Cooperation with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)

Cooperation with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is one of the main aspects of Rospatent’ cooperation with international organizations aimed to integrate the national legislation system of the Russian Federation in the field of intellectual property protection and enforcement into the world harmonization process of the relative national systems.
During 2008 Rospatent pursued an active participation in the activities of the basic Committees and Working Groups of WIPO. To guarantee the interests of the Russian Federation the proposals and motions of Rospatent regarding basic treaties and international documents being at present under consideration within the framework of WIPO activity, were submitted to WIPO.
The experts from Rospatent and the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation took part in two sessions of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights, devoted to the discussion of matters of protection of broadcasting organizations rights, audiovisual performances protection, and also issues of copyright limitations and exception.
With an active participation of Rospatent’ experts in the regular meetings of the Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications (SCT) the discussion of issues on areas of convergence on the representation of non-traditional marks and the areas of convergence on trademark opposition procedures was completed. The Standing Committee confirmed the areas of convergence on the above-mentioned questions and asked the Secretariat to publish two corresponding documents and bring those documents to the attention of the WIPO Assemblies.
On the result of the discussion relating to the industrial designs issues it was agreed to prepare a working document which would identify possible areas for convergence on industrial design law and practice of the SCT Members.
Furthermore, the Assembly of the Paris Union in September 2008 approved the decision recommended by the Standing Committee to modernize the communication procedures under Article 6ter of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property with regard to introduction of the periodical system of electronic publication of Article 6ter communications instead of current paper publication taking into consideration the up-to-date means of communication.
Within the framework of participation in the 12th and 13th sessions of the WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on the Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (WIPO/GRTKF) in 2008 Rospatent prepared comments to the documents that are under discussion at the Committee, made a report on the measures taken in the Russian Federation and activities held by governmental organizations aimed to preserve the traditional culture of peoples of the Russian Federation. Proposals of the delegation of the Russian Federation among the proposals from the other countries served as a basis to develop revised provisions of documents subject to further analysis by the Member-States of the Committee.
Moreover, in the framework of the Committee, Rospatent participated in the work of specially established Advisory Council aimed to work out recommendations on financing for the work of the representatives of indigenous and local communities in the Committee out of the Voluntary fund established for this purpose.
The specialists of Rospatent took part in the 10th session of the Standards and Documentation Working Group of the Standing Committee on Information Technologies of WIPO, where a revised WIPO Standard ST.22 “Patent applications typed in OCR Format” was adopted.
Also the issues on the revision of Standard ST.10/C “Presentation of bibliographic data components”, development of XML standards, and also update of the contests of WIPO Handbook on Industrial Property Information and Documentation were under discussion.
The delegation of the Russian Federation took an active part in the 45th series of the Assemblies of the Member-States of WIPO held in September 22-30, 2008 at Geneva.
The General Assembly of WIPO unanimously appointed on September 22, 2008, Mr. Francis Gurry, a national of Australia, as Director General of WIPO for a six-year term that begins on October 1, 2008 and runs through September 2014.
The Russian delegation headed by Dr. Boris Simonov, Director General of Rospatent, took an active part in the discussion of the Agenda items in the format of both official and unofficial meetings and negotiations of all interested participants of the Assemblies, and also of the Group of Central Asian, Caucasus and Eastern European countries coordinated by the Russian Federation in 2008. The active position of the Russian delegation at the regional meetings on the majority of questions had an impact on the position building of the whole regional group that reflected subsequently in its speech as a coordinator at the official meetings, and also at the appearances of the delegations from the CIS countries.
Decisions taken at the meetings of the Assemblies, in whole, reflect an official position of the delegation of the Russian Federation on the Agenda items and aimed at further developing and improving of the Organization and strengthening of the role of the intellectual property in the world.
In the reporting year Rospatent’s representatives jointly with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation participated in the 1-st and 2-d sessions of the WIPO Committee on Development and Intellectual Property in the course of which the program on implementation of the 45 related to a WIPO Development Agenda recommendations adopted by the General Assembly in 2007 was under detailed consideration.
The amendments in respect of carrying out the additional international search were introduced into the Agreement between Rospatent and the International Bureau of WIPO in Relation to the Functioning of Rospatent as an International Searching Authority and the International Preliminary Examining Authority under Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).
Taking into consideration the interest of the applicants and potential rightholders to the subject of the seminars on the issues of more effective implementation of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) and Madrid System of International Registration of Marks in 2008 in cooperation with WIPO the regional seminars were continued to be held in Russian cities (2 PCT seminars and 1 seminar on Madrid System of International Registration of Marks).
Rospatent continued its active cooperation with WIPO on the issues of personnel training in the intellectual property field. Thus, in 2008 the negotiations on the revision of the Agreement between Rospatent and WIPO managing this cooperation were started. The Draft Agreement assumes the continuation of mutual activities with regard to the projects already started, for instance, management of the distance learning course DL-101 “General Course on Intellectual Property” in Russian, and also expansion of cooperation within the framework of other existing projects of the WIPO Worldwide Academy.
As a first step aimed to organize a regional international training centre on intellectual property on the basis of the Russian State Educational Institute of Intellectual Property (RGIIS) RGIIS joined the Global Network of IP Academies organized under the auspices of WIPO.
In 2008 Rospatent in cooperation with proper executive authorities participated in the work on implementation of intrastate procedure of accession of the Russian Federation to the Patent Law Treaty (PLT).
In 2008 the procedure of coordination with the corresponding executive authorities to implement intrastate procedure of ratification of the Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks by the Russian Federation was continued. At the meeting of the Government of the Russian Federation on December 15, 2008 the decision to approve the Draft Federal Law “On Ratification of the Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks” and to introduce it in accordance with established procedure to the State Duma of the Russian Federation was taken.
The Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks harmonizes and simplifies procedural aspects of trademark registration and licensing in the offices of the Contracting parties enabling both applicant and rightholder and trademark office to take advantage of efficiencies in using modern communications technologies to process and manage evolving trademark rights.
In 2008 the intrastate procedures on the accession of the Russian Federation to the WIPO Copyright Treaty and WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (Order of the Government of the Russian Federation of July 14, 2008 № 998-р and Order of the Government of the Russian Federation of July 21, 2008 № 1052-р) were performed. The notifications on the accession of the Russian Federation to the above-mentioned treaties were submitted to the Director General of WIPO on November 05, 2008. The WIPO Copyright Treaty and WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty will enter into force with respect to the Russian Federation on the expiry of three months from the moment of disposal of the instrument of accession.


Mr. Samir Rahman
On & in behalf of
Patent and Law firm ‘IPPro’