NEW VIGOR IN CROATIA IPR ENFORCEMENT

UNCLAS ZAGREB 000164 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/SCE, EB/TPP/IPE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON EINV KIPR HR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY SUBJECT: NEW VIGOR IN CROATIA IPR ENFORCEMENT REF: A) 06 STATE 184074, B) ZAGREB 100 ¶1. Summary and Comment: The number of criminal charges brought by the Croatian Ministry of Interior for violations of IPR statutes rose 89% in 2006. Although Croatia's legal framework for IPR protection is in accordance with international standards, enforcement has often lagged. The fact that more cases are being brought and that several individuals even received prison sentences for IPR-related crimes, marks a very positive development and is a welcome indication that the GOC is serious about the enforcement of IPR. End Summary. ¶2. Data from the Croatian Ministry of Interior show an 89% increase in the number of criminal charges brought against individuals in 2006 for violations of Croatian IPR statutes. The Croatian police referred a total of 1,923 individual charges to the State Prosecutor's Office last year, compared to 1,018 in 2005. ¶3. Breakdown of Ministry of Interior IPR statistics on criminal charges filed in 2005 and 2006 for IPR-related offenses: Unauthorized sale of copyrighted material: 2005: 640; 2006: 1,140; Unauthorized production of copyrighted material: 2005: 254; 2006: 495; Unauthorized use of trademarks: 2005: 122; 2006; 279; Patent fraud: 2005: 0; 2006: 6; Unauthorized performance of copyrighted material: 2005: 2; 2006: 3. ¶4. Data from the State Prosecutor's Office also indicate a trend toward more serious sanctioning of IPR violations. During 2006, six people were given prison sentences and 230 fined for IPR-related crimes, out of 535 cases taken up by the judicial system. Judicial backlogs in Croatia make it difficult to track the number of people arrested or charged with those actually tried, as some cases take years to work their way through the system.) Nevertheless, this marks an improvement from years past and seems to indicate that the judiciary is taking on a more assertive role in protecting IPR in Croatia. ¶5. Information received from Croatian Customs shows thousands of articles of counterfeit brand-name clothing, shoes and accessories seized and destroyed in 2006. Croatian officials expect that, in most cases, Croatia is not the destination country for such goods, but rather a transit point for other markets in the region. ¶6. In a separate confirmation of an improving IPR environment, the Business Software Alliance (BSA) in Zagreb reported that police inspections of businesses suspected of using unlicensed software rose 210 percent over 2005. The BSA estimates that Croatia's piracy rate is currently around 50 percent, putting it squarely within average of countries of Central Europe and ahead of other Balkan countries. BRADTKE