TWINNING LIGHT PROJECT FICHE
1. Basic Information
1.1 Programme: IPA 2012
1.2 Twinning Number: MN 12 IB FI 01 TWL
1.3 Title: Enhancing the protection of Intellectual Property Rights in Montenegro
1.4 Sector: Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)
1.5 Beneficiary country: Montenegro
1.6 Maximum Budget 250.000 €
2. Objectives
2.1 Overall Objective(s):
The overall objective of this project is to enhance the level of protection of Intellectual Property Rights (hereinafter: IPR) in Montenegro to a level similar to that which exists in the European Union.
2.2 Project purpose:
To strengthen the institutional and administrative capacity of the IP active authorities in Montenegro in relation to protection of IPR.
2.3 Contribution to the National Intellectual Property (IP) Strategy 2012-2015 and the action plan and the requirements outlined in the latest EU Progress Report.
The objectives of this project are in line with the priorities outlined in the National IP Strategy for Montenegro which was adopted in December 2011. The priorities of the project are:
1) Institution Building;
2) Legal Alignment;
3) Capacity Building; and
4) Public Awareness.
The project will support the implementation of the action plan presented in the National IP Strategy and will specifically interlink with the following priorities from the action plan;
1) Consolidation of IP legislative and Enforcement Framework;
2) Improve institutional capabilities; and
3) Promoting wider understanding of impact of IP[1].
It is envisaged that the legal alignment and the capacity building will primarily concentrate on issues related to IP Enforcement. This is in line with the recommendations from the latest EU Progress Report for Montenegro, which was published in October 2012 by the European Commission.
3. Description
3.1 Background and justification:
IPR protection is globally important for companies operating in market economies. If a company does not protect its innovation everyone is free to copy it and profit from it. Making entrepreneurs and inventors aware of the importance of IPR protection is an important task in which the national IP offices play a key role.
Over the last two decades the level of infringements, piracy and counterfeiting has increased globally. These violations pose a serious threat to private companies and innovators whose existence solely depends on the surplus they make through their innovation. In case this trend continues it will pose a serious threat to the global economy. As protection of IPR only serves a purpose if infringers are subsequently punished for their violations, it is vital, that a functional and efficient enforcement infrastructure is in place.
In addition, counterfeiting of products such as pharmaceuticals or aircraft spare parts poses a major risk to health and safety of their consumers/users.
The overall objective of this project is to enhance the level of protection of IPR in Montenegro to a level similar to that which exists in the EU.
After gaining independence in September 2006, Montenegro officially applied for EU membership in December 2008. In May 2010, the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) between Montenegro and the EU entered into force and in December 2010 EU candidate status was granted to Montenegro. With accession negotiations having started in June 2012, the need to align the Montenegrin level of IPR protection to EU standards has become even more urgent.
The conclusion of the 2012 EU progress report is that; “some progress can be reported in the area of intellectual property. Further efforts are needed to align with the acquis in this area and to implement it effectively in the medium term. Overall, preparations are moderately advanced.”
Furthermore, conclusions of the Screening report on Chapter 7 – Intellectual Property Rights emphasise that "Montenegro has to strengthen its administrative capacity by providing more specialised training courses and – in a longer perspective – employing more staff on IPR issues. IT systems of several institutions (e.g. courts and market inspectorate) should be upgraded and relevant databases established and made operational. The cooperation and exchange of information between different institutions involved in the IPR enforcement should be formalised and occur on a more systematic and permanent basis." In addition, it mentions that "Montenegro still has to demonstrate that it has the necessary administrative capacity to implement the acquis. The administrative capacity in the area of copyright should be further strengthened, especially as regards the understanding and practical implications of the copyright law provisions." A number of regulations related to both industrial property rights and copyright and related neighbouring rights have been adopted indicating that progress has already been made in order to align the Montenegrin legislation to EU standards. However the legal framework on enforcement needs to be streamlined and further aligned with the EU Acquis.
In regard to IP enforcement, the Government adopted the National Intellectual Property Strategy 2012-2015 in December 2011, where one of the priorities is to enhance the enforcement of IP in Montenegro. For obvious reasons, it is not sufficient to establish a framework for IP protection if measures are not in place to subsequently enforce the IP rights in situations where they are infringed. As resources in public sector are limited and the IP active institutions (hereunder the courts and the enforcement agencies) have competing priorities it is vital that cooperation and exchange of information/intelligence between these institutions is optimized to increase efficiency and effectiveness.
Another important priority, according to the Strategy, is capacity building within the IP active institutions. There is a need for enhanced capacity and new knowledge in the IP active institutions in relation to IP enforcement and training of public officials in issues related to IPR should be prioritized.
The Strategy also stresses the importance of promoting IP culture in society and the importance of understanding the damaging effects of counterfeiting and piracy to society as a whole.
The project presented below aims to target the following challenges:
· Institution building and interagency cooperation on IP enforcement;
· Legal alignment in relation to the enforcement code;
· Capacity building on IP enforcement - targeting officials in IP active institutions; and
· Awareness raising on IP.
3.2 Linked activities:
IPA National 2009; “Strengthening Intellectual and Industrial Property Policies in Montenegro.” (2010-2012) Total Budget 450.000 € - Implemented by the EPO
Main objectives:
- To complete the alignment of the Montenegrin IP legislation (laws and by-laws) to European standards; and
- To enhance the capacity of Intellectual Property Office of Montenegro (IPOM) staff through on the job trainings and seminars.
The European Patent Office (EPO) has started installation of a database of patents which will replace the Industrial Property Automation System (IPAS) module originally planned. This database will improve workflow management and working procedures. Improvements have also been made to the system of electronic archiving.
Cooperation with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
Montenegro is a member of WIPO and have signed all relevant treaties and conventions administered by this UN organisation.[2] With support from WIPO a number of different activities have been implemented in the later years and it is envisaged that further activities will be supported by WIPO in the years to come.
Furthermore WIPO has assisted IPOM with the installation of IPAS. It will take one year to complete this work. Efforts targeting improvements of workflow management and the working procedures are postponed until the system is in place.
In 2011 WIPO has also supported Montenegro through:
- Implementation of a national seminar on the Madrid system;
- Participation of IPOM officials at the WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property (Generic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore);
- Attendance of WIPO officials at selected conferences and committee meetings arranged by WIPO; and
- Participation of one IPOM official at an Interregional seminar on the Hague system
3.3 Results:
At the end of the project, the following results are expected to be achieved;
· The interagency cooperation between the IP active institutions in Montenegro enhanced via the introduction of a formalized model for cooperation;
· The legal code related to IP enforcement has been assessed and aligned to EU standards;
· A minimum of 134 officials from IP active institutions obtains knowledge about IP enforcement;
· Selected officials from the IP active institutions gain knowledge of how to raise awareness on counterfeiting and piracy in the general public and participate in preparation of awareness materials.
3.4 Activities:
a) Project Planning and Coordination
In order for the primary stakeholders[3] to get acquainted with each other and to make sure that consensus is reached between EU Member State (MS) and Beneficiary Country (BC) management regarding the detailed programming of the project it is important that the Project Leaders meet with the primary stakeholders during the project. Three Steering Committee Meetings (SCM) are envisaged during the lifetime of the project; one in month 1, one in month 4 and one in month 6 of the project. It is expected that the task manager from the EUD will also attend the SCM’s.
Deliverables:
- Agendas for the meetings
- Minutes from the meetings
b) Institution Building
This component aims at assisting the BC institutions involved in developing an institution building strategy and in outlining the different options for enhancing the cooperation between the institutions. In Montenegro inter-institutional cooperation is still not fully formalised. The key element of cooperation is enhancement of the exchange of intelligence, information and best practice.
Activities:
- Assess the level of interagency cooperation related to IP enforcement presently taking place in Montenegro, hereunder the roles of the different stakeholders;
- Issue recommendations on how to enhance the capacity of the IP active institutions in Montenegro; and
- Develop a formalized model for cooperation between the IP active institutions in Montenegro.
Deliverables:
- Report on the present level of cooperation between the IP active institutions;
- Recommendations related to enhancing the capacity of the IP active institutions in Montenegro; and
- Formalized model for cooperation developed.
c) Legal Alignment
The alignment of the legal framework with the acquis is well advanced in Montenegro. The latest
Progress report from 2012 underlines however the importance of streamlining the enforcement code with the EU acquis:
Activities:
- Conduct a gap analysis of the existing legislation; and
- Propose changes to the existing legislation which can be presented to the political level
Deliverables:
Report outlining the gaps in the existing legislation and containing proposals on how to align the legislation to EU standards
To be noted: With regard to the Patent Legislation – which also needs to be revised - it is envisaged that Montenegro will receive the required support from the EPO. It is therefore not included in the scope of the present project.
d) Capacity building
The capacity building side of the project aims at enhancing the capacity of the Police, Customs, Judges and prosecutors on issues related to IPR enforcement. Training on IP protection targeting officials from the IP Office is also envisaged.
Activities:
- Study tour to selected EU member state for 10 Montenegrin officials
- Study visit for one copyright expert to selected EU member state
- Two seminars targeting Police officials;
- Two seminars targeting Customs officials;
- Two seminars targeting Market Inspectors;
- Two seminars targeting Judges and Prosecutors; and
- Two seminars targeting officials from the IP Office.
Deliverables:
- Two study visits conducted
- Ten seminars conducted;
- Training materials made available to participants; and
- Short evaluation report submitted subsequent to each training session.
The trainings for enforcement officials will target an audience with none or limited knowledge on the subject. As regards the seminars for officials from the IP Office they will primarily focus on issues related to trademarks and designs, as patent related training will be provided you the EPO on a bilateral basis.
e) Awareness Raising
Activities:
- Two workshops for selected officials from the institutions involved in IP Awareness raising;
- Development of awareness raising materials and campaign for the general public.
Deliverables:
- Awareness raising materials and campaign developed in cooperation with selected beneficiary representatives.
3.5 Means/ Input from the MS Partner Administration:
3.5.1 Profile and tasks of Project Leader
Project Leader
Profile:
- Relevant university degree or relevant work experience;
- 10 years of professional experience, a minimum of 5 years within the area of Intellectual Property Rights
- Extensive experience in the field of project management;
- Fluency in English (written and spoken);
- Demonstrated experience in preparing, managing and/or implementing Twinning Projects; and
- Prior experience from the Western Balkans will be an asset.
Tasks:
- Overall management of the project;
- Development and implementation of the detailed work plan;
- Coordination of the MS experts and quality control of the input delivered;
- Participation in the Steering Committee Meetings;[4]
- Process the final report in cooperation with BC counterpart.
3.5.2 Profile and tasks of the short-term experts
Short term expert(s) involved in institution building activities
Profile:
-Relevant university degree or equivalent education from an IP enforcement authority
(Police or Customs);
-Minimum 5 years of professional experience in the field of IPR;
-Demonstrated experience in developing models for interagency cooperation;
-Fluency in English (written and spoken);
-At least one experience as a Short Term Expert in EU funded projects – preferably Twinning;
- Employed by a public administration or a public body on a permanent basis for at least one year
-Prior experience from the Western Balkans will be an asset.
Tasks:
-Assess the present capacity of the IP active institutions in Montenegro in relation to IP protection and enforcement;
-Process recommendations on how to enhance the cooperation between the IP active authorities in Montenegro; and
-Develop a formalized framework for cooperation between the IP active authorities in Montenegro.
Short term expert involved in legal alignment
Profile:
-University degree in Law;
-Minimum 5 years of professional experience in the field of IPR;
-Demonstrated professional experience in conducting gap analysis on IP legislation;