RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/ACC/RUS/29/Rev.1
26 October 2000
(00-4478)
Working Party on the
Accession of the Russian Federation
ACCESSION OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
Overview of the Status and Development Perspectives of
Treatment of Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)
in the Russian Federation
Revision
This updated overview of the Russian treatment of TRIPS is based on the document
WT/ACC/RUS/29 of 13 November 1998 and on repor ts reflecting developments in Russian
legislation, as well as answers to the questions of WTO Members on TRIPS-related issues (see
document WT/ACC/RUS/38 of 23 June 2000). This overview has been updated and supplemented
with due regard to the recent changes in the legisl ation in force concerning protection of intellectual
property rights, and its enforcement in Russia in 1999 – 2000.
1. General Provisions
(a) Intellectual Property Policy
A new conceptual approach to drafting Part IV of the Civil Code (“Exclusive Rights
(Intellectual Property”) intended to provide general rules for protection of intellectual property rights
in Russia is currently being contemplated.
(b) Agencies Responsible for State Policy Implementation
Pursuant to Resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation of 12 April 1999, No.
413 “On Improvement of Efficiency of the Federa l Bodies of Executive Power in Copyright and
Related Rights”, responsibilities of the Russian Agency for Patents and Trademarks (Rospatent) were
extended to include various functions associated with improvement of legislation, international co-
operation and contact with public organisations dealing with copyright and related rights, where suchfunctions do not pertain to the particular competence of any ministry or state authority, and excluding
prosecution of infringements of intellectual property rights.
(c) Membership of International Intellectual  Property Conventions and of Regional or
Bilateral Agreements
There have been no changes.
(d) Application of National and Most-Favoured-Nation Treatment
There have been no changes in the application of these treatments.WT/ACC/RUS/29/Rev.1
Page 2
(e) Duties and Fees
There have been no changes in the duty rates or fees in 1999 – 2000.
2. Substantive Standards of Intellectual Property Protection
(a) Copyright and Related Rights
A draft Law “On Amending the Russian Federa tion Law “On Copyright and Related Rights”
implementing the requirements of Article 18 of the Bern Convention, was prepared and submitted to
the Government of the Russian Federation in Octo ber 2000 (scheduled preliminarily to come before
the State Duma in the IV Quarter 2000).
A draft law on “Amendments to the Russian Federation Law “On Legal Protection of
Computers and Databases” is scheduled to be presented to the State Duma in late 2000.
(b) Trademarks, Including Service Marks
Rules of Recognition of Trademarks as Well-Known Trademarks in the Russian Federation
implementing the TRIPS requirements have been ad opted (approved by Order No. 38 of Rospatent
dated 17 March 2000).
A draft law “On Amendments to the Russian Federation Law “On Trademarks, Service
Marks and Appellations of Origin” intended to br ing the Russian legislation in this area into
conformity with the TRIPS requirements (including in respect of additional protection for well-known
trademarks for dissimilar goods) has been prepared and submitted to the Government of the Russian
Federation in October 2000 (scheduled preliminarily for presentation to the State Duma in the IVQuarter 2000).
A draft law on making amendments and supplements to the Russian Federation Law “On
Competition and Restriction of Monopolistic Activity on Commodity Markets” implementing the
requirements of Article 6bis of the Paris Convention on protection of industrial property was
submitted to the Government of the Russian Federation in August 2000.
The draft law “On Competition /…/” also contains provisions intended to prevent abuse of
exclusive rights to trade names and trademarks and mala fide  registration of trademarks.
(c) Geographical Indications, Including Appellations of Origin
To adjust the legislative provisions in th is area to the TRIPS requirements and the
requirements of the Trademark Law Treaty (TLT), a draft law “On Amending the Russian Federation
Law “On Trademarks, Service Marks and Appellations of Origin” was prepared and submitted to the
Government of the Russian Federation in October 2000 (Scheduled preliminarily for presentation to
the State Duma in the IV Quarter 2000).
(d) Inventions and Industrial Designs
The TRIPS rules in this respect, including in respect of use of inventions without the patent
holder’s authorisation (“compulsory licensing”), have been implemented in the draft law “On
Amendments to the Patent Law of the Russian Federation” submitted to the Russian Government in
October 2000. (Scheduled preliminarily for presentation to the State Duma in the IV Quarter 2000).WT/ACC/RUS/29/Rev.1
Page 3
(e) Plant Variety and Animal Breed Protection (Selection Attainments)
Russia’s current legislation in this area is in full conformity with the UPOV Convention and
the TRIPS requirements.
(f) Layout Designs of Integrated Circuits
Requirements of the TRIPS Agreement to the extent that they complement the Washington
Treaty have been implemented in the draft law “On Amendments to the Law On Legal Protection of
Layout Designs of Integrated Circuits” which is pl anned to be submitted by the Government of the
Russian Federation to the legislative authorities in late 2000.
(g) Protection of Undisclosed Information
There have been no changes.
(h) Control over Anti-Competitive Practices Th rough Agreements on Transfer of Exclusive
Rights
There have been no changes in the control practices in 1999 – 2000.
3. Measures to Control Abuse of Intellectual Property Rights
A draft law amending and supplementing the Law “On Competition …” has been prepared
and submitted to the Government of the Russian Federation and contains a ban on unfair competition
associated with the acquisition and use of excl usive rights for any means of identifying and
differentiating legal entities, products, and services.
For information on the functioning of the Higher Patent Board of Rospatent see Annexes.
4. Enforcement
In 1999 – 2000, the Russian customs authorities made some headway towards implementation
of “border measures” required under TRIPS. In late 1999, a special department was created within thecentral structure of the State Customs Committee of Russia to oversee customs control over cross-
border shipment of goods containing objects of intellectual property. A number of regulatory legal
acts have been passed in regards to revealing instances of cross-border counterfeit goods. Thus, for
instance, the right holders are now allowed to participate in the examination of imported goods for
possible counterfeiting (Resolution of the Stat e Customs Committee (SCC) of Russia dated 27 May,
1999, No. 01-14/632).
Effective 1 January 2000, import of goods bearing trademarks registered with the SCC of
Russia (the SCC Register of Objects of Intellectual Rights) is subject to compulsory declaration of
information confirming that the use of such intellectual property is legitimate.
Over 1999 – 2000, the customs authorities of the Russian Federation have registered and
control 43 trademarks owned by foreign and Russian right holders. More than 20 instances where
intellectual property rights were violated in cr oss-border goods were revealed. Over one million
counterfeit compact disks were confiscated. In a number of cases, issues of use of trademark weresettled between the right holders and the importers af ter the customs authorities took action to protect
such intellectual property.WT/ACC/RUS/29/Rev.1
Page 4
On 23 November 1999, a draft Federal Law “On Amendments and Supplements to the
Customs Code of the Russian Federation” passed the first reading. This draft law contains a special
section related to protection of intellectual property rights at cross-border.
In 1999, a special department was created within the central structure of the Russian Ministry
of Internal Affairs to prosecute illegal practices in the area of marketing of objects of intellectual
property, with corresponding departments and groups being set up in the Internal Ministry’s divisions
territorially. Measures and raids these departments and groups have implemented showed them to be
an effective instrument of prosecution of illicit trafficking of pirated and counterfeit goods (for
information on enforcement practices of criminal legislation see the Annexes).
On the initiative of the Russian Internal Ministry a draft law “On Amendments and
Supplements to Article 180 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and the Code of Criminal
Procedure of the Russian Federation” was brought before the State Duma. It purports to supplement
Article 180 of the Russian Criminal Code, “Illegal Use of Trademark” by categorising crimes based
on whether they are committed by a group of persons by prior collusion or by an organised group.
Currently underway is preparation of an amendment proposal in respect of Article 146 of the CriminalCode of the Russian Federation (“Infringe ment of Copyright and Related Rights”).
Another development is a new clause imposing administrative liability for infringement of
rights of trademark owners inserted in the Code of Administrative Offences (passed in the third
reading by the State Duma in October 2000).
In March 2000, pursuant to the decision of the Consultative Council for foreign investments,
for the purposes of improving co-ordination between supervisory bodies and law-enforcement
authorities, an interdepartmental Working Group was created to deal with prosecution of
counterfeiting of trademarks and prevention of market access of low quality goods. This groupincludes experts from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Economic Development and
Trade, the State Customs Committee, Federal Tax Police Service and other organisations concerned,
and representatives of foreign firms operating on the Russian market. The working schedule for this
Working Group is currently underway.
In July 2000, a draft of the new Code of Arbitration Procedure was brought before the State
Duma of the Russian Federation, which, inter alia , implements the TRIPS provision regarding
compensation of damage to the defendant (including its attorney’s fees) in the event of bad faith use
of the procedures for enforcement of intellectual property rights on the part of the plaintiff (Article
48.1 TRIPS), and introduces a mechanism of pr e-judicial interim measures of protection.
For details of the enforcement practices in Russia see the Annexes.
5. Relevant Legislation
The list of basic legislative and regulatory acts, including drafts, governing the TRIPS
treatment in Russia is given in the Synoptic Table of Basic Russian Legislation in Selected Areas (seethe TRIPS section of revised document WT/ACC/RUS/37 dated 4 May 2000, submitted by Russia to
the WTO Secretariat in October 2000).WT/ACC/RUS/29/Rev.1
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ANNEX
ENFORCEMENT PRACTICE OVER 1998 – 2000
Rospatent Practice
(statistics for 1998 – Ist half of 2000)
Inventions
1998 19996 months of
2000
Applications for patents filed directly with Rospatent 21,362 24,659 14,396
by national applicants 16,454 19,900 11,791
by foreign applicants 4,908 4,759 2,575
Granted patents for inventions, total 23,315 19,508 8,681
Industrial designs
1998 19996 months of
2000
Applications for industrial designs filed 1,509 1,585 1,106
by national applicants 1,076 1,274 927
by foreign applicants 433 311 179
Number of patents granted for industrial designs 964 1,655 867
Trademarks and service marks
1998 19996 months of
2000
Filed applications for trademarks and service
marks, total28,581 28,995 19,108
by national applicants 15,583 18,254 13,329
by foreign applicants 12,998 10,741 3,635
international registration 8,133 7,331 3,867
Trademarks and service marks registered, total 17,701 19,507 10,926
national applicants 7,791 9,181 5,595
foreign applicants 9,910 10,326 5,331
international registration 6,691 6,574 3,313
Software Programs, Databases And Layout-Designs Of Integrated Circuits
1998 19996 months of
2000
Filed applications for registration 835 1,189 721
of software programs 749 1,016 675
of databases 78 161 43
of layout designs of integrated circuits 8 12 3WT/ACC/RUS/29/Rev.1
Page 6
Duration of processing of the applications by Rospatent (in months)
Average duration of processing of an application 1998 19996 months of
2000
for a patent for invention 9.3 8.4 8.3
for a patent for industrial design 6.4 8.4 7.4
for registration of trademark 13 14 12
Functioning of Rospatent Board of Appeals
1998 19996 months of
2000
Total protests lodged 381 584 255
Including, against decisions made in respect of
applications169 233 120
Including, against issuance of patent 212 351 135
Total protests considered 280 340 103
protests sustained 92 107 26
protests dismissed 188 233 77
Resolutions upon consideration of protests 57 73 27
patent is found completely invalid 39 40 17
patent found partially invalid 18 33 10
Functioning of the Higher Patent Board of Rospatent
1998 19996 months of
2000
Complaints lodged 381 584 255
Claims lodged 169 233 120
Complaints considered – 50 58
Claims considered – 24 108
Note: the Higher Patent Board was founded in 1998.
Civil proceedings
According to Russian forensic statistics, the number of cases for each particular type of
intellectual property is relatively small. Hence, they are not shown on forensic statistical sheets as
separate entries but are included in “cases concerning protection of intellectual property” section. This
includes civil lawsuits for protection of rights of authors, performers, producers of phonograms,
programs, and cable broadcasters, rights associated with computers, rights of inventors and trademark
owners, and other cases, governed by the intellectual property law.
The number of cases since the new intellectual property legislation came into effect remains
substantially the same from year to year. Statistics demonstrate that in 1998, 472 cases concerning
protection of intellectual property rights were filed with courts of the Russian Federation, in 272 (i.e.WT/ACC/RUS/29/Rev.1
Page 7
80%) of which the claims were sustained. In 1999, however, the number of cases increased by 9.7%
and amounted to 518 cases, in which judgements were made in 295 cases. Thus, final judgements
were awarded in 60.1% of the total number of cases filed with courts of general jurisdiction in 1999
regarding protection of intellectual property.
In 1999, out of 295 judgements awarded, 206 were to grant the plaintiff’s claim, which makes
up 69.8 per cent of the total. 5.9 million Rubles were recovered in damages over the said period.
As for the preliminary statistics for the first half of 2000, 313 lawsuits for protection of intellectual
property were filed, out of which 304 were finalise d, with judgements made in 160 (i.e. 52.6% of the
total filed).
In the absolute majority of cases in which judgements were awarded (111?), 69.4% were
granted. 4.4 million rubles were recovered in damages in the first half of 2000.
Arbitration proceedings
According to the Code of Arbitration Procedure of the Russian Federation, arbitration courts
have jurisdiction to consider economic disputes arising out of civil, administrative and other relations.
In 1998, arbitration courts considered a total of 202 disputes connected with protection of rights of
intellectual property. 227 disputes were processed in 1999, and 138 in the first half of 2000.
Administrative proceedings
Over 1998 – the first half of 2000, 372 claims (including 160 in 1998, 135 in 1999, and 77 in
the first half of 2000) were lodged with anti-monopoly authorities in respect of unfair competition
connected with illegal use of intellectual property and confidential information.
Based on these claims and, in certain instances, at own discretion of anti-monopoly
authorities, 194 cases were brought, 127 judgements made and 119 writs issued to terminate and/or
remedy infringements of antimonopoly legislation. The other cases were terminated upon voluntary
and good faith cessation of infringement or upon finding no conclusive evidence of the fact of
infringement.
Further, in 43 instances after antimonopoly authorities were brought in the infringements
were terminated out of court. Only 4 of the writs were judicially appealed, and only 1 of them was
revoked. The percentage of cases concerning anti-competitive practices associated with infringement
of exclusive rights represents 45.6% in the total incidence of cases concerning anti-competitive
practices brought by antimonopoly authorities over the period in question.
Criminal proceedings
As a result of effectively implemented enforcement policy, the percentage of prosecutions in
criminal offences associated with trafficking of intellectual property objects, such as fraud,
smuggling, money laundering, is increasing. As against 720 such crimes revealed in 1997, 950 crimeswere uncovered in 1998, over 1300 – in 1999 and over 700 – in the first six months of 2000. Consider
also the statistics for Article 146 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Infringement of
Copyright and Related Rights”: 607 crimes in 1998, 836 in 1999, 494 in the first six months of 2000.
These crimes are typically committed by organised groups causing material damage to right
holders and the state. In 1999, 125 clandestine production enterprises were shut down, 750 persons
were sued for criminal offences and a 30 million dollars’ worth of counterfeit and fake goods were
confiscated.WT/ACC/RUS/29/Rev.1
Page 8
An analysis by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the research conducted by the Coalition
for Intellectual Property Rights (CIPR) have found that the level of pirated and counterfeit goods in
1998 – 1999 went a way down for various goods: tumbling down from 75-80% to 50% for videos,
from 80% to 65% for audio, and decreasing by 10 to 50% for industrial products and foodstuffs. It has
to be admitted, however, that in software products the level of counterfeit production still holds out toover 90%.
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