Patent registration in Belarus

Belarus participates in all major international IP conventions/agreements. Accordingly, patenting in Belarus is consistent with generally accepted international practices.

Belarus’ participation in the Eurasian Patent Convention makes it especially convenient to obtain patent protection in Belarus for applicants who simultaneously envisage patenting in some of the other seven post-Soviet countries that are members of the Convention.  Entering the Eurasian PCT regional phase remains the most widely used way of obtaining patent protection in Belarus for international players. Many applicants file Eurasian applications claiming conventional priorities from earlier applications. The Eurasian patent system provides a cost-effective and hassle-free way of obtaining protection in several countries, including Belarus.

However, for those applicants who

  • are not interested in protection in other countries, and
  • want to obtain IP protection faster and more cost-effectively

a good option is to file an application directly with the Belarussian PTO – the National Center for Intellectual Property (Belgospatent). For applicants wanting to obtain IP protection for mechanical devices, the best solution might be to apply for a utility model patent, an option that is not available in the Eurasian Patent System.

An applicant seeking a Belorussian patent can also claim priority under the Paris Convention or enter the PCT national phase. A utility model patent (instead of an invention patent) can be requested by the applicant when entering the PCT national stage.

Prosecution is conducted in the Belorussian or Russian language. NB! Availability of prosecution in the Russian language helps to avoid extra costs related to translation into the national language in case there is at least one parallel case in another jurisdiction where the Russian language is used: Russia, Kazakhstan, or Uzbekistan.

BELORUSSIAN INVENTION PATENT

Patentable subject matter

A product (in particular, a device, a substance, or a biotech product) or a method, including but not limited to the use thereof for a specified purpose can be protected as an invention in Belarus.

Patentability criteria

An invention must be novel, inventive and industrially applicable to satisfy the patentability criteria. Absolute novelty is checked for Belorussian patent applications. However, Belarus patent legislation provides for a 12-month grace period from the first disclosure made by the applicant, or with the applicant’s consent before the filing date.

Discoveries, scientific theories and mathematical methods; product appearance only to satisfy aesthetic demands; plans, rules and methods for intellectual, gaming, and business activities, including algorithms and computer programs, are not recognized as inventions in Belarus.

Protection cannot be obtained for anti-social, immoral and antihuman inventions.

Belarus patent examination consists of preliminary (takes 3 months from the filing date) and substantive examinations (to be requested within 3 years from the filing date). Prosecution of a Belorussian patent application takes on average 1.5 - 4 years, depending on the complexity of the examination.

The patent term is 20 years, with an additional 5 years claimable for inventions on medical or agrochemical products and pesticides.

The costs of obtaining a Belorussian patent depend on the volume of the application materials, on the number of independent claims, the total number of claims and the number of priorities claimed. Please provide us with the application particulars so we can calculate the filing costs.

Deadlines for filing patent application in Belarus are:

  • 12 months for claiming a conventional priority (the term may be restored within an additional 2-month period, provided a fee is paid and an explanation for missing the term is provided) and
  • 31 months for PCT entry into the Belarus national phase (may be restored within 2 months upon payment of a prescribed fee in case the delay was unintentional).

Belorussian non-resident applicants must be represented by local agents who are registered patent attorneys. Powers of attorneys must be submitted in original within 2 months of filing the patent application with Belgospatent.

Patent filling requirements in Belarus:

  • Filing Request with applicant’s (applicants’) and inventor’s (inventors’) name(s)/title(s) and address(es);
  • the specification, claims, abstract, and figures (if any) in any language;
  • originally executed PoA for Belorussian non-resident applicants (to be filed within 2 months of submitting the application materials to the BY PTO); no legalization is required;
  • official fee payment document (to be provided within 2 months of submitting the application materials to the BY PTO);
  • translation of the application materials into the Russian or Belorussian language (to be filed within 2 months of submitting the application materials to the BY PTO);
  • if a priority is claimed, a request (should be provided within 2 months of submitting the application materials to the BY PTO) and a certified copy of the priority document (to be submitted within 16 months of the priority date).

Publication of information about a BY patent application takes 18 moths from the filing date or from the priority date, if claimed. Publication of a BY patent application provides provisional legal protection, which allows the claiming of damages for the illegal use of the invention after the patent is granted.

A BELORUSSIAN UTILITY MODEL PATENT protects mechanical devices that are novel and industrially applicable. The patent prosecution takes on average 1 to 2 years. The five-year patent validity term is calculated from the filing date; an additional 5 years of legal protection can be obtained upon request, provided that the official fees have been paid.

Sojuzpatent will help you to file your patent applications with the Belorussian Patent Office in any technical field with assistance of reliable local agents and will help you professionally through each step of the examination and granting. Our attorneys will take on all the substantive issues in every field of art, our state-of-the-art docketing system will help to keep track of the due dates, and our trusted agents will ensure that all the formalities within the Patent Office are fulfilled. We also provide after-grant guidance on annuities, licenses, assignments, recordation of changes, legal enforcement, litigation, negotiations, mediation, and dispute resolution.

Featured specialist

Dr. Tamara S. Fomicheva, Deputy Managing Partner <br />Head of Patent Department
Deputy Managing Partner
Head of Patent Department
Patent registration in Belarus
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