On January 30 – 31, 2018 the second meeting of the Working Group (WG) on creation of Eurasian Industrial Designs Legal Protection System was held at the headquarters of the Eurasian Patent Organization (EAPO).

Representatives of all the eight member states of the Eurasian Patent Convention from Kyrgyz Republic, Republic of Armenia, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Belarus, Republic of Kazakhstan, Republic of Tajikistan, Russian Federation and Turkmenistan, as well as the World Intellectual Property Organization and EAPO experts participated in the working process.

In the opening remarks EAPO President Ms. Tlevlessova welcomed the WG members and the meeting participants and highlighted the importance of the task of the WG to establish legal basis for protection of industrial designs in the Eurasian region taking into account the existing experience of several member states in the procedure of accession to the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs.

The main item on the agenda was the discussion of the provisions of the Draft Protocol on the Protection of Industrial Designs to the Eurasian Patent Convention of September 9, 1994 (hereinafter referred to as the Draft Protocol).

The Draft Protocol envisages that the Eurasian system of legal protection of industrial designs will be structurally created on the basis of the Eurasian patent system by expanding its functions. The concept of the said Eurasian system is based on the principle of compatibility of the future system with the Hague system.

The draft Protocol includes only the principal substantive and procedural rules of regional law. The further specification of the rules is assumed to be reflected in the Patent Regulations, the Regulations on Fees and other normative legal acts of the EAPO.

Resuming the meeting, the Working Group decided to finalize the Draft Protocol with due consideration of the remarks and suggestions from the member states, and to work out and submit proposals regarding the reserved positions after clearance of the Draft Protocol in their respective countries.