Patents: Decree on Fee Exemptions Adopted

On 13 October 2020, the Russian Government adopted the Decree N 1676 on Amendments to its Decree N 941 of 10 December 2008.

Chairman of the Russian Government Mr. Mikhail Mishustin signed the Decree setting forth a list of legally relevant actions for which the applicant should not pay the fees related to a filed application for patent or granted patent (provided that the applicant, who is the sole author of the invention, undertakes to conclude an assignment contract that will transfer his/her exclusive right to another party).

Such legally relevant actions include, inter alia, registering a national application for invention, taking a decision based on substantial examination of an application, registering a national patent or maintaining it in force during the third, fourth, and fifth years of the patent validity from the filing date.

The document also determines the number of applications filed within a calendar year in respect of which an applicant is exempt from payment of relevant fees — one person may now file ten applications per year without paying the mentioned fees.

The Decree was developed as part of the implementation of the Federal Law N 262-FZ on Amendments to Part 4 of the Russian Civil Code dated 31 July 2020, which modified Article 1366 of the Civil Code.

The amendments will enter into force on 30 October 2020.