EU Commission expands Russia sanctions to restrict intellectual property rights
The European Commission has updated its Russia Sanctions FAQs to clarify new restrictions on intellectual property rights (‘IPR’), as part of the EU’s 14th sanctions package.
The guidelines, implemented under Article 5s of Council Regulation 833/2014, prohibit the acceptance of IPR applications from Russian nationals or entities, directly impacting patents, trademarks and other intellectual properties registered within the EU.
The new rules instruct European authorities to ‘not accept new applications for registration’ if the applicant is a ‘Russian legal or natural person or is a natural person resident in Russia.’
Intellectual property offices are instructed to identify these applications but suspend further processing, thereby preventing any new rights from taking effect. Notably, Article 5s affects only new registrations and not the renewal of existing intellectual property rights.
The Commission has cited Russia’s recent moves to undermine EU intellectual property holders within its borders as a primary motivator for these measures. It noted that, in particular, Russian legal changes have enabled its authorities to licence patents of Union companies to Russian businesses, without the obligation to compensate the former, creating an ‘undue competitive advantage for the Russian industry.’
