Intellectual property is a key competitive advantage for every company and country. Knowledge, innovation, and creativity are the foundations of economic and social development. Due to the increasingly complex legislation governing the digital environment, particularly in light of new European Union regulations, the Intellectual Property Committee has expanded its focus to include digital regulation, which is crucial for shaping a stable, innovative, and competitive business environment.
Key areas of the Committee’s work
Intellectual Property is Our Competitive Advantage
In an explicitly export-oriented and open economy like Slovenia, long-term prosperity is directly dependent on the added value we can create in global markets. Higher value added brings high-quality jobs and stimulating pay, stable public finances, and investment in development.
Intellectual property is one of the key mechanisms through which companies increase added value, as it enables differentiation, the protection of innovation, more efficient commercialization of knowledge, and a higher return on investment in development. Therefore, the strategic management of intellectual property (patents, trademarks, designs, copyright works, trade secrets, and data) is a vital part of the competitiveness, growth, and international penetration of companies.
A business environment that is predictable and innovation-friendly protects intellectual property rights, strengthens trust, and simultaneously enables the development of new business models and the growth of added value in the economy.
Challenges of Regulating Inventions and Copyrighted Works from Employment Relationships
For the successful development of companies and individuals who jointly create new technological and business solutions, it is essential to have a well-regulated framework for employee inventions and copyrights.
While inventions created within employment are a key source of innovation, they bring legal and financial challenges regarding ownership and remuneration. Slovenian legislation regarding employee inventions provides for the employer’s right to claim the invention, while on the other hand, it presents a significant challenge regarding fair remuneration for the employee. Since inventions are the fruit of the employee’s knowledge and the stimulating environment provided by the employer, determining the appropriate financial reward is difficult in practice. The committee highlights the need for clearer criteria for valuing these contributions, which would bring greater long-term security, reduce ambiguity, and strengthen mutual trust at work.
Similarly, issues of rights regarding copyright works created within an employment relationship are often resolved on an ad hoc basis, which, in the absence of appropriate legal regulation, introduces uncertainty in cases where an agreement cannot be reached. Therefore, the committee proposes a more transparent arrangement at the level of collective agreements or internal employer acts as a temporary solution. Furthermore, the committee advocates for changes to current legislation that would more clearly regulate the transfer of rights to the employer for works created within an employment relationship, as well as the employee’s right to a reward when the copyright work is not created as part of fulfilling duties under the employment contract, but still falls within the scope of the employer’s activities.
In addition, it is crucial to ensure effective judicial protection in the event of intellectual property rights infringement, which brings a higher level of trust and predictability to the business environment regarding the appropriate protection of investments in intellectual property.
Intellectual Property Knowledge and Knowledge Transfer as the Foundation of Slovenia’s Development
Knowledge of intellectual property represents the foundation of an effective innovation system and a competitive economy. However, Slovenia faces a significant lack of knowledge in the field of intellectual property. The 2023 IP Perception study by EUIPO, which examined the perception, awareness, and behavior of European citizens regarding intellectual property, showed that awareness in Slovenia is below the EU average.Only 73% of the Slovenian respondents assessed their subjective understanding of the concept of intellectual property as fairly or very good, which is 10 percentage points lower than the EU average (83%).
The committee therefore welcomes national efforts for systematic awareness-raising and the strengthening of knowledge in this field, and actively supports the goals of the National Intellectual Property Strategy 2030. However, the committee simultaneously warns that without the systemic integration of these contents into all levels of education, there will be no real progress. The current Action Plan focuses on primary and secondary schools, and while this is a necessary foundation, the committee notes a lack of concrete emphasis on higher education. Mandatory subjects in this field are the exception rather than the rule at universities, meaning that young professionals enter the labor market without key knowledge on how to protect and commercially leverage their innovations. We believe that knowledge of intellectual property should be an integral part of university studies, as this is the only way to build an environment that is competitive in the long term and prepared for the challenges of the digital future.
The lack of knowledge at the university level also directly affects the transfer of knowledge from research institutions to the economy. Universities must become central hubs for research and development, enabling the best possible commercialization of inventions and other intellectual property rights. Companies, with their vision and development plans, must become an important bridge between educational and research institutions and the needs of the market and society at large. The committee therefore emphasizes the necessity of strengthening cooperation between research institutions and the business community. Only in this way will Slovenia be able to develop a sustainable and competitive innovation ecosystem that contributes to long-term growth and development.
Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property Rights
The development of artificial intelligence (AI) brings challenges to the field of intellectual property, as AI creates content that is, or could be, protected by intellectual property rights; however, difficulties may arise in fitting these into existing legal frameworks. Current legislation recognizes authorship only for natural persons, which can give rise to a legal lacuna with regard to AI-generated content.
A particular challenge is also posed by text and data mining for training AI models. Although the Copyright and Related Rights Act allows for certain exceptions, Slovenian regulation does not explicitly include freely accessible online content as a source for lawful access. This puts Slovenian developers of advanced technologies at a disadvantage and hinders the development of large language models in the Slovenian language.
The committee will monitor the development of law and case law concerning AI and its role in creating copyright works or innovations, and will promote appropriate changes to the legal framework to properly balance the protection of creators’ interests while fostering creativity.
European Digital Regulation
Knowledge and implementation of the European digital legal framework, shaped by the European Union (EU) within the “European Digital Decade,” have become fundamental for success in the EU business environment, and increasingly also in the global digital services market. This includes key legislative packages that have already or will soon significantly shape the European and Slovenian digital landscape: the Digital Services Act (DSA), the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act), regulations regarding data governance and access, and numerous other (related) regulations.
Increasingly complex regulations in the field of intellectual property and digital commerce, based on the concept of asymmetry, have a significant impact on technological processes in the digital market. Although the strictest rules are primarily aimed at large global platforms, on which as much as 80% of Slovenian digital business is based, the new rules also pose specific challenges for small and medium-sized enterprises. The committee draws attention to the currently critically low level of awareness of the obligations imposed by the AI Act. Companies need to internalize that the obligations are linked to the level of risk of the system and not just to the size of the entity. In practice, this means that small and medium-sized enterprises developing or using high-risk systems may be subject to the same strict requirements regarding technical documentation, data quality, and transparency as large global platforms. The committee also draws attention to the challenges posed by the new regulations and the establishment of numerous new regulators. It welcomes the complexity of the regulation, but points out that the key problem lies in its implementation, as well as the often insufficient attention paid to individual regulators in strengthening their operations.
Therefore, the committee will continue to strive to maintain close contact with regulators to serve as a bridge between them and the business community in implementing legislation and establishing consistent practices. Furthermore, it will strive for an active educational role for AmCham Slovenia members, providing them with practical guidance to turn regulatory rules into a competitive advantage in the single digital market.
Complexity of International Commercial Contracts
International commercial contracts, particularly in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry, with clear international elements, represent a particular challenge for Slovenian companies owing to their complexity, which is being further increased by digitalization and globalization. Slovenian companies face several challenges in handling these contracts, such as the complexity of contractual clauses, a lack of experience, the risk of a lack of awareness of provisions, and time sensitivity, which together limit the opportunity for in-depth analysis. Large amounts of legal language and technical terminology make it difficult to understand obligations, which can lead to legal disputes or financial losses.
The committee emphasizes the need to raise awareness and expertise in this area. As key solutions, it proposes organizing training sessions, collaborating with experts, developing guidelines for contract management, and utilizing digital tools for contract risk analysis. Additionally, it seeks to strengthen international cooperation, enabling Slovenian companies to access best practices and global legal resources.
Committee members
Who are the members of the Committee?
See the full list of Committee members.
Join the AmCham Intellectual Property Committee
For all questions related to the Committee’s work, you can turn to our Committee coordinator Vida Dolenc Pogačnik, our COO and International Cooperation Director.
Vida Dolenc Pogačnik
COO and International Cooperation Director