INTELLECTUAL THEFT AS A WAR CRIME: LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE PROTECTION OF CULTURAL AND SCIENTIFIC HERITAGE DURING ARMED CONFLICTS
INTELLECTUAL THEFT AS A WAR CRIME: LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE PROTECTION OF CULTURAL AND SCIENTIFIC HERITAGE DURING ARMED CONFLICTS

Summary/Abstract: This paper explores the legal issues of intellectual property protection during armed conflicts, with special reference to the wars that accompanied the breakup of the SFRY. By analyzing international humanitarian law, criminal law and constitutional guarantees, the paper points to the existence of a significant legal gap regarding the treatment of intellectual theft as a war crime. Through the analysis of cases of looting of scientific institutions, destruction of patent documentation and theft of technical inventions during the wars of the 1990s, the paper argues that the existing legal framework does not provide adequate protection for scientific and technological heritage. Special attention is paid to mechanisms of intellectual property restitution in the post-conflict period, as well as the need to develop new international legal instruments that would explicitly recognize intellectual theft as a form of war crime. The conclusions of the paper indicate the necessity of reforming the existing protection system to ensure more effective prevention and punishment of such offenses in future armed conflicts.

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