On March 14, 2019 the EAPO delegation headed by President Saule Tlevlessova visited the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) in Alicante, Spain.

The key feature of the visit was the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on Bilateral Cooperation between the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and the Eurasian Patent Office of the Eurasian Patent Organization (EAPO) by EAPO President Saule Tlevlessova and the EUIPO Executive Director Christian Archambeau.

The Memorandum of Understanding lays the foundation for a partnership aimed at the development and strengthening of the two regional intellectual property offices, and defines the areas and formats of interaction between the parties at the stage of creating and establishing the Eurasian system for legal protection of industrial designs.

The cooperation between the parties will include studying the EUIPO experience in examination of applications on industrial designs and use of IT tools and technologies, providing EAPO with recommendations on the development of industrial design legal acts, training of examiners, exchange of industrial design patent and statistical information, joint participation in events for promotion of the Eurasian and European systems for industrial design protection.

The visit programme also provided for mutual sharing of information on certain aspects of the activities of the two offices. The EUIPO representatives covered in detail the activities of the EUIPO Board of Appeals, presented information on the integrated quality management system used in the Office and demonstrated the system of electronic filing of applications on industrial designs, including those containing 3D images.

During the visit EAPO President S. Tlevlessova gave an interview in which she spoke about the Eurasian Patent Organization and its member states, about the specific features and advantages of the Eurasian patent system. At the request of the European colleagues S. Tlevlessova shared her vision on the development of a regional system for legal protection of industrial designs in the Eurasian region and further cooperation in this context between EAPO and the EUIPO.

EAPO President made an entry in the Book of Honourable Guests of the EUIPO, expressing her gratitude to the European counterparts for the warm welcome and hospitality. Ms. Tlevlessova also expressed confidence that the mutually beneficial professional cooperation between the two regional offices will continue for many years.