On April 15 – 16, 2019, the 11th meeting of Heads of the intellectual property offices of the BRICS countries took place in Cape Town, South Africa. The delegation of the Eurasian Patent Office (EAPO), headed by EAPO President Saule Tlevlessova, took part in the events of the meeting in an observer capacity.

The delegations of the intellectual property offices of Brazil, India, China, the Russian Federation and South Africa congregated to review the results of joint activities within the frameworks of IP BRICS and discuss relevant issues in the field of intellectual property.

The 11th meeting of BRICS Heads of IP offices was chaired by South Africa. The chairman of the meeting, Commissioner of the Intellectual Property Office of South Africa, presented a brief report on the cooperation of countries over the past year.

Speaking at the opening of the meeting, Heads of the offices emphasized the importance of the IP BRICS format and noted that the cooperation of countries in this format is increasingly enriching with practical content year by year and produces results.

Heads of the Offices welcomed the EAPO participation in the events of the meeting and expressed a common opinion on the importance of cooperation of the IP BRICS with such international organizations as the World Intellectual Property Organization and the Eurasian Patent Office.

Addressing the meeting participants, EAPO President thanked the BRICS countries for supporting Rospatent’s initiative of inviting EAPO to cooperate, and paid tribute to the Secretariat for the excellent arrangements made for the organization of the event. President Tlevlessova also made a reference to the rich history of South Africa, the host country of the meeting.

As Ms. Tlevlessova noted, EAPO already has bilateral relations with the majority of the BRICS IP offices. In recent years, cooperation with Rospatent has significantly expanded, cooperation with the China National Intellectual Property Administration has strengthened, thanks largely to the support of Heads of these offices, representatives of EAPO participated in trainings for examiners held in India and South Africa.

EAPO President spoke about the use of the Eurasian patent system by applicants from the BRICS countries. The statistics reveals an increase of 20% in the number of applications filed with EAPO in 2018 by Russian applicants, a rapid increase in the number of applications from China in the current year and the prevalence of applications filed by Indian applicants in the current year related to the field of biotechnology and pharmaceuticals is observed. EAPO President expressed confidence that applicants from other BRICS countries, using the Eurasian patent procedure, will also be able to evaluate its amenities and advantages, and spoke about plans to popularize the Eurasian patent system in the mentioned countries.

President Tlevlessova introduced the latest significant changes in the EAPO activities, including the transition to the use of the Cooperative Patent Classification, up to 85% of applications being filed with EAPO in electronic form and the conclusion of agreements on the PPH program with a number of leading patent offices.

Concluding her speech, EAPO President expressed confidence that cooperation of the EAPO-IP BRICS will continue and evolve, and the results of the 11th meeting of the BRICS Heads of IP offices will have a great influence on future development of the intellectual property sphere.

On the margins of the meeting, EAPO President and the BRICS Heads of IP offices exchanged views on specific matters of cooperation.

Meetings of BRICS Heads of IP offices have been held since 2012. Meetings are organized by intellectual property offices in coordination with the foreign ministries of the BRICS countries. BRICS Intellectual Property Offices Cooperation Roadmap has been in force since 2013.