Kazakhstan Ratifies Protocol on Eurasian Design Patents

The Kazakh President signed the Law on Ratification of the Protocol on the Protection of Industrial Designs to the Eurasian Patent Convention on November 23, 2020. The law will enter into force in Kazakhstan on December 5, 2020.

The Protocol was adopted by the Eurasian Patent Organization (EAPO) member states on September 9, 2019, introducing the Eurasian system of protection for industrial design patents, along with the already existing regional protection for inventions.

There are eight EAPO member states: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. So far, the member states that have signed the Protocol are Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan, while the delegations of the remaining two members, Belarus and Turkmenistan, have announced the implementation of domestic procedures necessary for their participation in the Protocol. Besides Kazakhstan, the Protocol was also ratified by Armenia, Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan.

The Protocol will enter into force for the first three states that have ratified or acceded to it three months after the third state deposits its instrument of ratification. In all other member states, the Protocol will enter into force three months after the state’s accession or deposit of its instrument of ratification. The only member state that has so far deposited its instrument of ratification is Kyrgyzstan.

According to the Protocol, Eurasian design patent applications will be filed with the Eurasian Patent Office (EAPO) either directly or through the national patent office of an EAPO member state. All applicants will follow uniform examination requirements, use only the official language of the EAPO – Russian, and pay a uniform procedural fee. Once granted, Eurasian design patents will be valid for five years counting from the application filing date, and will be renewable for additional five-year periods up to four more times, so that the maximum term of protection does not exceed 25 years from the application filing date.

Prepared by: Ainur Zhussipova

For more information, please contact kazakhstan@petosevic.com.

Source: The Kazakh President’s official website