Although almost a year has passed since Montenegro declared its independence from Serbia and became the 192nd member state of the United Nations, Montenegro IP Office (MIPO) has yet to be established and is not expected to open until September 2007 at the earliest. With no Trademark Act or similar legislation currently in place, the mechanics of protecting one's IP rights in Montenegro are far from certain. The transitional provisions were supposed to provide that the trademarks filed or registered in Serbia and Montenegro prior to Montenegro's independence (June 3, 2006) would be revalidated in Montenegro by means of a simple deposit procedure. Since MIPO has yet to become functional, however, the transitional rules have not been finalized.
WIPO has added Montenegro (ME) designation to its Madrid system in December 2006.
Vol. 53, June 2010