The Green Dot is a financial symbol of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), through which producers contribute to the development of packaging waste recycling systems – it is not an environmental label.

Since the early 1990s, extended producer responsibility for packaging has been an integral part of European environmental policy (→ Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive 94/62/EC and national legislation). The core idea is that producers must take responsibility for the packaging they place on the market — including its collection and recycling.

Nationally recognized packaging management systems, such as the organizations united under PRO Europe, assume this responsibility by organizing the collection, sorting, and recycling of packaging and packaging waste, thereby implementing the principle of Extended Producer Responsibility.

This process naturally requires financial resources. Producers pay fees for the packaging they place on the market in a given country, and these funds are used to establish and develop packaging collection and recycling systems. To clearly demonstrate that a producer has taken responsibility for the packaging it places on the market, the producer signs an agreement with the authorized licensor of the Green Dot trademark in that country — a member of PRO Europe.

The Green Dot is an internationally registered and protected trademark with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) under registration numbers IR 653450 and IR 653449, with recognized rights and jurisdiction in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The trademark license is registered in the Register of Licenses at the Institute for Intellectual Property of Bosnia and Herzegovina under number WOL15521, as published in the Official Gazette of the Institute for Intellectual Property of Bosnia and Herzegovina, No. 2/15, page 316. Through this registration, Ekopak officially obtained the status of exclusive license holder for the use of the Green Dot trademark in the market of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Ekopak enables all companies that produce or import packaged products to use the Green Dot symbol on their packaging, thereby demonstrating that their packaging is included in the national packaging and packaging waste management system in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Use of the Green Dot symbol is regulated by law and strict licensing rules, and it may only be used based on a contract signed with Ekopak.

The use of trademarks in Bosnia and Herzegovina is regulated by the Law on Trademarks (Official Gazette of BiH, No. 53/10).

This law governs the acquisition, maintenance, scope, record of transactions, termination, and protection of trademarks within the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: BiH), and it also applies to trademarks that are internationally registered for the territory of BiH.

The Law prescribes the exclusive rights of the trademark holder, and Article 49 stipulates that:

(1) The trademark holder has the right to prohibit other parties from unauthorized use of:

a) a sign identical to their trademark in relation to goods or services identical to those for which the trademark is registered;

b) a sign identical or similar to their trademark in relation to goods or services that are the same or similar to those for which the trademark is registered, if there is a likelihood of confusion among the public, including the likelihood of association between the sign and the trademark;

c) a sign identical or similar to their trademark in relation to goods or services that are not similar to those for which the trademark is registered, when the trademark has a reputation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and when the use of such a sign without due cause takes unfair advantage of, or is detrimental to, the distinctive character or reputation of the trademark (a well-known trademark).

(2) In accordance with paragraph (1) of this Article, the trademark holder has the right to prohibit the following acts:

a) affixing the protected sign to goods, their packaging, or labeling materials;

b) offering goods, placing them on the market, or storing them for such purposes, or providing services under the protected sign;

c) importing, exporting, or transiting goods bearing the protected sign;

d) using the protected sign in business documentation or advertising.

The Law also provides for civil law protection.

Article 80 of the Law stipulates that, in the event of an infringement of a trademark or of rights arising from a trademark application (if the trademark is later granted), the plaintiff may file a lawsuit requesting:

a) determination of the infringement,

b) prohibition of further infringement and prevention of future similar infringements by cessation or refraining from actions that violate the right,

c) removal of the state of affairs resulting from the infringement,

d) withdrawal of infringing goods from commercial circulation, taking into account the interests of third parties acting in good faith,

e) complete removal of infringing goods from commercial circulation,

f) destruction of goods by which the infringement was committed,

g) destruction of materials or tools that are exclusively or predominantly intended or used for committing infringements, and that are owned by the infringer,

h) transfer of the infringing goods to the right holder, with compensation for production costs,

i) compensation for property damage and reimbursement of reasonable legal expenses,

j) publication of the judgment at the expense of the defendant.

Any person who infringes a trademark is obliged to pay the right holder compensation for damages, determined either in accordance with the general rules on compensation for damage or in the amount corresponding to the contracted or customary fee for lawful use of the trademark.

Article 83 of the Law stipulates penalties as follows:

If a trademark infringement is committed intentionally or with gross negligence, the trademark holder may claim compensation of up to three times the amount of the agreed — or, if not agreed, the customary license fee that would have been paid for the lawful use of the trademark.

When deciding on a claim for payment of penalties, the court shall take into account all circumstances of the case, particularly the extent of the damage, the degree of fault of the infringer, the amount of the agreed or customary license fee, and the preventive purpose of the penalty.

A lawsuit for trademark infringement or for infringement of rights arising from a trademark application may be filed by the trademark holder, the applicant, the exclusive licensee, the user of a collective trademark with the consent of its holder, or the user of a certification (guarantee) trademark with the consent of its holder (Article 84).

Article 98 of the Law also provides for monetary fines, as follows: