General Information | Patents of Invention
Trade & Service Marks | Industrial Designs | Domain Names
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General Information

Area: 208,000 sq. km.
Population: about 10,000,000 inhabitants (estimated 2001).
Capital: Minsk.
Languages: Belorussian (official), Russian.
Currency: Rouble.

GENERAL REMARKS

One of the ex-USSR republics, now an independent State with its own Patent Office (Belgospatent). The Belorussian Patent, Trademark and Industrial Design Laws came into force on February 5, 1993.

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Patents of Invention

LEGAL BASIS

• Patent Law of February 5, 1993.
• Patent, Utility Model and Industrial Designs Law of December 16, 2002.

MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

• Paris Convention, as of April 14, 1993.
• The Patent Cooperation Treaty as of April 14, 1993.
• Eurasian Patent Convention, as of August 12, 1995.
• Strasbourg Agreement, as of December 31, 1997.
• Budapest Treaty on the Deposit of Microorganisms.

FILING REQUIREMENTS

• Power of Attorney (no legalization);
• Assignment of rights to patent, if the inventor is not the applicant;
• Specification, claims and abstract (may be filed in Belorussian, Russian or any other language whereby a certified Belorussian or Russian translation should be filed within a two-month term);
• Drawings, if applicable;
• Priority document, if applicable (to be filed within three months from the filing date).

REMARKS

National Phase of PCT: under Chapter I: 31 months; under Chapter II: 31 months.
Validity: patent issued after formal and full examination - valid for 20 years from the filing date.
Annuities: are accumulated and due after the granting decision.
Opposition: is possible within six months after publication of the abstract in the Official Gazette.

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Trade and Service Marks

LEGAL BASIS

• Trademark Law of July 15, 2009, in force as of January 25, 2010.
• Rules for the Recognition of Trademarks as well-known in the Republic of Belarus of August 9, 2002.

MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

• Paris Convention.
• Madrid Agreement.
• Madrid Protocol, as of January 18, 2002.
• Nice Agreement, as of December 31, 1997.

FILING REQUIREMENTS

• Power of Attorney;
• The sign to be protected, and its description; 8 prints (8 x 8 cm);
• List of goods and services, according to the international classification;
• The priority document, if any (late filing during three months is possible).

REMARKS

Kinds of protection: individual and collective trademarks. Service Marks are registrable. Besides the original version, filing of the wordmark applications in the Cyrillic alphabet is highly recommended.
Classification: International.
Obligation to use the registered mark: must be used; if not used within any three-year period after the registration (or last use) date, the mark can be cancelled upon request of an interested party; nominal use (advertising, publications) is accepted in absence of actual use.
Duration - renewals: 10-year period after the filing date, renewable for further periods of ten years.
Opposition: not provided for.

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Industrial Designs

LEGAL BASIS

• Industrial Models Law of February 5, 1993.
• Patent, Utility Model and Industrial Designs Law of December 16, 2002.

MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

• Paris Convention.
• Locarno Agreement, as of December 31, 1997.

FILING REQUIREMENTS

• Power of Attorney;
• The model itself or, when not appropriate, photographs or drawings thereof (7 copies);
• Designation of the model, with indication of its characteristics;
• Specification of the model, if necessary;
• Priority document, if any (can be filed within three months after filing).

REMARKS

Duration – renewals: after formal examination: 10 years. Renewable for an additional period of 5 years.
Opposition: is possible within six months after the publication in the Official Gazette.

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Domain Names

LEGAL BASIS

• There is no specific legislation although some regulations on the organization and management of country code top-level domain names do exist.

FILING

• ccTLD: .by
• Applicant: national and foreign individuals and legal entities.
• Local Presence: not required.

REMARKS

Duration – renewals: one year, renewable yearly.
Uniform dispute resolution procedure: none.

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More

If you wish more detailed information concerning intellectual property protection in this territory please contact us or order Katzarov’s Manual on Industrial Property®.

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