Estados Unidos de América

Montenegro

Observancia de los derechos de propiedad intelectual

4. Article 61 of the TRIPS Agreement provides for criminal procedures and penalties, sufficient to act as a deterrent, for willful trademark counterfeiting or copyright piracy on a commercial scale. Could information be provided on the disposition of criminal cases involving trademark counterfeiting or copyright piracy and the criminal penalties and jail time ordered in those cases?

For the requested criminal offenses against intellectual property, in the period from 2009 to 2013, criminal proceedings were conducted before Montenegrin courts only for the criminal offense of Unauthorised Use of Copyrighted Work or an Object of a Related Right under Article 234 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro ("Official Gazette of the Republic of Montenegro", No. 70/03, 13/04, 47/06 and "Official Gazette of Montenegro", No. 40/08, 25/10, 32/11 and 40/13). We note that the Criminal Code does not stipulate the criminal offense of trademark counterfeiting for which the information is requested, as well as that using another's trademark is an act of execution of criminal offense of Abuse of Trade Name under Article 271 of the Criminal Code, but not the criminal offense itself. In relation to criminal proceedings in respect of the criminal offense under Article 234 of the Criminal Code, please note the following: In 2011, the Basic Court in Niksic pronounced one guilty verdict by which the accused was found guilty and sentenced to three months in prison, two years on probation. In 2012, the Basic Court in Niksic pronounced one guilty verdict by which the accused was found guilty and sentenced to three months in prison, one year on probation. In 2013, the Basic Court in Herceg Novi pronounced one guilty verdict by which the accused was found guilty and sentenced to three months in prison, two years on probation. All three verdicts are final.