Kyrgyzstan Amends Patent Law

Amendments to Kyrgyzstan’s Law on Patents entered into force on April 7, 2023, introducing several important changes.

While the maximum term of patent remains the same, 20 years from the application filing date, the maximum term of protection for a utility model has been extended from 8 to 10 years.

The maximum term of protection for an industrial design is now 25 years, as opposed to 15 years. While the protection term for industrial designs was previously 10 years with the possibility of one five-year extension, designs are now initially protected for five years with the possibility of four additional five-year term extensions.

The possibility of obtaining a patent “under the applicant’s responsibility” has been excluded. This type of patent was issued in a shorter time than a regular patent as the search was carried out only locally – in Kyrgyzstan and other Eurasian Patent Convention member states. This option is now available only for utility models.

Substantive examination for industrial designs has been shortened from 12 to five months, while the formal examination timeframe remains two months.

The list of required documents when filing an industrial design application no longer includes the essential features.

Finally, applicants can now use the electronic system for filing patent, utility model and industrial design applications.

By: Umida Solijonova

For more information, please contact Umida Solijonova at our Uzbekistan office.