LEGAL ALERT

Albania Amends Its Industrial Property Law

WHAT CHANGED

Law No. 88/2026 amends the industrial property statute specifically in relation to trade-secret enforcement. It requires fair, proportionate and effective procedures and expands interim relief to cover injunctions, seizure or control of suspected infringing goods, preservation of evidence, restrictions on services using a secret and, in commercial-scale cases, temporary asset and bank-account freezes.

Final remedies include cessation, market withdrawal or destruction of infringing goods and materials, publication of the judgment and damages. Courts must weigh proportionality, the value and confidentiality of the secret, conduct of the parties, third-party interests and the public interest.

WHO IS AFFECTED

Businesses that own, license or receive confidential technical or commercial information, and parties to trade-secret litigation in Albania.

WHAT TO DO

• Review pending applications and oppositions against any changed procedure or deadline.
• Diarise renewals afresh if terms or renewal windows have moved.
• Where IP is licensed within a group, confirm the licensing arrangement remains effective and recordable, and that the pricing is defensible under the transfer pricing provisions of Law No. 29/2023.
• Foreign holders relying on representation before the DPPI should confirm representation requirements are unchanged.