Željko Topić

Željko Topić (born 5 August 1959[1]) is a Croatian civil servant, and currently one of the Vice-Presidents of the European Patent Office (EPO). Before taking up his position at the EPO, he was the Director General of the State Intellectual Property Office of the Republic of Croatia.

Career

He started his career as an economist with the Federal Yugoslavian Railways in Banja Luka. From 1989 to 1992 he was an adviser at the Croatian Ministry of Science & Technology in Zagreb. In 1992, he joined the Croatian State Intellectual Property Office which came under the remit of the Ministry of Science & Technology and he held various posts there until 2003 when he left to become a partner in a private-sector intellectual property management company, Korper, Haramija & Topić Ltd.[1]

In 2004, he was appointed as Director General of the Croatian State Intellectual Property Office for a four-year term.[2] In this capacity he represented Croatia on the Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation from 2004 onward. Croatia became a full member of the EPO in 2008.[3] In 2006, Topić was proposed as a candidate for a senior management position at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).[4] His candidacy was unsuccessful.

In March 2008, his mandate as Director General of the Croatian State Intellectual Property Office was renewed for a second four-year term.[5] In 2009, he was once again an unsuccessful candidate for a senior management position at the WIPO.[6]

In January 2012, his mandate as Director General of the Croatian State Intellectual Property Office was renewed for a third term.[7]

During a visit by a delegation from the Hungarian Intellectual Property Office to the Croatian State Intellectual Property Office in February 2012,[8] he was presented with the Jedlik Ányos Award (Honoris Causa)[9][10] in recognition of his contribution to the protection of intellectual property.

In March 2012, the Administrative Council of the EPO announced his appointment as Vice-President at the EPO in charge of the Directorate-General Administration which has responsibility for support services such as Human Resources, General Administration, Buildings and Facility Management, and the Language Service.[11] He commenced his duties as EPO Vice-President in April 2012.[12] His term of office as Director General of the Croatian State Intellectual Property Office ended on 30 April 2012.[13]

Topić's appointment as EPO Vice-President has been controversial. Following the announcement of his appointment in March 2012, a number of critical news reports appeared in the Croatian media. These reports referred to a series of alleged irregularities which were said to have occurred during his period of office as Director-General of the State Intellectual Property Office and which it was claimed had not been properly investigated by the competent state authorities.[14][15][16][17] In response, the State Intellectual Property Office issued a press release on 30 April 2012 attributing the media reports to what it called "unprofessional journalism" and dismissing the allegations raised against Topić as "arbitrary", "unfounded" and based on "malicious accusations".[18]

A complaint which Topić filed in reaction to an article written by the journalist Slavica Lukić for "Jutarnji list" was, however, rejected by the Ethics Council of the Croatian Journalist's Association (Croatian: Hrvatsko Novinarsko Društvo or HND) in September 2012. The Ethics Council found that Lukić had verified the relevant information with the appropriate official institutions and that the disputed article was not written with the intention of defaming anyone but rather in defence of the public interest.[19][20]

In December 2013, a Croatian NGO Juris Protecta raised questions about Topić's EPO appointment and submitted a petition to the European Parliament calling for an independent investigation into the matter.[21][22] According to Intellectual Property Watch, Topić and EPO President Benoît Battistelli claim that the allegations amount to a “smear campaign.” However, a former Assistant Director at the Croatian State Intellectual Property Office, Vesna Stilin, has disputed the claims made by Topić and Battistelli in this regard.[23][24]

It has been reported in the Croatian media that a criminal complaint against Topic was dismissed as inadmissible by the Zagreb County Court on 19 February 2016.[25] Details of the case were not published but it was subsequently reported that it is currently pending before a three-judge appeal panel of the Zagreb County Court.[26]

References

  1. 1 2 Željko Topić's CV (2009) from the website of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).
  2. ↑ Decision signed by Prime Minister Ivo Sanader appointing Zeljko Topić as Director General of the DZIV, dated 5 May 2004.
  3. ↑ List of EPC Contracting States sorted according to the date of accession
  4. ↑ "Croatia Advances Candidate For A Top Position At WIPO", Intellectual Property Watch, 3 May 2006.
  5. ↑ Decision signed by Prime Minister Ivo Sanader renewing Topić's mandate for a second term, dated 19 March 2008.
  6. ↑ "WIPO Buzzing With Possible Names For Top Cabinet Posts", Intellectual Property Watch, 5 May 2009.
  7. ↑ Decision signed by Prime Minister Zoran Milanović renewing Topić's mandate for a third term, dated 26 January 2012.
  8. ↑ Posjet delegacije Mađarskog ureda za intelektualno vlasništvo Zavodu
  9. ↑ Željko Topić – Honoris causa Jedlik Ányos-díjas, 2012
  10. ↑ Hungarian Intellectual Property Office: The Jedlik Ányos Award
  11. ↑ Announcement by the Administrative Council of the EPO, dated 28 March 2012.
  12. ↑ Towards a more diverse EPO, EPO Blog dated 2 April 2012.
  13. ↑ Decision signed by Prime Minister Zoran Milanović confirming the termination of Topić's term of office effective as from 30 April 2012, dated 27 April 2012.
  14. ↑ "Nagradio ga Pantovčak: Umjesto progona, ravnatelj Zavoda koji nadzire ZAMP promoviran!" index.hr, 10 April 2012
  15. ↑ "Protiv Topića se vodi šest postupaka" tjedno.hr, 11 April 2012
  16. ↑ "Index doznaje – Jovanović istražuje DZIV: Gdje je milijun kuna, tko se vozio u (pre)skupim automobilima?" index.hr, 26 April 2012
  17. ↑ "Sanaderov kadar Željko Topić, smijenjen na vlastiti zahtjev, dobio još bolji posao" jutarnji.hr, 28 April 2012
  18. ↑ “PRIOPCENJE ZA JAVNOST”, press release issued by the Croatian State Intellectual Property Office, 30 April 2012
  19. ↑ "Findings of the 7th Session of the HND Ethics Council held on 18 September 2012 - Željko Topić vs Slavica Lukić", Hrvatsko Novinarsko Društvo, 16 November 2012
  20. ↑ “Bivši ravnatelj DZIV-a Željko Topić zakinuo je hrvatske književnike za milijune kuna”, dnevno.hr, 28 April 2013
  21. ↑ “EPO Internal Strife Spills Over Into European Parliament, Human Rights Court”, Intellectual Property Watch, 15 May 2014
  22. ↑ Press release issued by Juris Protecta
  23. ↑ "Nagradio ga Pantovčak: Umjesto progona, ravnatelj Zavoda koji nadzire ZAMP promoviran!" / "The President rewarded him: Instead of facing prosecution, the Director of the Office responsible for monitoring ZAMP was promoted!", index.hr, 10 April 2014, (in Croatian)
  24. ↑ Right Of Reply To IP-Watch Article:“EPO Internal Strife Spills Over Into European Parliament, Human Rights Court”, Intellectual Property Watch, 6 October 2014
  25. ↑ ŽUPANIJSKI SUD ISTRAGU PROTIV ŽELJKA TOPIĆA PROGLASIO NEDOPUŠTENOM, tjedno.hr, 23 February 2016
  26. ↑ Pusićkina lobistica za UN u središtu međunarodnog skandala, dnevno.hr, 27 March 2016
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