST.19: Recommendation for the publication of indexes issued yearly/half-yearly/quarterly by industrial property offices
No plan to implement
The Office does not publish annual cumulative indexes of patent documents in accordance with WIPO Standard ST.19. Patent information is instead made available through electronic search systems.
WIPO Standard ST.20: Recommendations for the preparation of name indexes to patent documents
No plan to implement
The Office does not maintain or publish name indexes of patent documents in accordance with WIPO Standard ST.20. Name-based retrieval is available through electronic search systems.
WIPO Standard ST.21: Recommendation concerning the reduction of volume of priority documents as filed with industrial property offices
Partially implemented
Priority documents are exchanged upon request in electronic (PDF) form or through bilateral communication. A fully automated system in accordance with WIPO Standard ST.21 has not yet been implemented.
WIPO Standard ST.22: Recommendation for the authoring of patent applications for the purpose of facilitating optical character recognition (OCR)
Partially implemented
Some patent documents are provided as scanned PDF files, and OCR quality is not fully consistent across all publications. Older documents are not fully text-searchable, and therefore machine-readability of the full document collection cannot be fully guaranteed in accordance with WIPO Standard ST.22.
WIPO Standard ST.25: Standard for the presentation of nucleotide and amino acid sequence listings in patent applications
No plan to implement
WIPO Standard ST.26: Recommended standard for the presentation of nucleotide and amino acid sequence listings using XML (extensible markup language)
No plan to implement
WIPO Standard ST.27: Recommendation for the exchange of patent legal status data
Partially implemented
Patent legal status information is maintained in electronic systems; however, full implementation of the ST.27 XML standard and automated exchange of legal status events has not yet been achieved. Therefore, implementation is partial.
WIPO Standard ST.31: Recommended standard coded character sets for the exchange of machine-readable records of patent documents
Fully implemented
Unicode character encoding is used in all electronic patent records and publications, ensuring consistent representation and exchange of multilingual data in accordance with WIPO Standard ST.31.
WIPO Standard ST.32: Recommendation for the markup of patent documents using SGML (standard generalized markup language)
No plan to implement
WIPO Standard ST.33: Recommended standard format for data exchange of facsimile information of patent documents
No plan to implement
WIPO Standard ST.34: Recommendation concerning the recording of application numbers in electronic form for the exchange of bibliographic data
No plan to implement
WIPO Standard ST.35: Recommended standard format for data exchange of mixed-mode published patent document information on reel-to-reel and IBM 3480/90 cartridge tapes
No plan to implement
WIPO Standard ST.36: Recommendation for the processing of patent information using XML (extensible markup language)
Partially implemented
Patent bibliographic data are exchanged in XML format in accordance with WIPO Standard ST.36 on a partial basis. Full implementation of the ST.36 data model and complete interoperability with all recommended structures has not yet been achieved.
WIPO Standard ST.37: Recommendation for an authority file of published patent documents
No plan to implement
WIPO Standard ST.40: Recommendation concerning making facsimile images of patent documents available on CD-ROM
No plan to implement
WIPO Standard ST.50: Guidelines for issuing corrections, alterations and supplements relating to patent information
Fully implemented
The Office has an established and explicitly defined system for the publication and identification of corrections to published patent information. Corrections are clearly linked to the original documents and published in a structured manner in accordance with WIPO Standard ST.50.
WIPO Standard ST.90: Recommendation for processing and communicating intellectual property data using web APIs (Application Programming Interfaces)
No plan to implement
WIPO Standard ST.91: Recommendations on digital three-dimensional (3D) models and 3D images
No plan to implement
WIPO Standard ST.92: Recommendations on the data package format for the electronic exchange of priority documents
Partially implemented
The Office exchanges priority documents electronically upon request; however, a fully standardized data package format for electronic exchange in accordance with WIPO Standard ST.92 has not been implemented. Therefore, implementation is partial.
WIPO Standard ST.96: Recommendation for the processing of intellectual property information using XML (extensible markup language)
No plan to implement
WIPO Standard ST.97: Recommendation for processing of intellectual property data using JSON
Partially implemented
JSON exists in some APIs, but no formal ST.97 schema implementation
1.Classification is allotting one or more classification symbols (e.g., IPC symbols) to a patent application, either before or during search and examination, which symbols are then published with the patent application.
2. Preclassification is allotting an initial broad classification symbol (e.g., IPC class or subclass, or administrative unit) to a patent application, using human or automated means for internal administrative purposes (e.g., routing an application to the appropriate examiner). Usually preclassification is applied by the administration of an office.
3. Reclassification is the reconsideration and usually the replacement of one or more previously allotted classification symbols to a patent document, following a revision and the entry into force of a new version of the Classification system (e.g., the IPC). The new symbols are available on patent databases.
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