Eurasian Industrial Design Applications and Patents

Eurasian Industrial Design Applications. Dynamics, Geography, and Product Areas of Applications Received

In 2022, the number of applications received and the number of industrial designs claimed for registration doubled and amounted to 233 Eurasian applications for 639 industrial designs (in 2021, there were 92 applications for 190 industrial designs received).

The geographic scope of Eurasian industrial design applications expanded.

In 2021, applications were received from nine countries, whereas in 2022, applications were received from seventeen countries.

The number of applications from the EAPO member states doubled.

The total number of Eurasian industrial design applications from the EAPO member states amounted to: 182 Eurasian applications for 414 industrial designs (in 2021, there were 77 applications for 110 industrial designs received).

Among them, applicants from the Russian Federation filed 155 applications for 352 industrial designs, applicants from the Republic of Belarus filed 22 applications for 54 industrial designs, applicants from the Republic of Kazakhstan filed 4 applications for 7 industrial designs, and applicants from the Republic of Azerbaijan filed 1 application for 1 industrial design.

The total number of Eurasian industrial design applications filed by applicants from non-member states of the EAPO amounted to: 51 Eurasian applications for 225 industrial designs (in 2021, there were 15 applications for 80 industrial designs received).

Among them, applicants from the United States of America filed 21 applications for 105 industrial designs; applicants from Germany filed 10 applications for 33 industrial designs; applicants from Finland filed 4 applications for 19 industrial designs; applicants from Japan filed 1 application for 12 industrial designs; applicants from Poland filed 2 applications for 8 industrial designs; applicants from Turkey filed 2 applications for 3 industrial designs; applicants from Bulgaria filed 1 application for 3 industrial designs; applicants from China filed 1 application for 1 industrial design; applicants from Hong Kong filed 1 application for 1 industrial design; applicants from Italy filed 1 application for 3 industrial designs; applicants from Canada filed 4 applications for 15 industrial designs; applicants from Great Britain filed 1 application for 1 industrial design; and applicants from Switzerland filed 2 applications for 21 industrial designs.

The year 2022 also saw the expansion of the list of products whose appearances were submitted for Eurasian industrial design patents.

Whereas in 2021, Eurasian applications were filed for industrial designs falling into seventeen classes of the International Classification for Industrial Designs (ICID), in 2022, applications were received for industrial designs falling into twenty-five classes of the ICID.

The largest numbers of industrial designs were claimed in the following classes of the ICID:

Class 9 (Packaging and containers for the transport or handling of goods)

Class 25 (Building units and construction elements)

Class 12 (Means of transport or hoisting)

Class 24 (Medical and laboratory equipment)

Class 15 (Machines, not elsewhere specified).

Applicants are increasingly interested in using one particular feature of the Eurasian industrial design patenting system, the possibility of combining several industrial designs belonging to the same ICID class (up to 100 industrial designs) into a single Eurasian application. In this, the system does not require that there be a single inventive concept in such industrial designs, which significantly simplifies their integration into a single application.

Whereas in 2021, the number of industrial designs claimed amounted to double the number of Eurasian industrial design applications, in 2022, the number of industrial designs claimed amounted to triple the number of applications filed.

Eurasian Industrial Design Patents. Industrial Design Registration Dynamics

In 2022, the number of patents granted and industrial designs registered increased more than twenty-fold and amounted to 148 Eurasian patents for 419 industrial designs (in 2021, there were 7 patents granted for 16 industrial designs).

In 2022, representatives of 11 states became the holders of Eurasian industrial design patents, including representatives of 3 States party to the Protocol.

In 2022, applicants from States party to the Protocol were granted 105 Eurasian industrial design patents (70.95 per cent), while applicants from States not party to the Protocol were granted 43 Eurasian patents (29.05 per cent).

In 2022, the majority of Eurasian industrial design patents were received by applicants from the Russian Federation: 92 patents, or 62.16 per cent of all patents granted.

Diagram 2 shows the distribution of Eurasian industrial design patents granted in 2022 by the patent owners’ country of residence.

In 2022, the Patent Office of the Russian Federation registered the first licensing agreement concerning a Eurasian industrial design patent.

Access to Information on Industrial Designs Received and Registered

The Eurasian industrial design patenting system provides for the mandatory publication of all Eurasian industrial design applications for which preliminary examination has been completed with a positive result.

In 2022, the process of industrial design search has been optimized thanks to growing interest in the regional industrial design registration system and to the increase in the number of Eurasian industrial design applications and patents published in the information resources of the Eurasian Patent Office.

Whereas in 2021, it was necessary to view every tab in the general list of applications and patents published in the Eurasian Patent Office’s information resources (the EAPO Gazette “Industrial Designs (Eurasian Applications and Patents)” or Eurasian Publication Server) in order to search for industrial designs, in 2022, it became possible to search and group the necessary industrial designs based on various search criteria.

Popularization of the Eurasian System for the Legal Protection of Industrial Designs

In order to increase the interest of commodity producers, entrepreneurs, designers, and IT specialists in the Eurasian system for the legal protection of industrial designs, in 2022, experts of the Eurasian Patent Office held various in-person and on-line events, including workshops, webinars, seminars, and round tables.

To promote the regional mechanism for the legal protection of industrial designs, representatives of the Eurasian Patent Office attended more than fifteen events, where they introduced the public to presentation materials, reports, and practical cases regarding features of the Eurasian industrial design patent system.

In particular, the possibility of patenting industrial designs at the regional level was presented to:

manufacturers of handicraft items (at the Forum of Creative Territories, organized by the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation and the Government of Nizhny Novgorod Region)

designers (at the Fashion and Design Industry and Intellectual Property Round Table at Patent Congress—2022, organized by the Russian National Group AIPPI)

IT developers (at the Management of Rights to IP Assets in the Digital Economy webinar of the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics)

representatives and stakeholders in creative industries and the digital economy (at the Industrial Design Unity—Changing Approaches. Examination VS Opposition expert session of the Distant & Digital International Educational Conference, IP Academy and Skolkovo LegalTech)

entrepreneurs, consumers, experts in the protection of intellectual property rights, and students (at the round tables and seminars of the Russian State Academy of Intellectual Property (RSAIP), the workshop of the Atameken National Chamber of Entrepreneurs (Republic of Kazakhstan), the "Intellectual Potential of Russia: Legal and Resource Support" International Conference, the "Intellectual Property in Belarus. NCIP—30 Years" Forum (Republic of Belarus), the "Intellectual Rights: 21st Century Challenges" International Scientific and Practical Conference (Russian Federation), and a series of other topical events).

Following the first year of operation of the regional industrial design registration system, Eurasian Patent Office examiners shared their experience and discussed the most debatable issues with colleagues from the national patent offices of the EAPO member states. In 2022, the Eurasian Patent Office held its first internship for examiners from the national patent offices on the Examination of Eurasian Industrial Design Applications.

The internship was attended by almost two dozen examiners from the national patent offices of all eight States party to the EAPC. Representatives of the Eurasian Patent Office, the Faculty of Law of RSAIP, the Hague Register of the WIPO, and the law firm Gorodissky and Partners spoke to the internship participants. Employees of the Federal Institute of Industrial Property of the Russian Federation (FIPS) shared their experience with applications for industrial designs including 3D models.

During the internship, examiners of the Eurasian Patent Office and the national IP offices thoroughly discussed the details of proceeding with Eurasian industrial design applications and patents, presented one another with brief overviews of the national industrial design patenting systems and information on the business practices of Eurasian patent attorneys with the regional patent office, and also had a meaningful discussion on the prospects for the development of the protection of industrial designs for which 3D visualization models are used.

In 2022, examiners of the Eurasian Patent Office also completed an internship at FIPS, as part of which they learned the Russian industrial design registration system in detail and discussed the practical aspects of work with Eurasian industrial design applications.