EU response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in the field of IP

In February 2022, the Russian Federation initiated a military aggression against Ukraine. The European Union has, since then, implemented a series of sanctions, together with several initiatives to support Ukraine and the Ukrainian people.

The EUIPO established a special Working Group to analyse and monitor the situation in the field of Intellectual Property Rights and to ensure the effective implementation of the measures decided at EU level.

Cooperation: the Office has halted all cooperation actions with Rospatent, the Russian Federal Service for Intellectual Property, the Eurasian Patent Organisation (EAPO) and Belarus. At the same time, the EUIPO has enhanced cooperation with the Ukrainian National Office for Intellectual Property and Innovations.

IP assets freeze: the EUIPO has entered ‘protective entries’ in the Registers for EU trade marks (EUTMs) and Registered Community Designs (RCDs) in relation to EUTMs or RCDs owned by the persons or entities subject to the sanction list (the ‘designated persons’). These protective entries block any transaction linked to the affected rights.

New registrations/proceedings: no new EUTMs or RCDs are granted to designated persons. Analogous actions are applied with respect to the International Registrations designating the EU.

Deadlines: several extensions of all deadlines (expiring as from February 2022) affecting parties residing or having their registered office in the Ukraine have been decided.

Data correction: all data regarding parties’ addresses in the Registers reflect Ukraine’s internationally recognised borders, correcting erroneous indications where necessary.

Review: daily screening of all incoming files for designated persons. Furthermore, the EUIPO does not engage in any transaction with designated persons and does not register new designs for products listed on the Common Military List[1].

The Office continues to review the need for further extensions and additional measures as we move forward.

All these measures have been implemented in compliance with the Data Protection regulation [2]. Please refer to the Data Protection statement for more information.

Cooperation and collaboration with Ukraine, EU Institutions and national IP Offices

The EUIPO has expressed its commitment to continue working closely with the Ukrainian authorities in the field of IP, ensuring dialogue and cooperation with EU Institutions and national offices in the EU.

Several cooperation initiatives are currently being explored.

The Office is in permanent contact with its institutional partners to share the latest developments, implement the relevant actions taken at EU level and facilitate dialogue and a coherent approach regarding Intellectual Property related measures.

The latest EUIPO Liaison Meeting on Cooperation was also the first one in which Ukraine was represented.

The EUIPO staff has stepped up in solidarity, hosting refugees and families coming from Ukraine and with several fund-raising campaigns to help out.

The Office reiterates its condemnation, in the strongest possible terms, to the Russian Federation’s unprovoked and unjustified military aggression against Ukraine, and joins the EU Institutions in demanding that Russia immediately ceases its military actions, unconditionally withdraws all forces and military equipment from the entire territory of Ukraine and fully respects Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence within its internationally recognised borders.

Reference：

[1]Registering a design for such good qualifies as technical assistance within the meaning of Article 4(1)(a) of Council Regulation 833/2014.

[2] Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC