Registering a trademark (žig) in BiH for a local product or guesthouse brand

A trademark (žig) protects the name, logo, slogan or packaging shape that sets your product or service (for example a guesthouse or restaurant) apart from others. It is registered at the Institute for Intellectual Property of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Institut za intelektualno vlasništvo BiH) and covers all of BiH. This text is for producers, farm hosts and caterers building their own brand.

In short

• A trademark is acquired by entry in the Register of Trademarks and is valid from the filing date. It lasts 10 years from that date and can be renewed an unlimited number of times.
• According to the Decision on special procedure costs and the Tariff of administrative fees published by the Institute: procedure costs of 200 KM plus a 50 KM fee for filing covering up to three classes of goods and services. Each extra class adds 20 KM costs and 5 KM fee.
• A representative is not mandatory for domestic applicants.
• A trademark protects your brand and gives you exclusive rights. A geographical indication protects the name of a product's origin and can be used by all authorised producers in that area.
• The current Law on Trademarks dates from 2010. A new Law on Trademarks (Sl. glasnik BiH 40/26) starts to apply in June 2027 (the Institute states 20 June 2027). Procedures started before then are finished under the old law.
• The steps and amounts in this text describe the current 2010 law and the 2010 and 2014 tariffs. Fees may be revised for the new law.

Who it applies to

Domestic and foreign individuals and legal entities that want to protect a sign for goods or services. Collective marks and guarantee marks can be used by associations and producer groups; fees and costs for them are double.

What to do

1. Check that the sign is free. The Institute recommends a search: yourself in the database at reg.ipr.gov.ba (currently English only) and in WIPO's Madrid Monitor, or a paid search request to the Institute.
2. Check the refusal grounds. A sign consisting only of a geographical origin, type or quality of the goods (for example just "Trebinje fig") cannot be registered unless you prove it became distinctive through long use. Coats of arms, flags, state names and signs that can mislead the public are excluded.
3. Fill in form Z-01 (one sign, list of goods and services under the Nice Classification) in two copies. A power of attorney is needed only if you use a representative.
4. Ask the Institute for a payment notice (obavještenje o uplati), then pay the fees and costs to the account named in it. Proof of payment goes with the application. Payment is made only on the basis of the notice issued by the Institute.
5. File directly, by post or by e-mail (the paper version must arrive within eight days).
6. The Institute checks form and absolute grounds, then publishes the application in its Official Gazette. For three months after publication, interested parties may file an opposition (holders of earlier rights) or an opinion.
7. If there are no obstacles, the Institute asks you to pay, within 30 days, the fees and costs for the first ten years of protection, publication and the certificate. If you do not, the application is treated as withdrawn.
8. Use the mark. The law obliges the holder to use it, and five years of continuous non-use is grounds for someone to seek its cancellation.

Deadlines and amounts

Amounts come from the Tariff of procedure costs (Sl. glasnik BiH 109/10) and the Tariff of administrative fees (amended in Sl. glasnik BiH 15/14), as published by the Institute (links below). Confirm them with the Institute before paying.

• Filing (up to three classes): 200 KM costs + 50 KM fee. Each further class: 20 KM + 5 KM.
• Publication of the mark: 15 KM for up to three classes, 5 KM for each further class (tariff no. 62).
• Maintenance or renewal for 10 years: 500 KM costs + 50 KM fee (each class beyond three: 50 KM + 10 KM). Late payment is possible within six months at a 50% surcharge.
• Printing the certificate of the mark: 100 KM (tariff no. 76 c).
• By our own arithmetic, from filing to the end of the first ten years budget at least 915 KM for a filing covering up to three classes (250 + 550 + 15 KM for publication of the mark + 100 KM for the certificate).
• A third party's opposition to your published application: 300 KM costs (tariff no. 25) + 200 KM fee (tariff no. 55, item 5), paid by the opponent.
• The law sets no total processing time. The opposition period alone is three months from publication, so expect at least several months.

Trademark vs geographical indication

• A trademark belongs to one holder (or an association, for a collective mark), is not tied to a territory, and the holder decides who may use it.
• A geographical indication or designation of origin protects an area's name for a product whose quality or reputation comes from that area. Producers from the area, their associations, chambers of commerce, municipalities and other bodies may apply. A registered name is unlimited in time, but each producer must separately obtain authorised-user status (valid three years, renewable). One producer cannot obtain it for themselves.
• For a shared name among several producers in one area, the Institute also offers collective marks and guarantee marks.

Where to go

• Institute for Intellectual Property of BiH, seat: Kneza Domagoja bb, 88000 Mostar, tel. +387 36 334 382, mostar@ipr.gov.ba (nearest to East Herzegovina). Banja Luka branch: banjaluka@ipr.gov.ba.

Laws and sources

• Frequently asked questions on trademarks (Institute)
• Law on Trademarks (Sl. glasnik BiH 53/10), arts. 6, 7, 32 to 38, 53, 54
• Law on Trademarks (Sl. glasnik BiH 40/26), applies from June 2027, arts. 111, 112, 117
• Decision on special procedure costs (Sl. glasnik BiH 109/10), tariff nos. 21, 25, 27, 62 and 76 c)
• Decision amending the tariff of administrative fees (Sl. glasnik BiH 15/14), tariff nos. 53, 55 and 56
• Law on Protection of Geographical Indications (Sl. glasnik BiH 53/10)