!040694 Former Soviet Republics form Eurasian Patent organization EURASIAN PATENT CONVENTION INITIALED BY ELEVEN SUCCESSOR STATES OF THE SOVIET UNION In a notice received recently from the World Intellectual Property Organization [to the US Patent and Trademark Office], the following was announced: 1. On February 17, 1994, at the headquarters of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva, representatives of eleven of twelve member States of the Commonwealth of Independent States have adopted and initiated a multilateral treaty entitled "Eurasian Patent Convention". 2. The treaty establishes a new intergovernment organization called the "Eurasian Patent Organization". Once in force, the treaty will allow nationals of any country to obtain patents of invention from the Eurasian Patent Office to be set up in Moscow. Such regional (Eurasian) patents will have effect in all countries of the Eurasian patent system. 3. The Eurasian Patent Convention not only provides modalities of applying for and obtaining Eurasian patents but also for their legal effects: patented inventions can be used only with the authorization of the holders of the patents. Subject to the payment of a yearly renewal fee, any European patent can be maintained in force for 20 years. 4. The Eurasian patent system will be of enormous advantage both for local and foreign applicants. They will not have to apply for a patent separately in each country but with single application, filed in the Russian language in Moscow, they can obtain, with a single act and a single payment, patent protection in all the States members of the new system. Foreigners shall be able to apply for Eurasian patents via the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), a treaty administered by WIPO in Geneva, which allows them to postpone the translation of their applications into Russian for 20 or 30 months. 5. Any country may become a party to the Eurasian Patent Convention, provided it is a party to two WIPO-administered treaties: the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property and the Patent Cooperation Treaty. Most of the States members of the Commonwealth of Independent States already fulfill this condition. 6. The Convention, adopted in the presence of Dr. Arpad Bogsch, Director General of WIPO, was initialized by the representatives of Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Republic of Moldova, the Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. 7. The Convention is expected to be presented in the next months for formal signature to one of the regular meetings of the Heads of Governments of the Commonwealth of Independent States. Instruments of ratification will be deposited with the Director General of WIPO who, according to the terms of the Convention, has not only the role of depositor of the Convention but also the role of mediator among the member States in case of possible disputes among them concerning the interpretation and application of the Convention. 8. WIPO is mentioned in the Convention as having a permanent advisory status in the governing body ("Administrative Council") of the Eurasian Patent Organization. 9. The negotiation of the Convention took less than a year. It took place in three meetings of the Interstate Council for the Protection of Industrial Property held in Moscow in May 1993, in Uzghorod (Ukraine) in September 1993 and in Geneva in February 1994. WIPO was invited to each meeting to give advice and assist in the drafting of the Convention. The Convention reflects the contemporary trends of patent legislation and administration and is compatible with the multilateral industrial property treaties administered by WIPO and the provisions on patents contained in the TRIPS draft of GATT. ==================== In a related note, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, and Tajikistan join the PCT. The United States Patent and Trademark Office received notification from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) that Kyrgyzstan, the Republic of Moldova, and Tajikistan deposited their declarations of continuation of the application of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) on February 14, 1994. Kyrgyzstan, the Republic of Moldova, and Tajikistan became the 65th, 66th, and 67th Contracting States, respectively, of the PCT on February 14, 1994. Consequently, nationals and residents of Kyrgyzstan, the Republic of Moldova, and Tajikistan are entitled to file international applications designating and electing Kyrgyzstan (country code: KG), the Republic of Moldova (country code: MD), and Tajikistan (country code: TJ). Under PCT Regulations, applicants are afforded the possibility of requesting the extension of the effects of any international application filed on or after December 25, 1991 (the date on which the Soviet Union ceased to exist), to successor States which have made a declaration of continuation. PCT Rule 32 will allow the extension of all international applications filed between December 25, 1991, and April 14, 1994, to Kyrgyzstan, the Republic of Moldova, and Tajikistan. Applicants or their agents in respect of each international applications application concerned will receive a notification from the International Bureau of WIPO, informing them about the possibility and the applicable conditions for extending the effects of their international application to Kyrgyzstan, the Republic of Moldova, and Tajikistan. Greg Aharonian Internet Patent News Service