Government of the Russian Federation adopted Decrees Nos. 1151 and 1152 concerning Official fees for patents and trademarks

Decree No. 1151 has amended the Regulations on Official fees. The Russian PTO has indicated the introduction of new procedures in the law (after October 1, 2014) being carried out with respect to applications as a reason for amendments, as well as the discrepancy between the amount of Official fees and actual expenses for performing relevant actions by the Russian PTO.

Changes affected both the amounts of Official fees, and the order of their payment.

Thus, the amounts of many Official fees in connection with obtaining and maintenance of patents for inventions, utility models and industrial designs are increased by two or more times. There is a novella concerning Official fees for maintenance of an industrial design patent being granted on an application filed after January 1, 2015. An Official fee is to be paid once for the entire initial 5-year period of the patent and for each extension for another 5-year period. Official fees for maintenance of patents for industrial designs being granted on applications filed before January 1, 2015, as well as patents for inventions and utility models, still must be paid separately for each year of the patent validity. The procedure for payment of the first annual fee has been changed. Previously, if the deadline for payment of the first annual fee was earlier than the deadline for payment of the registration fee, it was possible to pay the first annual fee after payment of the registration fee (but within the prescribed time limit), now both fees – fee for registration and first annual fee for maintaining the patent in force - must be paid simultaneously. There are established Official fees for the procedures that are introduced in the law from October 1, 2014: for substantive examination of an application for utility model ; for conversion of a disputed patent for invention into a utility model patent; for conversion of an application for invention or utility model into an application for industrial design. Also, there are established Official fees not existing before for the grant of an additional patent for invention relating to a pharmaceutical product, a pesticide or agrochemical, and for publication by the Russian PTO of a court judgment on violation of the exclusive right.

Official fees for registration of trademarks and renewal of registration are increased. In so doing, earlier, only an Official fee for filing and examination of an application was dependent on the number of classes for which the registration of a trademark was sought, but now the amount of Official fee for registration of a trademark (for 10 years) and Official fees for renewal of registration (for the next 10 years) also depend on the number of classes of the ICGS.

At the same time, the Decree has doubled (from 15% to 30%) a discount for electronic filing of applications and petitions. This is not possible however for all actions, but the Russian PTO is working on expanding the range of actions to be carried out by applicants in electronic form.

The Decree maintains and even expands the privileges for certain categories of applicants . At the same time the Decree is supplemented by an Annex, in which reduced amounts of Official fees for privileged categories of applicants are indicated for the convenience of use.

The amendments also provide for a possibility to refund half of Official fee for consideration of certain objections and petitions if the Russian PTO terminates the proceedings for them. Furthermore, if the Russian PTO refuses to conduct an information search on an application due to the impossibility of its conduct, half of Official fee for its examination may be returned, including when the application concerns a subject matter for which patents are not issued according to the law.

There are also changes in the order (terms) of payment of Official fees. According to the amendments made to the Decree, payment of Official fees should be made within two months after the Russian PTO sends a document notifying an applicant to pay the relevant Official fee. An additional period of up to 12 months may be granted for payment of such Official fees as for filing an application and for registering an invention, utility model and industrial design, and an additional period of up to 6 months may be granted for payment of such Official fees as for filing an application for a trademark and for registering a trademark. The 6-month grace period for payment of Official fees for maintaining a patent also remains in force.

The Decree No. 1152 was issued in connection with Russia's accession to the Hague Agreement on International Registration of Industrial Designs. It is stipulated in the law on ratification of this International treaty that in Russia an individual Official fee will be charged for designating it as the country where protection is claimed. The Decree establishes the amount of these individual Official fees: for the first 5 years of protection - 11900 rubles (~ $205) and 2500 rubles (~ $45) for each additional industrial design in the international registration; for each following 5-year period (within 25 years) - 18900 rubles (~ $325), 46400 rubles (~ $800), 69,000 rubles (~ $1190) and 120000 rubles (~ $2070), respectively.