State Duma Ratified EAPC Industrial Designs Protocol

During its plenary session on 10 November 2020, the State Duma of the Russian Federal Assembly considered and adopted the Draft Law on Ratification of the Protocol concerning the Protection of Industrial Designs to the Eurasian Patent Convention (EAPC) dated 9 September 1994.

The Protocol concerning the Protection of Industrial Designs was developed by Eurasian Patent Office in cooperation with the Contracting States to EAPC. The Protocol aims at establishing a regional system for the protection of industrial designs, which will allow the applicant to obtain legal protection simultaneously in all Contracting States based on single application submitted to Eurasian Patent Office (EAPO). This system is expected to simplify the process of obtaining patents in these countries and reduce administrative and financial burdens for applicants.

Mr. Grigory Ivliev, who had signed the Protocol on behalf of the Russian Federation, took part in the plenary session as an official representative of the Government. In his speech, Head of Rospatent noted that the existence of such a regional instrument would contribute to the promotion of industrial designs that have a particular demand among small and medium-sized businesses. The system will also significantly contribute to the development of Eurasian integration related to intellectual property.

Establishment and development of regional systems dealing with protection of intellectual property rights constitutes a priority task of Rospatent. In parallel to the expansion of the Eurasian patent cooperation, a system for the registration of trademarks and appellations of origin of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) is being established. The relevant EAEU Treaty has been recently ratified by the Russian Federal Law № 360-FZ of 9 November 2020.

Background information:

The Eurasian patent system has been operating since 1995 on the basis of the EAPC signed by Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan on 9 September 1994.

The EAPC Protocol concerning the Protection of Industrial Designs was adopted at a Diplomatic Conference held in Nur Sultan (Republic of Kazakhstan) on 9 September 2019 and signed by six EAPC Contracting States, namely Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan. Its ratification process is currently on-going.