Country: Serbia

Client: Serbian State Agency for the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights

Project Title: Technical Assistance Program for the Serbian State Agency for the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights

Project Description: For many years and especially from 1999-2001, the Serbian State Agency for the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights faced numerous operational challenges, including inadequate premises, a lack of information technology and equipment, a dearth of qualified staff, obsolete procedures and organizational methods, and related institutional issues. At the same time, the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) wanted to reach beyond its basic administrative mission and successfully perform its wider role of furthering awareness, enforcement, innovation and economic applicability of intellectual property assets.

Global Resources’ initial research and analysis indicated that the IPO needed an operational restructuring so that it could better serve the domestic and international public’s needs. However, we recommended that a more extensive evaluation be undertaken. Our team believed that the IPO needed the freedom to operate independently and like other modern intellectual property offices, be allowed to price its services to cover its operating and administrative costs. Global Resources also believed that an extensive assistance program should be provided to the IPO, focusing upon the office’s operational structure, its processing capabilities, fee structures, methods for collecting licensing fees, infrastructure investments, and human capital (training, certification, etc.), and that the analysis should answer the following questions:

1. Was the IPO capable of becoming a self-sustaining agency operating under modern guidelines and principles; and, if yes,
2. How would the IPO need to be restructured and transformed to achieve this goal?

Global Resources structured the Serbia Intellectual Property Office (IPO)/USTDA Technical Assistance Project to answer these questions as follows:

1. Evaluate current operations and challenges of the Serbian IPO and work with the Serbian IPO to define the vision, mission, strategy, and revised operations, organization, budgeting plan and related action (transformation) plan to transition the IPO into a modern, efficient and effective institution for managing operational issues, effectively supporting its constituents, and initiating and implementing legal and regulatory legislation related to Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) protection in Serbia.
2. Assist the Serbian IPO to gain approval from the appropriate governing authority to implement the recommended transformation plan.
3. Provide on-site support to implement the approved transformation plan.

The extensive Technical Assistance project answered the IPO’s need for modernization and also assisted the client with the following: gaining approval for and implementing key facets of the anticipated transformation such as changes in procedures, fees, and related issues of public concern; applying new metrics for measuring performance; and putting new practices in place for communicating with stake holders.

Global Resources’ work with the Serbian IPO helped to modernize a critical foundation for technology and knowledge management in the country and paved the way for the IPO to become the modern intellectual property office it had envisioned Transparency and accountability increased, and the project launched new processes for using ongoing stakeholder feedback to continually improve it’s the IPO’s efficiency and effectiveness.

Zahvaljujemo se Zavodu za zastitu intelektualne svojine republike Srbije sto su nam omogucili da radimo zajedno, kao i na izuzetnoj podrsci i pomoci na ovom projektu.