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The states party to this Convention (hereinafter
referred to as "the Contracting States") represented by Governments,
Desiring Desiring to strengthen cooperation in the field
of the protection of inventions,
Striving Striving to establish an interstate system for
obtaining such protection on the basis of a common patent having legal effect on the
territory of all the Contracting States,
Desiring Desiring to conclude, for this purpose, a
Convention which constitutes a special agreement within the meaning of Article 19 of the
Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property of March 20, 1883, and a
regional patent agreement within the meaning of Article 45(1) of the Patent Cooperation
Treaty of June 19, 1970,
Have agreed Have agreed as follows:
Part I. The Eurasian Patent System
Article 1
Establishment of the Eurasian Patent System
(1) The Contracting States, maintaining their complete
sovereignty to develop their national systems for protection of inventions, hereby
establish a Eurasian Patent System.
(2) No provision of this Convention shall be interpreted
as diminishing the rights under the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial
Property of any national or resident of any country party to the Paris Convention.
page top Part II. The Eurasian Patent Organization
Article 2
Establishment of the EurasianPatent Organization
(1) The Eurasian Patent Organization (hereinafter
referred to as "the Organization") is established in order to administer the
functioning of the Eurasian Patent System and the grant of Eurasian patents.
(2) All Contracting States shall be members of the
Organization.
(3) The organs of the Organization are the
Administrative Council and the Eurasian Patent Office (hereinafter referred to as "the
Eurasian Office").
(4) The Eurasian Office is headed by the President who
is the chief executive of the Organization and represents the Organization.
(5) The Organization is an intergovernmental
organization having the status of legal entity. The Organization shall, in each
Contracting States, enjoy the legal capacity attributed to legal entities in conformity
with the national law of that State. The Organization may acquire or dispose of movable
property or real estate and may defend its rights in court. The headquarters of the
Organization shall be at Moscow, Russian Federation.
(6) The official language of the Organization shall be
Russian.
(7) The Organization, the plenipotentiary
representatives of the Contracting States and their deputies, the staff of the Eurasian
Office and other persons engaged in carrying out the tasks of the Organization shall enjoy
on the territory of every Contracting States the rights, the privileges and immunities
granted by such Contracting States to any other international organization and its staff,
and on the territory of the Russian Federation also regulated by the special headquarters
agreement of the Organization concluded between the Organization and the Government of the
Russian Federation.
Article 3
Administrative Council
(1) Each Contracting State shall be represented in the
Administrative Council. Each Contracting State shall have one vote in the Administrative
Council. Two-thirds of the Contracting States shall constitute a quorum. Decisions shall
be made by consensus or, failing that, by a simple majority of the voting plenipotentiary
representatives of the Contracting States, with the exception of those cases where this
Convention requires unanimity or a majority of two-thirds of the votes cast.
(2) The Administrative Council shall meet in ordinary
sessions in each calendar year and in extraordinary session on the initiative of at least
three Contracting States, the Chairman of the Administrative Council or the President of
the Eurasian Office. The sessions shall be convened by the President of the Eurasian
Office.
(3) The Administrative Council shall
(i) adopt its own Rules of Procedure;
(ii) elect the Chairman of the Administrative Council
for a renewable term of two years;
(iii) appoint the President of the Eurasian Office for a
renewable term of six years; the conditions of appointment shall be fixed in a contract
between the Organization and the future President;
(iv) give advice to the President of the Eurasian Office
in respect of the appointment, by the President, of Vice Presidents of the Eurasian
Office;
(v) approve the headquarters agreement of the
Organization concluded by the Organization with the Government of the Russian Federation;
(vi) approve agreements concluded by the Organization
with States and international organizations;
(vii) adopt by a majority of two thirds the Patent
Regulations, the Financial Regulations, and the Administrative Regulations;
(viii) establish by a majority of two-thirds the yearly
budget, examine the yearly report and approve the yearly accounts of the Organization;
(ix) take any other action aimed at performing the tasks
of the Organization.
(4) The World Intellectual Property Organization
(hereinafter referred to as "WIPO") shall be represented at the meetings of the
Administrative Council in an advisory capacity in conformity with the provisions of an
agreement concluded between the Organization and WIPO.
Article 4
Eurasian Office
(1) The Eurasian Office shall carry out all
administrative tasks of the Organization. It shall be the secretariat of the Organization.
(2) The President of the Eurasian Office shall determine
its structure and shall appoint the staff. He may participate in all meetings of the
Administrative Council.
(3) Each Contracting State shall have its quota in
respect of the staff of the Eurasian Office, which shall be determined in the
Administrative Regulations.
(4) The Eurasian Office shall be located at Moscow,
Russian Federation.
Article 5
Finances
(1) The Organization shall be self-supporting in that
its expenses shall be covered from fees and other income earned by it. No Contracting
State shall be obliged to pay contributions to the Organization.
(2) The budget of the Organization shall be financed
from the following sources:
(i) the proceeds from fees and charges for services
rendered by the Eurasian Office;
(ii) the proceeds from the publishing activities of the
Eurasian Office;
(iii) gifts, bequests and subventions given to the
Organization;
(iv) rents, interests and other miscellaneous income of
the Organization.
(3) Any excess of income of the Organization over its
expenditure shall be used for the development of the Eurasian Office.
(4) In the headquarters agreement of the Organization
referred to in Article 3(3)(v), it shall be provided that, whenever the financial means of
the Organization are insufficient for its activities, the Russian Federation shall grant
advances to the Organization. The amount of those advances and the conditions on which
they are granted shall be the subject of separate agreements, in each case, between the
Organization and the Government of the Russian Federation.
page top Part III. Substantive Patent Law
Article 6
Patentable Inventions
The Eurasian Office shall grant a Eurasian patent for
any invention that is new, involves an inventive step and is industrially applicable.
Article 7
Persons Entitled to a Eurasian Patent
(1) The right to a Eurasian patent shall belong to the
inventor or his successor in title. Where the inventor is an employee, the right to a
Eurasian patent shall be determined in accordance with the law of the State in which the
employee is mainly employed; if the State in which the employee is mainly employed cannot
be determined, the law to be applied shall be that of the State in which the employer has
a place of business to which the employee is attached.
(2) For the purposes of proceedings before the Eurasian
Office, the applicant shall be deemed to be entitled to the Eurasian patent.
Article 8
Right of Priority
The right of priority shall be recognized in conformity
with the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.
Article 9
Patent Rights
(1) The owner of a Eurasian patent shall have the
exclusive right to use, and also to authorize the use or prohibit others from using, the
patented invention.
(2) The owner of a Eurasian patent may assign or license
his rights.
(3) After an application for the grant of a Eurasian
patent (hereinafter referred to as "the Eurasian application") has been published, the
applicant shall enjoy provisional protection in conformity with the national legislation
of the Contracting States.
Article 10
Extent of Legal Protection
The extent of the legal protection conferred by a
Eurasian patent shall be determined by the claims. The description and drawings shall
serve only to interpret the claims.
Article 11
Term of Eurasian Patent
The term of a Eurasian patent shall be 20 years from the
filing date of the Eurasian application.
Article 12
Compulsory Licenses
(1) Compulsory licenses for the use of a Eurasian
[patent by third parties may be granted in conformity with the Paris Convention for the
Protection of Industrial Property by the competent authority of a Contracting State with
effect in the territory of that State.
(2) A decision to grant a compulsory license may be
contested in the courts or other competent authorities of the contracting State in the
territory of which the compulsory license has been granted.
Article 13
Validity of Eurasian Patent and Enforcement of Rights
(1) Any dispute arising from the validity, in a given
Contracting State, or the infringement, in a given Contracting State, of a Eurasian patent
shall be resolved by the national courts or other competent authorities of that State on
the basis of this Convention and the Patent Regulations. The decision shall have effect
only in the territory of the Contracting State.
(2) Each Contracting State shall, in the case of
infringement of a Eurasian patent, provide for the same civil or other liability as in the
case of a national patent.
(3) Any national court or other competent authority of a
Contracting State may require that the plaintiff furnish to it a translation of the
Eurasian patent in the state language of the Contracting State.
Article 14
Patent Regulations. Substantive Provisions
The Patent regulations shall provide for the details
concerning substantive patent law, and in particular the following:
(i) the definition of the criteria of patentability of
an invention, including the definition of novelty, inventive step and industrial
applicability, and the requirement of the disclosure of the invention,
(ii) disclosures that do not affect the patentability of
the invention,
(iii) the requirement of unity of invention,
(iv) the definition and effects of the right of
priority,
(v) the definition of the exclusive right in the
patented invention,
(vi) the right of the prior user,
(vii) the interpretation of the claims,
(viii) the right of the inventor to be mentioned in the
Eurasian application and Eurasian patent,
(ix) the assignment and other transfer of the right to a
Eurasian application or patent,
(x) the confidentiality in processing Eurasian
applications.
page top Part IV. Procedural Patent Law
Article 15
Eurasian Application and Grant of the Eurasian Patent
(1) The Eurasian application may be filed:
(i) with the Eurasian Office subject to subparagraph
(ii) of this Article;
(ii) in the case of an applicant from a Contracting
State, the Eurasian application shall be filed through the national Patent Office of that
State (hereinafter referred to as "the national Office"), where provided in the
legislation of the Contracting State. The Eurasian application filed through a national
Office shall have the same effect as if it had been filed with the Eurasian Office on the
same date, provided that it is transmitted to the Eurasian Office within the time limit
prescribed in the Patent Regulations. The national Office shall verify the compliance of
the application with the requirements prescribed by this Convention and the Patent
Regulations with regard to the examination as to form of the Eurasian application and,
where the examination finding is that the application complies with the said requirements,
it shall transmit the application to the Eurasian Office for further processing.
(2) Where the Eurasian application is filed with the
Eurasian Office, a unitary procedural fee for filing, search, publication and other
processing shall be payable to that Office at the time of filing. Where the Eurasian
application is filed through a national Office, a fee shall be payable to the national
Office at the time of the filing for examination as to form and transmittal of the
application, whereas the unitary procedural fee shall be payable to the Eurasian Office at
the time of the transmittal of the Eurasian application to that Office.
(3) The Eurasian Office shall verify the compliance of
the Eurasian application with the requirements prescribed by this Convention and the
Patent Regulations with regard to the examination as to form and shall carry out a search
in relation to the said application. The search shall result in a search report which
shall be forwarded to the applicant.
(4) The Eurasian Office shall publish the Eurasian
application together with the search report promptly after the expiry of 18 months from
the filing date or, where priority is claimed, from the priority date. At the request of
the applicant, the Eurasian Office shall publish the Eurasian application earlier. In that
case, the search report will be published separately as soon as it is available.
(5) At the request of the applicant, to be filed with
the Eurasian Office before the expiry of six months from the date of publication of the
search report, the Eurasian Office shall carry out the substantive examination of the
Eurasian application.
(6) The filing of the request referred to in paragraph
(5) of this Article shall be subject to the payment of an examination fee to the Eurasian
Office.
(7) The decision to grant a Eurasian patent or reject
the Eurasian application shall be made, on behalf of the Eurasian Office, by collegia
composed of three examiners each, who shall be staff members of the Eurasian Office and,
unless otherwise decided by the unanimous decision of the Administrative Council,
nationals of different Contracting States.
(8) Where the applicant disagrees with the decision of
the Eurasian Office to refuse the grant of a Eurasian patent, he may, within three months
following the date of receipt of the notice of refusal, lodge an appeal with the Office
which shall be examined by a collegium of the Eurasian Office to be composed in conformity
with paragraph (7) of this Article. The collegium shall include at least two examiners who
did not participate in the taking of the decision on the subject matter of the said
appeal.
(9) The lodging of the appeal referred to in paragraph
(8) of this Article shall be subject to the payment of a fee to the Eurasian Office.
(10) The grant of a Eurasian patent shall be subject to
the payment of a fee to the Eurasian Office within three months after the date on which
the applicant receives notice from the Eurasian Office that it is ready to grant the
Eurasian patent.
(11) Subject to the provisions of Article 17, a Eurasian
patent shall have effect on the territory of all Contracting States from the date of its
publication.
(12) Any person who has the right to be a representative
before the national Office of a Contracting State and who is registered with the Eurasian
Office as a patent agent may act as representative before the Eurasian Office. Where the
applicant does not have his residence or principal place of business in the territory of
any Contracting State, he shall be required to be represented by such a patent agent.
Persons having their residence or principal place of business in the territory of any
Contracting State may file Eurasian applications and act in all proceedings before the
Eurasian Office, either personally or through patent agents or through representatives who
are not patent agents.
Article 16
Conversion of Eurasian Applications
Into National Patent Applications
(1) Before the expiry of six months from the date on
which the applicant receives notice of the Eurasian Office's refusal to grant a Eurasian
patent or of its refusal to allow an appeal lodged in accordance with Article 15(8), the
applicant may file a request with the Eurasian Office designating those Contracting States
in which he wishes to obtain national patents according to the national procedure.
(2) The Eurasian application in respect of which such a
decision has been taken and which is the subject of such request shall be treated in any
Contracting State so designated as a regular national application filed with the national
Office and having the filing date and the priority date, if any, of the Eurasian
application, with all the consequences provided in the national legislation, and it shall
be further processed by the national Office, provided that the applicant pays the
prescribed national fees to the said national Office.
Article 17
Maintenance of Eurasian Patents
(1) The maintenance of the Eurasian patent shall be
subject to the annual payment of fees.
(2) The maintenance fees shall be payable in each of the
years following the grant of the Eurasian patent by the date corresponding to the filing
date of the Eurasian application.
(3) The continuing effect of a Eurasian patent in each
Contracting State shall require that the owner of the patent designate to that end, by
name, each Contracting State in which the owner wishes the effect to continue. Such
designation shall be addressed to the Eurasian Office and shall be made at the same time
as the maintenance fee is paid. Such fee shall be payable in respect of each designated
Contracting State.
Article 18
Fees
(1) Fees concerning any Eurasian application or patent,
and all charges for services rendered by the Eurasian Office, shall be payable to the
Eurasian Office and, subject to the provisions of paragraph (2) of this Article, shall
belong to the Organization. The fee referred to in Article 15(2) for the examination as to
form and transmittal of the Eurasian application is payable to and belongs to the national
Office with which the Eurasian application was filed.
(2) All fees for maintenance of a Eurasian patent shall
be payable to the Eurasian Office. The ratio of distribution of the maintenance fees
between the Organization and the designated Contracting States shall be fixed by the
Administrative Council by a majority of two-thirds of the votes cast, provided that at
least one-fifth of the fee received for each designation of a Contracting State shall
belong to the Organization; the remaining part of the fee shall be transferred to the
national Office of the designated Contracting State.
(3) The amount of the fee for maintenance of a Eurasian
patent with respect to each Contracting State shall be fixed by that State. The currency
in which the fee for maintenance of a Eurasian patent is to be paid shall be determined by
the Administrative Council.
Article 19
Patent Regulations. Procedural Provisions
The Patent Regulations shall provide for details
concerning Eurasian patent procedure, and in particular the following:
(i) requirements as to the form and contents of the
Eurasian application;
(ii) requirements as to patent agents, procedures for
their certification and registration as a patent agent;
(iii) the filing date;
(iv) calculation of time limits;
(v) claiming of priority;
(vi) the currencies and the procedures for the payment
of fees;
(vii) amendment or correction of the Eurasian
application;
(viii) patent search and examination;
(ix) the documentation and information services rendered
by the Eurasian Office;
(x) the publication of Eurasian applications and
patents;
(xi) the Register of Eurasian patents;
(xii) the Gazette of the Eurasian Office;
(xiii) the conditions and procedures for the
administrative revocation of Eurasian patents;
(xiv) the conversion of Eurasian applications into
national patent applications;
(xv) the application of the relevant provisions where
there are several inventors, applicants, patent owners or representatives;
(xvi) the contacts of the Eurasian Office with
applicants, patent owners, patent agents and other third parties and the procedure for
consultation of the files of the Eurasian Office by the said persons.
page top Part V. Application of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
Article 20
Application of the Patent Cooperation Treaty
The Patent Cooperation Treaty and its Regulations shall
be applied in the Eurasian Patent System and, in the case of conflict between them and
this Convention and its Regulations, the former shall prevail. The Eurasian Office shall
be a receiving Office, and also a designated and an elected Office, under the Patent
Cooperation Treaty and may, with the authorization of the Administrative Council, apply
for the status of International searching and Preliminary Examining Authority under the
Treaty.
page top Part VI. Transitional Provisions
Article 21
Search. Collegia
(1) The Eurasian Office may, with the authorization of
the Administrative Council, conclude with a national or regional patent office an
agreement for carrying out, as long as may be deemed necessary, searches in relation to
Eurasian applications by that national or regional patent office, provided that the
national or regional patent office is capable of carrying out searches of the same type as
those carried out under the Patent Cooperation Treaty in all or selected fields of
technology.
(2) As long as may be deemed necessary, the collegia of
three examiners referred to in Article 15(7) may also consist of examiners recommended by
the national Offices of the Contracting States.
page top Part VII. Miscellaneous Provisions
Article 22
Independence of National Patent Systems
(1) This Convention shall not prejudice the right of any
Contracting State to grant national patents.
(2) This Convention shall not prevent any Contracting
State from participating, on its own, in any international organization or from developing
various forms of international cooperation in the field of protection of industrial
property.
Article 23
Revision of the Convention
(1) This Convention may be revised at any time by the
Contracting States.
(2) The Administrative Council shall decide on the
convocation of conferences of the Contracting States for the purpose of revising the
Convention. It shall also decide on the rules of procedure and other details of revision
conferences.
Article 24
Settlement of Disputes
Where any dispute arises concerning the interpretation
or implementation of this Convention, the Director General of WIPO shall, at the request
of any of the parties to the dispute, mediate in order to lead the parties to a settlement
of the dispute.
page top Part VIII. Information Services
Article 25
Dissemination of Patent Information
(1) Each Contracting State shall receive, free of
charge, the Gazette of the Eurasian Office and the descriptions of Eurasian applications
and patents.
(2) Subject to paragraph (1) of this Article, no
publication of the Eurasian Office may be disseminated free of charge without the
authorization of the Administrative Council.
page top Part IX. Final Clauses
Article 26
Signature. Entry Into Force of the Convention
(1) This Convention shall be signed in the Russian
language.
(2) Any State may become party to this Convention that
is a member of the United Nations and bound by the Paris Convention for the Protection of
Industrial Property and the Patent Cooperation Treaty. To become party to this Convention,
a State shall either sign this Convention and deposit an instrument of ratification, or
deposit an instrument of accession.
(3) No reservations to this Convention are permitted.
(4) This Convention shall enter into force, in respect
of the first three States to ratify it or accede to it, three months after the third
instrument of ratification or accession has been deposited with the Director General of
WIPO. In respect of any other State, this Convention shall enter into force three months
after such State has deposited its instrument of ratification or accession.
Article 27
Denunciation of the Convention
Any Contracting State may denounce this Convention by
notification addressed to the Director General of WIPO. Denunciation shall take effect six
months after the day on which the Director General received the notification.
Article 28
Depositary
The Director General of WIPO shall be the depositary of
this Convention.
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