Frequently asked questions
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS IN THE SPHERE OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
1. What areas does the sphere of intellectual property cover within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union?
In accordance with Section XXIII “Intellectual property” of the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union dated May 29, 2014, cooperation of the Member States of the Eurasian Economic Union in the sphere of safeguard and protection of intellectual property rights shall be carried out in the following main areas:
1) support for scientific and innovative development;
2) improvement of the mechanisms of commercialization and use of intellectual property;
3) creation of a favourable environment for copyright holders and holders of related rights in the Member States;
4) introduction of a registration system for trademarks and service marks of the Eurasian Economic Union and appellations of origin of goods of the Eurasian Economic Union;
5) protection of intellectual property rights, including on the Internet;
6) ensuring effective customs protection of intellectual property rights, including through the maintenance of a common customs registry of intellectual property of the Member States;
7) implementation of coordinated measures to prevent and combat trafficking in counterfeit goods.
2. Does the Eurasian Economic Union provide for national treatment and most favoured nation treatment in the sphere of intellectual property?
Yes, it does.
Nationals of a Member State shall be granted national treatment on the territory of another Member State when it comes to legal treatment of intellectual property. Legislation of the Member State may provide exceptions to the national treatment in respect of judicial and administrative proceedings, including with regard to indication of addresses for correspondence and appointment of representatives.
The Member States may provide in their legislation any rules ensuring a higher level of safeguard and protection of intellectual property rights than those set out in international legal acts applicable to the Member States, as well as in international treaties and acts constituting the law of the Union.
3. What measures does the Commission take to improve the regulatory framework of the Eurasian Economic Union in the sphere of intellectual property? Is any relevant international experience taken into account?
In order to improve the regulatory legal framework of the Eurasian Economic Union in the sphere of intellectual property, the Eurasian Economic Commission monitors, on a regular basis, changes in international law, relevant national legislation of the Member States of the Eurasian Economic Union. The Eurasian Economic Commission also directs its efforts to an adequate, comprehensive study of possible negative trends in the turnover of intellectual property, in order to develop, together with the Member States of the Eurasian Economic Union, measures to overcome them.
The Eurasian Economic Commission continuously cooperates with the authorized authorities of the Member States of the Eurasian Economic Union, as well as it carries out international cooperation in the sphere of intellectual property, including with international organizations, representatives of third States in order to exchange experience and open information for their use in law-making activities.
Thus, the Eurasian Economic Commission successfully cooperates with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), the Eurasian Patent Organization (EAPO), as well as diplomatic missions and representatives of other organizations. They include the Delegation of the European Union to Russia, the Embassy of France in the Russian Federation, the Embassy of the United States of America in the Russian Federation, the Representative office of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) and others.
Since 2014, the Eurasian Economic Commission has been granted the status of the Permanent Observer at the WIPO.
Nowadays the Memorandum of Understanding is being prepared for signing with the Eurasian Patent Organization.
The Eurasian Economic Commission uses the experience gained in the course of international relations within the framework of draft international treaties in the sphere of intellectual property.
4. Will “parallel imports” be legalized in the Member States of the Eurasian Economic Union?
The regional principle of the exhaustion of trademark rights is formalized on the territory of the Eurasian Economic Union. This is determined by the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union dated May 29, 2014.
The freedom of movement of goods within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union implies that a common principle of exhaustion should be applied on the territories of the Member States.
The expediency of changing the principle of the exhaustion of trademark rights and the possibility of legalization of “parallel imports” have been discussed for a long time.
In June 2014, the Eurasian Economic Commission Council established a Working group on the development of proposals for further application of the principle of exhaustion of intellectual property exclusive rights, which was headed by the Member of the Board - Minister in charge of Economy and Financial Policy of the Eurasian Economic Commission Timur Muratovich Suleimenov.
The Group consists of representatives of authorized authorities and business communities of the Member States of the Eurasian Economic Union, as well as a wide range of specialists of the Eurasian Economic Commission.
Following the conclusions of the Working group, which considered various scenarios, the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council adopted, on April 13, 2016, an Instruction on elaboration of a draft Protocol supplementing the Treaty on the Union with rules granting powers to the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council to establish exceptions to the principle of the exhaustion of trademark rights in regard to separate types of goods.
Should this document be adopted a “parallel imports” will be allowed for certain types of goods.
Nowadays, the Eurasian Economic Commission is also elaborating, together with Member States of the Eurasian Economic Union, a draft Protocol on amendments to the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union.
5. How to protect a trademark throughout the territory of the Eurasian Economic Union in order to prevent the importation of counterfeit goods?
In order to prevent the importation of counterfeit goods, it’s advisable to register a trademark in the national Customs Intellectual Property Registry.
In order to simplify the procedures related to the protection of intellectual property rights throughout the territory of the Eurasian Economic Union, the Eurasian Economic Commission is developing, together with the Member States of the Eurasian Economic Union, a regulatory legal framework to ensure functioning of the Unified Customs Intellectual Property Registry. The draft international Agreement between the Member States of the Eurasian Economic Union, which regulates this issue, is currently undergoing some domestic procedures required for its signing.
6. Taking into account the lack of customs control in the mutual trade between the Member States of the Eurasian Economic Union, violations of intellectual property rights are increasingly of transboundary nature. What is being done to counteract this problem?
On September 8, 2015 in Grodno the governments of the Member States of the Eurasian Economic Union signed the Agreement on coordination of actions in protecting the rights to intellectual property, aimed at coordination of actions of the competent authorities of the Member States of the Eurasian Economic Union in preventing, identifying, suppressing and investigating violations of the intellectual property rights.
In furtherance of this Agreement, the Regulation is being prepared, which will establish the rules of information exchange between the authorized authorities of the Member States of the Eurasian Economic Union and the execution of requests required for the suppression of transboundary violations.
7. How are approaches to the regulation of collective management of copyright and related rights harmonized in the Eurasian Economic Union?
In order to harmonize the collective management of copyright and related rights, the Eurasian Economic Commission, together with the Member States of the Eurasian Economic Union, prepared a draft Agreement on the procedure for collective management of copyright and related rights.
The draft Agreement provides for a common regulation with regard to collective management, in terms of establishing the limit and the legal framework of deductions by the relevant organizations (collective management organizations) from the collected remuneration, accountability and public reporting of collective management organizations, mandatory audit of the mechanism for collection, distribution and payment of remuneration to right holders.
In addition, the draft Agreement provides for the allocation of liability in the national legislation for non-payment of remuneration by users or collective management organizations for the use of copyright- and (or) related rights-protected material and their use without the consent of the rightholder and other violations of requirements and obligations.
8. What is the difference between a trademark and the trademark of the Eurasian Economic Union?
A trademark is legally protected on the territory of a single state on the basis of its state registration in the national patent office.
For example, the trademark can be legally protected on the territory of the Russian Federation by its state registration in the Federal Service for Intellectual Property (Rospatent).
The trademark of the Eurasian Economic Union is simultaneously provided with legal protection on the territory of all Member States of the Eurasian Economic Union (Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia) by filing one application to any of the national patent offices of the Member States of the Eurasian Economic Union.
9. What rights does a rightholder of the trademark of the Eurasian Economic Union have?
The rightholder of the trademark of the Eurasian Economic Union has the exclusive right to use the trademark of the Eurasian Economic Union in accordance with the legislation of the Member States and to dispose of this exclusive right as well as the right to prohibit other persons from using this trademark or a designation similar to it to the point of confusion, in respect of goods and (or) services of the same kind.
10. What results of intellectual activity can be registered as inventions in accordance with the legislation of the Member States of the Eurasian Economic Union in the sphere of intellectual property?
In accordance with the legislation of the Member States any technical solution related to products (including devices, substances) or methods (a process of conducting actions on a material object with the help of material means) as well as the use of known products or methods for a new purpose or a new product for a certain purpose shall be protected as an invention.
11. What is the period of validity of exclusive patent rights in accordance with the legislation of the Member States of the Eurasian Economic Union?
In accordance with the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union dated May 29, 2014, the period of validity of the exclusive right shall be at least 20 years for inventions, at least 5 years for utility models and industrial designs.
In accordance with the legislation of the Member States of the Eurasian Economic Union, the period of validity of the exclusive right to inventions shall be 20 years.
The period of validity of the exclusive right to utility models in the Republic of Armenia and the Russian Federation shall be 10 years, in the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic – 5 years.
The period of validity of the exclusive right to industrial designs in the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Belarus shall be 15 years, in the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic – 10 years, in the Russian Federation – 5 years.
12. Is there an Intellectual Property Strategy in the Eurasian Economic Union? If so, what provisions does it contain?
Nowadays, the Eurasian Economic Commission is developing, together with the Member States of the Eurasian Economic Union with the involvement of scientific experts in the sphere of strategic planning, a draft Strategy of protection and use of intellectual property in the Eurasian Economic Union.
The draft Strategy contains some provisions aimed at the formation of an integrated system of intellectual property in the Eurasian Economic Union in order to enhance scientific, inventive, innovative and creative activities, as well as to improve the competitiveness of the economies of the Member States of the Eurasian Economic Union.
The project will soon be presented to the public in order to receive relevant proposals from the interested parties.
13.What results are planned to be achieved in the course of implementation of the Intellectual Property Strategy in the Eurasian Economic Union?
It is believed that the main results of the Strategy will be the formation of a flourishing Eurasian intellectual property market, which will ensure the effective development of the innovation component of the economies of the Member States of the Eurasian Economic Union, as well as the proper level of their competitiveness.
The Strategy will significantly expand the integration cooperation of the Member States of the Eurasian Economic Union, will create conditions for the smooth turnover of intellectual property within the territory of the Eurasian Economic Union.
