Annual Report 2019
PRESIDENT'S FOREWORD
We can rightly refer to the year of 2019 as a breakthrough year that paved a way for EAPO to cover new IP rights, new opportunities and a new level of quality.
The Protocol on the Protection of Industrial Designs to the Eurasian Patent Convention adopted exactly twenty-five years after the signing of the Eurasian Patent Convention inaugurated a new era for EAPO, laid the foundation of a regional system of legal protection of industrial designs and made it possible for the first Eurasian design patent to be issued in the near future.
MAIN ACHIEVEMENTS
In 2019, the Eurasian Patent Office streamlined its process management to reduce the processing period for applications. Compared to 2018, the average pendency between the acceptance date of the application for substantive examination and the date of the first notice of the examination was reduced by 28 days on average and now amounts to 330 days. Between 2016 and 2019 this period has been reduced by 122 days.
On January 1, 2019, EAPO launched the procedure for classification of patent documents according to the Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) and the use of the CPC as an internal classification system along with the International Patent Classification (IPC).
To facilitate reduction of the publication periods the Office completed three projects – the early preparation of descriptions for publication, instant publication of information on the Eurasian applications filed and on the Eurasian patents granted, as well as the reception of application materials in character-coded (DOCX) format.
In 2019, 83 per cent of Eurasian applications were filed in electronic form via the EAPO-online system.
ACTIVITIES OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE COUNCIL
In 2019, the Eurasian Patent Organization’s Administrative Council (EAPO AC) held its thirty-fifth (twenty-sixth ordinary) meeting, while the EAPO AC Budget Working Group held its twenty-fourth meeting. A significant resolution of the EAPO Administrative Council under Article 20 of the EAPC was the decision to authorize EAPO to request the status of an International Searching and International Preliminary Examining Authority under the Patent Cooperation Treaty.
REGULATORY ACTIVITIES
The EAPO legal reform in 2019 was carried out in various directions, particularly, those that were due to the priority tasks set for EAPO. Undoubtedly, EAPO's greatest accomplishment in the sphere of normative policy is the adoption of the Industrial Designs Protocol to the EAPC.
3,482 patent applications filed with the Eurasian Patent Office in 2019.
3482
57354
Since 1996 through 2019 inclusive, overall 57,354 Eurasian applications were filed.
In 2019 Eurasian Office granted 2,697 patents.
2697
34128
The grand total for 1996 through 2019 reached 34,128 Eurasian patent grants.
EURASIAN PATENT EXAMINATION
The year 2019 saw 464 applications filed directly with the Eurasian Patent Office, which accounts for 13.3 per cent of overall Eurasian application filings during the year. The national IP offices of the EAPC Contracting States channeled 437 applications in 2019, or 12.6 per cent of the total amount of Eurasian applications filed.
International applications accounted for the bulk of Eurasian applications in 2019 totalling to 2,581 applications, or 74.1 per cent of all the applications filed.
As of December 31, 2019, the total of the Eurasian patents in force in the territory of the EAPC Contracting States and the Republic of Moldova reached 16,686 patents.
In conformity with national laws of those EAPC Contracting States, as well as of the Republic of Moldova, which provide for additional legal protection for products requiring special permission for application, the validity of 35 Eurasian patents was extended during the period under review.
OPPOSITIONS AND APPEALS
The rate of the appealed decisions of refusal to grant Eurasian patent constitutes 11.1 per cent of the total amount of such decisions taken in 2019. This roughly corresponds to the figures regarding similar appeals in 2018.
Furthermore, the general trend of recent years shows stability with regard to relatively low number of oppositions received by EAPO under the administrative revocation procedure (0.1 per cent of the total amount of patents granted over the year).
DEVELOPMENT OF AUTOMATION
The main priorities of 2019 for EAPO with regard to automation and informatization were reducing the period of grant and publication of the Eurasian patents, transition to instant publication of descriptions of the Eurasian applications and patents, notifications on the change of their legal status, expanding the options and scope of electronic interaction with the users of the Eurasian patent system, as well as developing patent search tools and expanding searchable documents collections.
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
EAPO celebrated the 25th anniversary of signing the EAPC on September 9, 2019. The highlight of the day was the Diplomatic Conference on the Adoption of the Protocol on the Protection of Industrial Designs held in Nur-Sultan, Republic of Kazakhstan.
The reporting year also saw the first Eurasian Inventor Award and the Eurasian Patent Universiade “Advancing the Future”. This competition is aimed at promotion of inventive activities in the Eurasian region and raising awareness in intellectual property.
FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
For managing its finance the Eurasian Patent Organization relied on the EAPC, the Financial Regulations under EAPC and the effective law of the host country of EAPO headquarters.
EURASIAN PATENT ATTORNEYS
EAPO focuses greatly on the development of the institution of Eurasian patent attorneys and cooperation with patent attorneys of EAPC Contracting States.
Registration of the 500th patent attorney in the Register of Eurasian Patent Attorneys became an important milestone in 2019.