13.05.2023

During the discussion «Eurasian Intellectual Property Regulation: Jurisdiction Expansion» on the XI St. Petersburg International Legal Forum (SPILF 2023) all participants — representatives of Russian and international business, national patent offices and supranational judicial authorities, legislative and executive powers supported the need to expand the Eurasian integration initiatives.

— Development of Eurasian integration has been recognized as one of the key priorities in the strategic documents of the Russian Federation, — stated Grigory Ivliev, President of the Eurasian Patent Office (EAPO) in his opening statement. — EAPO within its mandate is willing to support initiatives aimed at removal of barriers associated with the territorial nature of IP rights. Our agency is also ready to support the formation of a broad integration loop, the Greater Eurasian Partnership.

During the session the Eurasian initiatives on expanding the number of regional protection objects, as well as the creation of a supranational jurisdiction for intellectual property disputes were supported. In addition, the participants noted the success of the EAPO in terms of digitalization of the services provided by the office.

During the discussion a conclusion was made about the urgent need to create a unified Eurasian trademark and utility model. Several participants of the discussion noted the necessity of developing the supranational system of intellectual property rights protection, both judicial mechanisms and arbitration, using the platforms of the national chambers of commerce and industry.

The need for supranational jurisdiction was supported by the Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Science and Higher Education Sergey Kabyshev, Judge of the Court of the Eurasian Economic Union Tatiana Neshataeva, General Director of the Association of European Business (AEB) Tadzio Schilling, Vice President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation Vadim Chubarov and Vice President of the All-Russian non-governmental organization of small and medium business «OPORA RUSSIA» Natalia Zolotykh.

Both business representatives (Chubarov, Zolotykh) and judicial representative (Neshataeva) mentioned the necessity of expansion of the number of objects with the regional scope of protection.

Valery Medvedev, Senior Partner of Gorodissky & Partners law firm, focused on possible territorial expansion of the Eurasian patent system, and Sergey Fabrichny, Director of the Russian Federal Agency for Legal Protection of Military, Special and Dual-Use Intellectual Property, spoke about the need of Eurasian scaling of successful IP evaluation practices and creation of IP collateral lending mechanisms.

— Today a very important topic has been announced. Nowadays, it is necessary to intensify regional integration. It is a challenge for everyone: a challenge for lawyers, a challenge for business. We see that we have the Eurasian Patent Office, which is ready to actively develop the Eurasian jurisdiction, — summed up the moderator of the discussion, the Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of Gazprombank Elena Borisenko. — Today, all speakers have paid attention to the fact that the development of the Eurasian jurisdiction has unrealized potential. It is worth mentioning that there is business interest and expert support, but the Eurasian regulation in the IP field is insufficient. We need to ensure that next year when we gather here we will see the results: prioritization of this sector, development of existing mechanisms, signing agreements and protocols to them and possible strengthening of civilians trust in the system of national arbitration.