CIS Members Sign New Agreement on Cooperation in Prevention and Repression of the Use of False Trademarks and GIs

On May 28, 2021, the members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan) signed the Agreement on Cooperation in Prevention and Repression of the Use of False Trademarks and Geographical Indications, which is intended to replace the existing Agreement of June 4, 1999.

The new Agreement updates and expands the existing regulatory framework for the Parties’ joint planning and implementation of measures to prevent, detect, and repress the production and sale of goods bearing false trademarks and geographical indications. The Agreement also foresees other forms of cooperation including the exchange of relevant information, promotion of joint research in the field of industrial property, and organization of seminars and conferences.

The provisions of the 1999 Agreement have also been updated because Russia, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan acceded to the World Trade Organization (WTO) over the last decade – in the new Agreement, the Parties that are WTO members reaffirm their obligations set forth in the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement), while non-WTO members commit to following the principles and rules set forth in the TRIPS Agreement.

The new Agreement will enter into force 30 days after the third Party deposits a written notification about its fulfillment of domestic procedures necessary for the Agreement to enter into force. For the Parties that fulfill their domestic procedures later, the Agreement will enter into force 30 days from the date they deposit their written notifications.

By: Anastasia Khioni

For more information, please contact Anastasia Khioni at our Belarus office.

Source: Belarusian IPO website, Russian government’s legal information internet portal