russian officials are preparing to nationalise the patents of companies that have left russia due to the war

russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak announced the development of a mechanism that will make this possible. "Currently, the Ministry [of Economic Development] and Rospatent are working on the creation of a mechanism for the temporary management of the intellectual property rights of such companies, with a temporary administrator who will ensure the protection of violated rights and issue licences to manufacturers who will be able to produce the products necessary for our market," Novak said (quoted by Kommersant).

Rospatent head Yuri Zubov noted that the new mechanism is planned to be presented closer to the middle of the year. The Ministry of Economic Development clarified that industry agencies and business associations are also participating in the work on it. The initiative arose because many companies from ‘unfriendly’ countries re-registered their trademarks in russia, submitting numerous so-called blocking applications last year, which do not allow the registration of a similar trademark even after the cancellation of old trademarks, noted Sergey Zuykov, managing partner of Zuykov & Partners. At the same time, the expert called the mechanism proposed by the russian authorities ‘the complete opposite’ of the ban introduced by the European Union after the start of the invasion of Ukraine on actions involving the intellectual property of russian companies and individuals. ‘Instead of refusing to protect rights, we will dispose of rights and transfer them for use to certain persons,’ Zuykov concluded.

The initiative under discussion is a direct continuation of russian President Vladimir Putin's decree No. 430 of 20 May 2024 (introducing a procedure for acquiring exclusive rights from rights holders from ‘unfriendly’ countries), says Lidings senior lawyer Anna Kuminova. She suggested that the new mechanism would be a simplified version of compulsory licensing, whereby a special state organisation would issue short-term licences without the consent of the rights holder. ‘It should be understood that the existence of such a mechanism may be a significant factor deterring foreign companies from returning to the russian market,’ the lawyer warned.

Source: The Moscow Times