The delegation of the Eurasian Patent Office (EAPO), headed by EAPO President Saule Tlevlessova took part in the events in the field of intellectual property held in Chisinau, Republic of Moldova.

On September 15, 2021, the EAPO President spoke at the opening of the regional seminar “The Role of the Patent System in Addressing Public Health Problems”. The seminar was organized by the State Agency on Intellectual Property (AGEPI) with the support and participation of international and regional organizations, including the EAPO, and held in a hybrid format.

The seminar was attended by over 60 representatives of the countries of the Eurasian region: the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of Moldova, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan, the Republic of Uzbekistan, and Ukraine.

Saule Tlevlessova thanked the Republic of Moldova for long-standing professional cooperation. EAPO President outlined problematic issues related to patenting and granting the right to use patented medicines, which the current COVID-19 pandemic exposes to the Eurasian patent system.

As Saule Tlevlessova said, we saw the leading countries in the rapid creation of vaccines and testing for COVID-19, as well as the problems of providing these essential medical products to people. Shortcomings and disadvantages in legislation were identified, and the need to change norms and approaches became obvious. The pandemic forced us to take a fresh look at the issues of law enforcement of existing norms.

The solution of many of these issues within the framework of the Eurasian patent system is a promising area of joint work of the EAPO member states, taking into account the differences in national legislation and applied approaches in the countries. EAPO President cited as an example the situation with the issuance by the Government of the Russian Federation at the end of 2020 of permission to use without the consent of the owner of the inventions protected by six Eurasian patents and related to the drug “Remdesivir”.

Saule Tlevlessova spoke about the high share of applications filed with the EAPO in the field of medicine, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, as well as the annually observed increase in the level of complexity of such applications and, accordingly, the workload on the examiners of the office.

As the EAPO President noted, the protection of inventions in medicine and pharmacy is an extremely sensitive area, where the search for a balance between the interests of society and the interests of right holders is ongoing. In these conditions, the task of the patent office, along with the protection of its right holders and assistance in maintaining the necessary balance, is to motivate the applicant to create innovative medicines and provide them with reliable patent protection.

«On March, 2021, the EAPO Pharmaceutical Register as one of the mechanisms for protecting the rights of patent owners was launched», Saule Tlevlessova said. The EAPO Pharmaceutical Register – an information resource created by the EAPO that provides the widest circle of interested parties with information on the existence of exclusive rights certified by Eurasian patents for active pharmaceutical ingredients included in the list of medicinal products registered in the territory of the EAPO member states.

Aurelia Ceban, Deputy Director of the Examination Department – Head of the Division of Chemistry and Medicine of the EAPO spoke as the moderator of the section on Compulsory licensing and ensuring access to medicines.

In her report, Aurelia Ceban acquainted the participants of the seminar with the legislative framework and law enforcement practice of the countries of the Eurasian region in relation to compulsory licensing. During the subsequent discussion, participants informed about the current status, recent achievements and current legislative initiatives in the regulation of compulsory licensing at the national level, shared their views on the use of compulsory licensing mechanisms.

On September 14, 2021, EAPO representatives took part in the 11th meeting of the Interstate Council for the Legal Protection and Enforcement of Intellectual Property (MGSIS), where they got acquainted with information on the state of affairs in the field of protection of intellectual property and measures taken during the reporting period to counter offenses in this area in the EAPO member states and other CIS member states.

The meeting participants were provided with information on the preparation and implementation of a number of programs and projects coordinated by MGSIS. In particular, the progress within the framework of the Patent information product of the CIS countries released on optical discs (CISPATENT) was considered, in which the EAPO takes part.