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Amendments and additions to the Belarus legislation

Amendments and additions to the Belarus legislation January 15, 2018

Amendments and additions to the Belarus legislation

The President of the Republic of Belarus signed the Law "On Amendments and Additions to the Law of the Republic of Belarus" On Patents for Inventions, Utility Models, Industrial Designs " on December 18, 2017.

According to the official website of the National Center of the Intellectual Property, the law will come into force on July 7, 2018. The following changes and additions will be the main provisions of the law:

  • the definition of invention, the scope of objects recognized as inventions and a list of solutions that cannot be considered as inventions will be clarified;

  • the validity term of the patent for utility model will be extended from eight to ten years;

  • the circle of persons, which are able to obtain rights to patents for invention, utility model, industrial design will be expanded;

  • the norms defining procedures of granting patents for inventions, utility models, industrial designs will be improved;

  • the procedure of providing materials for the registration of invention and publication of information about the patent will be determined;

  • the list of actions not recognized as infringement of the exclusive right of the patent owner will be specified;

  • the legal mechanism of claiming compulsory licenses will be clarified;

  • the Law of the Republic of Belarus of December 16, 2002 "On Patents for Inventions, Utility Models, Industrial Designs" will be supplemented by norms governing relations arising due to the use of dependent inventions and utility models;

  • public relations arising in the process of the right of prior use and the right of post-use recognition will be regulated in more details;

  • the mechanism for verification whether utility model complies with the terms of patentability while filing an objection to the grant of a patent for a utility model to the Board of Appeal will be established;

  • the norms defining the features of civil protection of the exclusive right to an invention, utility model, industrial design are improved, including the integration of the rules on possibility to collect compensation instead of to claim damages into the Law on Patents.

In addition, the Act of December 18, 2017 is brought into compliance with the requirements of the Patent Law Treaty, adopted in Geneva on June 1, 2000, as well as provisions of the Patent Law of The Republic of Belarus related to the documents required for establishment of the priority of invention, utility model and restoration of the missed terms.

The specialists of the company Mikhailyuk, Sorokolat and Partners will be pleased to provide you with a wide range of services for registration and protection of the intellectual property rights in the Republic of Belarus and abroad. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us.