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Intellectual Property |
Legislative and practical issues
Intellectual property and copyright relationships are governed in the Russian Federation by the following main documents:
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Civil Code, Part IV, introduced on 18 December 2006 by Law # 230FZ, which replaced a number of different laws and regulations. |
Moreover, because the Russian Federation is party to international conventions concerning copyright and trade law relations, the international regulation of intellectual property is applied, namely:
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World Convention "On Copyright Law" of 1952
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Berne Convention for "The protection of literary and artistic works" of 1886
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International Convention for "The protection of performers, producers of phonograms and broadcasting organizations" (Rome Convention, 1961)
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Geneva Convention for "The protection of producers of phonograms against unauthorized duplication of their phonograms" of 1971
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Agreement "On cooperation in copyright and contiguous rights' protection" of 1993 |
The owner of intellectual property rights may use protection of his rights provided by Russian and international legislation only if he is the legal owner and his rights are recorded.
Inventions, utility models and design are protected by patents. The application for a patent to the Russian Trademark Office implies certain legal consequences. On one hand, a patent is a prime advantage for its holder since it provides exclusive rights. On the other hand, the patenting of an invention is reasonable only if its author is sure that that the invention will find its place on the market and will be competitive. Otherwise, there are other ways of invention protection such as, for instance, keeping this invention a commercial secret.
Trademarks and service marks function as a kind of advertisement which help to distinguish goods and services among many others. Trademarks and service marks are protected by a certificate of registration issued by the Russian Trademark Office.
Patents and certificates issued by the Russian Trademark Office protect the interests of their holders on the territory of the Russian Federation. For legal protection of inventions and trademarks on the international market the owner of inventions, trademarks, service marks, utility models, design, commercial labels or business names should apply to the national Trademark Office of those states where the business activity is likely to be conducted.
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