USPTO warns against using Rospatent for patent searches
The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has updated its guidance on interactions with Rospatent to warn applicants against using its Russian counterpart as an international patent search authority as it may compromise their application.
In an update published Tuesday, March 22, the office warned applicants against filing international applications under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) to Rospatent for prior art searching or patent examination services.
The PCT allows one international patent application to simultaneously seek protection from their invention in several countries.
Selecting Rospatent as an international searching authority or an international preliminary examining authority “may prevent successful processing” of international applications”, the office said.
This announcement follows the USPTO’s announcement earlier this month that it would no longer grant requests from Rospatent in the Global Patent Prosecution Highway in protest over the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
All pending requests granted “special status” under the fast track service prior to March 11, 2022, have had their status revoked and will no longer be treated as GPPH applications.
It also revealed that it had terminated its engagement with the Eurasian patent Organisation and the national IP office of Belarus.
Ukraine backlash
The USPTO is just one of many international IP offices that have severed ties with Rospatent.
Earlier in March, both the UK Intellectual Property Office and the European Patent Office said that they would cease all cooperation with the Russian IP office in protest of the ongoing war.
Alongside IP offices many global brands have exited Russia including McDonald's, Starbucks, Ikea and Coca-Cola.
In response, the Ministry of Economic Development said that it would suspend IP rights originating from certain “unfriendly” countries.
This led to Russian opportunists filing to register copycat McDonalds, Ikea and Instagram trademarks, although it remains unclear whether these “trademark squatting” applications will be granted by the Russian IP office.
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