Evaluating Potential Intellectual Property Rights Infringement through Imitation in Advertising and Market Communications

As today's products and services are becoming more and more similar, so do all forms of market communications. Although not a new phenomenon, imitation in advertising and other forms of market communications is becoming increasingly frequent. This is due to hyper-productivity, the ever expanding media ecosystem and new digital platforms that ensure wide distribution and availability of intellectual works. Copywriters, designers, creative directors and others who work in the market communication industry have online magazines, blogs dedicated to the creative industry, portfolio websites, social networks and various other sources of inspiration which tempt them to imitate works of others. The article gives an overview of regulatory and self-regulatory environment in the Republic of Croatia and proposes a framework for evaluating possible infringements of intellectual property rights (IPR), both intentional and coincidental, through various forms of advertising and market communications.