Belarus amends IP fees & accedes to Eurasian Protocol and Russia accedes to the Geneva Protocol
Belarus
Belarus has become the latest country to accede to the Protocol on the Protection of Industrial Designs to the Eurasian Patent Convention, as of December 31, 2021.
The Protocol establishes a system allowing for applicants to file one industrial design application in Russian, accompanied by a single set of fees, with either the EAPO or a national office of a member state, covering all contracting states to the Protocol.
Originally introduced on September 9, 2019, the Protocol is underpinned by the Eurasian Patent Convention to which Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan are contracting parties.
The Eurasian Design Protocol is expected to enter into effect in Belarus 3 months after the deposit of the country's instrument of ratification.
The accession of Belarus to the Protocol follows the country's joining of the Hague System in April of last year, demonstrating an ongoing advancement to international collaboration.
As of January 1, 2022, Belarus has implemented an increased rate of the country's base value, which rose from 29 BYN to 32 BYN. The inflation to the base value in Belarus is made in line with the usual annual review of the rate.
Subsequently, the official fees in relation to the registration and maintenance of all IP types have increased accordingly.
The increase to fees in line with the corresponding base value uniformly constitutes approximately 10% across the board. As examples, the cost of filing a patent application containing one invention now constitutes 78.4 BYN, rising from 71.05 BYN, whilst the examination fee has increased from 345.1 BYN to 380.8 BYN. The grant of a patent will now constitute 156.8 BYN as opposed to the previous 142.1 BYN. With regards to utility models, the fee for the filing and examination of one application containing 1 utility model now amounts to 156.8 BYN, rising from 142.1 BYN, with the same increase applying to the grant fee.
The fees for other IP types such as industrial designs and trademarks have also increased in line with the inflation of the Belarusian base value. As such, the fee for the filing and examination of one variant of a design containing up to seven views of the design in an application has increased from 142.1 BYN to 156.8 BYN. Accordingly, the grant fee for designs now comprises 156.8, increasing from 142.1 BYN.
Russia
On December 24, 2021, the Russian Federal Law On the Accession of the Russian Federation to the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications was approved. Accordingly, the Lisbon Agreement is expected to enter into effect by 2023 in Russia.
The Lisbon Agreement facilitates the international acquisition of protection of appellations of origin across the jurisdictions which are party thereto. At present, there are 30 contracting parties to the Lisbon Agreement which cover 56 individual countries across the globe.
The Geneva Act enhances the existing system facilitated by the Lisbon Agreement. As per the Lisbon Agreement, protection for Appellations of Origin can be sought by the filing of a single application to the WIPO, alongside the payment of one set of fees. The Geneva Act expands upon this and allows for the inclusion of Geographical Indications to the system, offering a more comprehensive method of seeking protection for origin-based products.
The accession of Russia to the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement is set to assist applicants in multiple nations to obtain protection in a more efficient and streamlined manner, further contributing to international cooperation in relation to intellectual property.