Patent registration in Kazakhstan

With a population of almost 20 million, the highest per capita income in the region, and a wide territory rich in natural resources, Kazakhstan represents an attractive market for many international players.

In a vast majority of cases, international companies seeking patent protection in Kazakhstan file Eurasian applications and receive Eurasian patents covering, among others, the Republic of Kazakhstan.

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 Kazakhstani PTO – the National Institute of Intellectual Property (Kazpatent). For applicants wanting to obtain IP protection quickly, the best solution might be to apply for a utility model patent, an option that is not available in the Eurasian Patent System.

Kazakhstan participates in the main international IP conventions/agreements; an applicant can claim a priority under the Paris Convention or enter the PCT national stage. Patent prosecution procedures within Kazpatent meet standard international requirements.

Prosecution is conducted in the Kazakh 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, Belarus, or Uzbekistan.

KAZAKHSTANI INVENTION PATENT

Patentable subject matter

A product (device, substance, microorganism strain, plant or animal cell culture) and method (performing actions on a material object with material means), as well as the use thereof for a specified purpose can be protected as an invention in Kazakhstan.

Patentability criteria

An invention must be novel, inventive and industrially applicable to satisfy the patentability criteria. Absolute novelty is checked for Kazakhstani patent applications. At the same time, Kazakhstan patent legislation provides for a six-month grace period after the first disclosure made before the filing date by the applicant (including disclosures made at exhibitions held in any of the Paris Convention member states) or by a person who received the information directly or indirectly from the applicant.

Economic or business methods, symbols, schedules, rules of gaming or mental operations, computer programs and algorithms as such, projects and arrangements of buildings, territories, structures, trade dress/appearance of product, immoral and inhuman technical solutions are not recognized as inventions in Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstani patent examination consists of preliminary examination (takes 4-6 months from the filing date) and substantive examination (to be requested within 3 months of the end of the formal examination). Prosecution of Kazakh patent applications takes on average 1.5 - 3 years depending on complexity.

The patent term is 20 years with an additional 5 years claimable for inventions on medicine and agrochemicals.

Deadlines for filing a patent application in Kazakhstan:

• 12 months for claiming a conventional priority (plus two months to restore an unintentionally missed term upon payment of a prescribed fee); and
• 31 months for the entry of the PCT application into the Kazakhstani national phase (plus two months to restore a lapsed term).

The costs of obtaining a Kazakhstani patent depend on the volume of the patent application. Please provide us with the application particulars so we can calculate the filing costs.

Patent filing requirements in Kazakhstan:

• 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 Kazakhstani non-resident applicants (to be filed within 2 months of submitting the application materials to the KZ PTO); no legalization is required;
• translation of the application materials into the Russian or Kazakh language (to be filed within 2 months of submitting the application materials to the KZ PTO);
• if a priority is claimed, a certified copy of the priority document (to be submitted later, within 2 months of the KZ PTO filing date).

A KAZAKHSTANI UTILITY MODEL PATENT protects the same subject matter as inventions, i.e. a product (device, substance, microorganism strains, animal/plant cell culture), a process, or a new use thereof. Only formal examination is held within 2-3 months from KZ PTO filing date. Generally, obtaining a KZ utility model patent takes no longer than 1 year on average. The patent is valid for 5 years, extendable by an additional 3 years upon payment of prescribed fees.

A utility model patent (instead of an invention patent) can be requested by the applicant when entering the PCT national stage.

Sojuzpatent will help you to file your patent applications with the Kazakhstani 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
Head of Patent Department

Get expert advice+7 (495) 221-8880

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