MOSCOW, September 26 (RAPSI). A unitary Eurasian Patent Court may be established in the near future, said Grigory Ivliev, President of the Eurasian Patent Office of the Eurasian Patent Organization (EAPO).

“We hope that this process will be completed soon because a Eurasian Patent Court is necessary not only for intellectual property but also for many other economic relations that are regulated either by the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) or by international agreements. Therefore, the establishment of a unitary Court is a very important issue that will be settled in the near future,” noted Grigory Ivliev during the Scientific and Practical Conference “Formation of specialized IP judiciary” to mark the 10th anniversary of the Court of Intellectual Property Rights.

Mr. Ivliev claims that the specialists have already thoroughly studied this issue. At the same time, he noted that the EAPO currently includes eight states. Each of these states has an independent national judicial system, “so diplomatic efforts, harmonization of approaches and legal formation of a common ground will take a while”.

Plenipotentiary representatives of the EAPO Member States realize that we are in a different age now, age of digitalization and transformation. Despite political and social turbulence, markets are becoming more global, cross-border, and rapidly changing, so national IP dispute resolution mechanisms are not enough.

The establishment of a unitary Eurasian Patent Court will provide businesses with a convenient tool to protect their interests, for example by challenging decisions of the Eurasian Patent Office.

Nowadays, businesses, whichever litigant they are, have to contest or defend Eurasian patents in each of the national jurisdictions where the Eurasian patent is valid. It includes significant expenses for representation and translations, as well as lengthy deadlines that can be extended over years,” stated Mr. Ivliev.

Following the establishment of a unitary Court, businesses will have a convenient option to assert their rights and interests in the Eurasian space based on Single Window approach, as well as the possibility to contest decisions of the Eurasian Patent Office, including refusals to grant a patent. For example, currently, such a refusal cannot be contested anywhere. It is impossible to appeal a refusal to grant a Eurasian patent. The rights of both businesses and the inventive community are seriously infringed here, and this should not be the case.

“I am sure that the implementation of this provision will facilitate the work of national judicial systems and harmonize cooperation between the regional system of intellectual property protection and national patent systems. So, perhaps, we will create a Eurasian system sooner than stated in our program,” said Grigory Ivliev.

Source.