Termination of patent. Early termination of a patent


Patent attorneys from our Office will restore the validity of your patent. We can also help reduce to the possible minimum the use of your patent by persons who took advantage of the solution during the period of lack of legal protection.

Invalidation of a patent

A patent for an invention, utility model, or industrial design may be declared invalid throughout the entire period of its validity. The reasons may include circumstances such as:

  • Inconsistency of a solution for which a patent has already been issued with the conditions of patentability. The ground is the most commonly used for invalidating a patent. An application for invalidation of a patent is submitted to Rospatent.
  • the presence in the claims of the invention or utility model, as well as in the list of essential features of the industrial design, of data that was not available on the date of filing the application. The applicant has the right to make changes to his application before a decision is made to register a patent. However, you need to use this right carefully! Please remember that when you make changes or additions to your application, you must not change the essence of your solution described in the original application. The decision to invalidate a patent is made by Rospatent.
  • issuance of a patent if there are several applications for identical inventions, utility models or industrial designs with the same priority date. In such a situation, the applicants are required to enter into an agreement among themselves as to which of them should be granted the patent. If the applicants are unable to agree on who will receive the patent, none of the applicants will be able to receive the patent.
  • issuance of a patent indicating as the author a person who is not the author, or not indicating persons who are the authors. Attention! The recognition of a patent as invalid, in the event of providing incorrect information about the authors of the patent, is carried out in the Court of Justice intellectual rights(Patent Court). This distinguishes this basis from the previous three.

For patent holders

It is important to know that any person can apply for invalidation of a patent. That is, unlike the invalidation procedure trademark, where the initiator of the revocation must prove his interest, an application for termination of the patent can be filed by any citizen or legal entity that has identified a violation.

For the patent holder this rule increases the risk of loss exclusive right for a patent. Therefore, it is very important to respond quickly and professionally to information about a possible challenge to your patent.

For persons who want to invalidate a patent

You may need to invalidate an existing patent if, when patenting your solution, you discovered the existence of an opposing patent that would interfere with the protection of your development.

A separate category of persons who can invalidate a patent are the authors of such a patent. When submitting documents for registration, applicants do not always include all authors of patents in the application.

We remind you that any person, regardless of interest, can initiate the invalidation of a patent. To ensure the success of revocation of a patent, before filing an application for early termination of a patent, it is necessary to prepare a strong legal position and support it with evidence, which includes the results patent examination

To achieve your goal, specialists from the Patent Bureau will conduct a patent examination to determine patentability and represent your interests in administrative appeal in Rospatent, and also, if necessary, will protect your interests in the Intellectual Property Rights Court.

Get detailed information You can contact the experts at our Patent Office.

The validity period of a patent for an invention is 20 years from the date of filing the application. A patent for an invention, utility model or industrial design may be declared invalid in whole or in part during the entire period of its validity in the following cases:

  • 1) inconsistencies of the protected solution established by law criteria for protectability (i.e. erroneous grant of a patent);
  • 2) the presence in the formula of an invention or utility model or the list of essential features of an industrial design, which are contained in the decision to grant a patent, features that were absent on the date of filing the application in the description of the invention or utility model and in the claims or utility model, if the application on the date of its the submission contained the formula, or on images of the product. For example, this may happen if changes are made to the application after it has been submitted;
  • 3) issuance of a patent in the presence of several applications for identical inventions, utility models or industrial designs having the same priority date, in violation of the terms of the law;
  • 4) issuance of a patent indicating in it as the author or patent holder a person who is not one or without indicating in the patent as an author or patent holder a person who is such.

A patent for an invention, utility model or industrial design is invalidated in whole or in part on the basis of a decision taken on an objection filed with the Chamber of Patent Disputes or entered into legal force court decisions, including court decisions. A patent for an invention, utility model or industrial design that is declared invalid in whole or in part is revoked. If a patent is partially invalidated, a new patent is issued.

The law provides for early termination of a patent for an invention, utility model or industrial design:

  • 1) on the basis of an application submitted by the patent owner to the federal authority executive power By intellectual property, - from the date of receipt of the application. If a patent is issued for a group of inventions, utility models or industrial designs, and the patent holder’s application is filed in relation to not the entire group, the patent is terminated only in relation to the invention, utility model or industrial design specified in the application;
  • 2) in case of non-payment fixed time patent fee for maintaining a patent for an invention, utility model or industrial design in force - from the date of expiration of the established period for paying the patent fee for maintaining the patent in force. In practice, persons who do not wish to retain their patent rights simply stop paying patent fees.

A patent that was terminated due to the fact that the patent fee for maintaining the patent in force was not paid within the prescribed period may be restored at the request of the person who owned the patent for an invention, utility model or industrial design. Such a petition must be filed with the federal executive body for intellectual property within 3 years from the date of expiration of the patent fee, but before the expiration of the patent. The application must be accompanied by a document confirming payment of the established amount of the patent fee for restoration of the patent.

Federations without an extension of stay, up-to-date documents and with an unpaid patent are a direct road to an entry ban or deportation. However, if you decide to stop paying for the patent, you can do this at any time by simply stopping paying tax. In this case, you need to leave the territory as soon as possible. Russian Federation.Attention! If you carried out labor activity in Russia on the basis of a patent, you have the right to enter immediately after departure, without taking into account 90 days in the territory of the country of national origin (or any other country to choose from, except the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus). This route is widely used by foreign citizens, for some reason for reasons overdue for payment of a patent - they leave the country, wait until the paid period for the patent expires, enter back and, within 30 days from the date of entry into the country, submit documents to obtain a new patent.

In what cases does the patent cease to be valid?

Brief conclusions based on the results of the article: - revocation is a legal term meaning “cancellation, declaration invalid” (c) Large legal dictionary - there is a certain list of grounds for revocation of a patent; - the case when foreign citizen he himself decided to stop paying for the patent, is not included in this list; - if you stopped paying for the patent, then you are obliged to leave after the expiration of the patent (paid period); - staying on the territory of the Russian Federation after the expiration of the patent is illegal and leads to entry ban; - if you were on the territory of the Russian Federation on the basis of a patent (and worked), you have the right to enter Russia without waiting 90 days; - if you decide to stop paying for the patent and leave, then after entry you can immediately apply for a new patent.

Migroland

If a foreign citizen entered the Russian Federation, but did not submit a package of documents to the Federal Migration Service within 30 days, then he faces a fine of 10,000 rubles to 15,000 rubles. The patent cannot be obtained unless the fine is paid.

Regarding re-testing when obtaining a patent: a foreign citizen will be required to pay 4,900 rubles. If a labor migrant does not pass part of the exam (for example, the history of Russia), then retake is paid - 1,800 rubles.

Many foreign citizens turned to intermediaries when applying for a work patent. Many of them found themselves in unpleasant situations due to the fact that the intermediaries were unscrupulous persons who did not have certain knowledge.


Attention

Therefore, it is better to take the time to read all the instructions and calmly obtain a patent. You can, of course, use the services of a migration lawyer.

Revocation of a work patent

Info

Customs Union. To work legally, a patent is not needed for people from countries such as Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan (these countries are part of the Customs Union). The following persons do not need to obtain a patent:

  • if citizens are migrants with temporary residence permits and residence permits;
  • if persons are participants state program voluntary resettlement;
  • refugees;
  • citizens from Kazakhstan and Belarus;
  • if the citizen is an employee of a diplomatic department from other countries located on the territory of the Russian Federation;
  • journalists who work towards permanent basis in the Russian Federation;
  • scientific and teaching staff who came to work at the invitation from the Russian Federation.

In what territory is the patent valid? Since 2016, a patent for obtaining a job has a certain connection to the territory.

What is the difference between invalidating a patent and terminating it?

In other words, you don’t have to wait 30 days from the moment you are in the country (you won’t need to leave and enter again). However, in order to apply for a new patent, you must submit the application 10 days before the expiration date of the previous document.

The cost of renewal will be from RUB 1,216. up to 3,648 rub. The amount of tax payment directly depends on the extension period.

The patent has expired: what to do? Every month, a migrant worker must pay personal income tax for work under a patent. Thus, when making an advance payment, a migrant worker automatically extends the validity of the patent, but not more than for 1 year. The amount of the advance payment directly depends on the region where the migrant works. If the patent expires, you can get new document without even leaving the country.


You can renew your patent at the Main Department of Migration Affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (FMS).

All about patent expiration dates

The law prohibits refusing to accept documents for the issuance of a labor patent from citizens foreign countries who arrived in Russia on a visa-free basis, registered at their place of stay, and have in their hands all the documents necessary to obtain a patent. Review of documents for the issuance of a patent takes 10-15 days, after which a decision is made to issue or refuse to issue a patent, such a decision is formalized in a conclusion.

If the grant of a patent is refused, the foreigner is given a written notice of refusal to grant a patent with reference to the rule of law. Reasons for refusal to issue a patent As a rule, refusal to issue a patent is associated with the existence of a decision regarding a foreign citizen not allowing entry into Russia.

Patent denied - what to do?

Describe the reason for your complaint Complaint Cancel Good afternoon. Question about labor law: work of a foreigner in the Company. A citizen of Moldova works in the Company under a patent. The VHI policy was reissued on time, October 19, but presented it to the employer on October 30. For 12 calendar days before the end of the patent's validity period, he filed documents for re-registration of the patent (but without a petition from the employer). The last day of the patent's validity was October 30. On October 31, the Company issued an order to suspend this employee from work, because
the new patent was not reissued. The employee received the patent on November 8, paid the advance payment for the patent on the same day, and presented the patent to the employer on the same day. But the issue date on the patent is November 1st. The patent number is different from the previous one. Questions: 1.

Actions of the employer when re-registering a patent by a foreign employee

Was the employer obliged to immediately notify the FMS when changing the number of only the VHI policy (October 19) (if the old patent was still valid)? If so, is this omission subject to a fine and in what amount? 2. Formally, the employee’s involvement in work should have occurred on November 1 (the date specified in the patent) or November 8 (when the employee actually brought the patent to the employer and paid the advance payment on the patent)? 3. From what date do the three days count, during which the employer is obliged to notify the FMS about a change of patent (from November 1 or from November 8), which document is used in this case? 4. How much additional agreements To employment contract should be: 1 (one agreement takes into account changes to both the VHI policy and the patent) or 2 (one takes into account changes to the VHI policy, and the other - the patent)?5.

18 patent termination

If you do not agree with the decision to refuse to issue a patent, you have the right to appeal it to the leadership of the Federal Migration Service or in court. What to do if the Federal Migration Service has canceled a work patent A work patent can be revoked, that is, its validity can be terminated before the expiration of the period for which it was issued. The reason for shortening the validity of a patent, as a rule, is also the presence of a decision to ban entry into Russia. The citizen is given a written notice of the revocation of the patent, after which he is obliged to leave Russia. If you do not agree with the decision to revoke a labor patent, you have the right to appeal it in court and ask the court to suspend the decision while the case is being considered, for which purpose at the filing stage administrative claim You should submit a request for interim measures judicial protection and attach to it a copy of the notification from the Federal Migration Service about the revocation of your patent.
There are also such time periods:

  • 10 years – for those objects that belong to the category “utility models”;
  • 5 years – for objects that are considered industrial designs.

The amount of patent renewal is 5,000 rubles. A utility model patent can be extended for no more than 3 years. A patent for an industrial design is valid for 15 years, and can be extended for 10 years. The cost of renewal is 3,000 rubles. Specific deadlines are calculated from the moment of filing an application for registration and issuance of a patent to Rospatent (as authorized body). Sanctions for violations of the validity period Upon expiration of the permit or provided that the foreign citizen has not paid income tax the following year, the patent is automatically considered invalid.
Revocation of patent. A migrant's patent is revoked for his misconduct and violations. For example, in the case of using fake documents when applying for a patent, receiving more than one administrative fine per year, or untimely employment. When an existing patent is revoked, a foreign citizen can apply for a new patent only after a year. Whether he wants it or not, after the revocation of a patent, a foreign citizen is obliged to leave the territory of the Russian Federation. Termination of a patent. If a migrant for any reason decides that he no longer needs a patent, or forgets to pay personal income tax on time, then it ceases to be valid and must also leave the country immediately. The difference here is that after expiration, the migrant can immediately return to the Russian Federation.

A patent for an invention, utility model or industrial design may be declared invalid in whole or in part during its validity period in the following cases:

1) non-compliance of the invention, utility model or industrial design with the conditions of patentability;

2) the presence in the formula of an invention or utility model or in the list of essential features of an industrial design, which are contained in the decision to grant a patent, features that were absent on the date of filing the application in the description of the invention or utility model and in the claims or utility model (if the application for an invention or the utility model contained such a formula on the date of its filing) or on images of the product;

3) issuance of a patent in the presence of several applications for identical inventions, utility models or industrial designs, having the same priority date, in violation of the conditions;

4) issuance of a patent indicating in it as the author or patent holder a person who is not such, or without indicating in the patent a person as the author or patent holder.

2. The issuance of a patent for an invention, utility model or industrial design may be challenged by any person who has become aware of violations by filing an objection with the Chamber of Patent Disputes.

A patent for an invention, utility model or industrial design is invalidated in whole or in part based on the decision federal body executive power on intellectual property, adopted in accordance with paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 1248 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, or a court decision that has entered into legal force.

If a patent is partially invalidated for an invention, utility model or industrial design, a new patent is issued.

A patent for an invention, utility model or industrial design that is declared invalid in whole or in part is revoked from the date of filing the patent application.

Licensing agreements concluded on the basis of a patent subsequently declared invalid remain valid to the extent that they were executed at the time the decision on the invalidity of the patent was made.

Recognizing a patent as invalid means canceling the decision of the federal executive body for intellectual property to issue a patent for an invention, utility model or industrial design (Article 1387) and canceling the entry in the corresponding state register(Clause 1 of Article 1393).



Early termination of a patent for an invention, utility model or industrial design.

A patent for an invention, utility model or industrial design is terminated early:

on the basis of an application submitted by the patent holder to the federal executive body for intellectual property - from the date of receipt of the application. If a patent is issued for a group of inventions, utility models or industrial designs, and the application of the patent holder is filed in relation to not all objects included in the group patent rights, the patent is terminated only in relation to inventions, utility models or industrial designs specified in the application;

in case of failure to pay the patent fee within the established period for maintaining a patent for an invention, utility model or industrial design in force - from the date of expiration of the established period for paying the patent fee for maintaining the patent in force.

Restoring the validity of a patent for an invention, utility model or industrial design. Right of after-use

The validity of a patent for an invention, utility model or industrial design, which was terminated due to the fact that the patent fee for maintaining the patent in force was not paid within the established period, may be restored by the federal executive body for intellectual property at the request of the person who owned patent. A petition to restore the validity of a patent may be filed with the specified federal body within three years from the date of expiration of the patent fee payment, but before the expiration of the patent. The application must be accompanied by a document confirming payment of the established amount of the patent fee for restoration of the patent.

The federal executive body for intellectual property publishes in the official gazette information on the restoration of a patent for an invention, utility model or industrial design.



A person who, during the period between the date of termination of the patent for an invention, utility model or industrial design and the date of publication in the official gazette of the federal executive body for intellectual property of information about the restoration of the patent, began to use the invention, utility model or industrial design or made during the specified period necessary preparations for this, reserves the right to further it free use without expanding the scope of such use (right of after-use).

Trade secret (know-how): concept, conditions of protectability, subjects, rights of the owner, grounds for termination, liability for violation of rights. Information that cannot be trade secret.

Article 1465. Production secret (know-how)

(as amended by Federal Law dated March 12, 2014 N 35-FZ)

(see text in the previous edition)

1. A production secret (know-how) is information of any nature (production, technical, economic, organizational and others) about the results intellectual activity in the scientific and technical field and about methods of implementation professional activity, having actual or potential commercial value due to their unknownness to third parties, if third parties do not have free access to such information on legally and the owner of such information takes reasonable measures to maintain its confidentiality, including by introducing a trade secret regime.

2. Information whose disclosure is mandatory or inadmissible cannot be recognized as a production secret. restrictions on access to which are established by law or other legal act.

Know-xay – intended for the professional activities of citizens and legal entities information of any nature (technical, economic, organizational and others), to which third parties do not have free access on a legal basis and the owner of which takes measures to protect their confidentiality.

Know-how for Russian legislation is a new object of law. Regulated by Part 4 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

When an exclusive right to know-how arises and is exercised, its registration or compliance with any other formalities is not required.

The subject of such an agreement is know-how, therefore essential condition such a contract is a description of the transferred know-how. If a license is issued, the exclusive right to know-how remains with the copyright holder.

The parties to the license agreement are the licensor (the holder of the exclusive right to know-how) and the licensee (the person who has the right to use the know-how).

The form of the agreement must be in writing.

Both the licensor and the licensee are obliged to maintain the confidentiality of know-how during the entire term of the agreement, and the licensee - even after the expiration of the license agreement for this know-how.

The use of know-how is its application for production, technical, economic, organizational and other purposes, in particular:

In manufactured products;

When manufacturing a product;

When implementing economic and organizational decisions.

A person who has unlawfully obtained information about know-how does not have the right to use it. When disclosing or using this information, the violator is obliged to compensate for losses caused to the copyright holder. The same responsibility is assigned to employees who disclosed information about know-how contrary to an employment contract, and to contractors who did this contrary to a civil contract.

Illegal disclosure or use of information about know-how without the consent of its copyright holder, committed out of selfish or other personal interest and causing major damage, entails criminal liability(Article 183 of the Criminal Code).

The term “know-how” comes from the English “know-how” - “know-how”, i.e. "know how to do something."

The right to a production secret (know-how) is regulated by Chapter 75 of the Civil Code. According to Article 1465 of the Civil Code, a production secret (know-how) is information of any nature (production, technical, economic, organizational and others), including the results of intellectual activity in the scientific and technical field, as well as information about methods of carrying out professional activities that have actual or potential commercial value due to their unknownness to third parties, to which third parties do not have free access legally and in respect of which the owner of such information has introduced a trade secret regime.

The owner of a production secret has the exclusive right to use it in any way that does not contradict the law (exclusive right to a production secret), including in the manufacture of products and the implementation of economic and organizational decisions. The owner of a production secret may dispose of the said exclusive right. A person who, in good faith and independently of other holders of a production secret, becomes the owner of information constituting the content of a protected production secret, acquires an independent exclusive right to this production secret.

It should be noted that the exclusive right to a trade secret is valid as long as the confidentiality of the information constituting its content is maintained. From the moment the confidentiality of the relevant information is lost, the exclusive right to a production secret is terminated for all right holders (Article 1467 of the Civil Code).

It is also important to note the provisions of Articles 1470 and 1471 of the Civil Code on official trade secrets and on trade secrets obtained during the performance of work under an employment or other contract.

The exclusive right to a production secret created by an employee in connection with the performance of his duties labor responsibilities or a specific task of the employer (official trade secret), belongs to the employer. A citizen who, in connection with the performance of his job duties or a specific assignment of an employer, has become aware of a production secret, is obliged to maintain the confidentiality of the information received until the termination of the exclusive right to the production secret.

In the event that a production secret is obtained during the performance of a contract, a contract for the performance of research, development or technological work, or under a state or municipal contract for state or municipal needs, the exclusive right to such a production secret belongs to the contractor (performer), if the relevant agreement (state or municipal contract) not otherwise provided. In the case where a production secret is obtained during the performance of work under a contract concluded by the main manager or manager budget funds with federal government agencies, the exclusive right to such a production secret belongs to the contractor (performer), unless the contract establishes that this right belongs to the Russian Federation.

Federal Law No. 98-FZ of July 29, 2004 “On Trade Secrets” regulates relations related to the establishment, change and termination of the trade secret regime in relation to information constituting a trade secret (know-how).

According to Article 3 of this Law, a trade secret is a regime of confidentiality of information that allows its owner, under existing or possible circumstances, to increase income, avoid unjustified expenses, maintain a position in the market for goods, works, services or obtain other commercial benefits. Information constituting a trade secret (production secret) is defined by this Law as information of any nature (production, technical, economic, organizational and others), including the results of intellectual activity in the scientific and technical field, as well as information about the methods of carrying out professional activities, which have actual or potential commercial value due to their unknownness to third parties, to which third parties do not have free access legally and in respect of which the owner of such information has introduced a trade secret regime.

Liability for violation of the exclusive right to a production secret is established by Article 1472 of the Civil Code. Thus, a violator of the exclusive right to a production secret, including a person who unlawfully received information constituting a production secret and disclosed or used this information, as well as a person obliged to maintain the confidentiality of a production secret, is obliged to compensate for losses caused by the violation of the exclusive right to a secret proceedings, unless other liability is provided for by law or agreement with this person. However, paragraph 2 of this article specifically stipulates that a person who used a trade secret and did not know and should not have known that its use was illegal, including due to the fact that he gained access to the trade secret by accident or mistake , does not bear this responsibility.

Thus, illegal receipt, disclosure, use of information constituting a trade secret, to which federal law classified as a production secret (know-how) as a result of intellectual activity, entails disciplinary, civil, administrative or criminal liability. Such criminal acts are traditionally called industrial espionage.

The validity of any patent is limited by the time frame established by law. After the expiration of the period for which a patent was issued, an invention, utility model, industrial design, or plant variety becomes public domain and can be freely used by any interested person.

In addition, the validity period of a patent may be terminated early in some cases.

Firstly, the patent holder can abandon the patent at any time. Refusal of a patent is formalized by the patent holder filing an application with the patent authority. In this case, the patent ceases to be valid from the moment the notice is published in the official bulletin of the patent authority.

Secondly, the basis for termination of a patent is failure by the patent holder to pay the annual fee for maintaining the patent in force. The patent fee for each year of validity of a patent is paid during the current paid year of validity of this patent; The patent fee can be paid within 6 months from the date of the next unpaid year of validity of the patent, and in this case the patent fee increases by 50%. Failure to pay the fee within the specified period will result in automatic termination of the patent. Information about the early termination of a patent due to non-payment of the annual fee is also published in the official bulletin of the patent authority.

Third, a patent may be terminated due to its recognition as invalid.

The list of grounds for invalidating a patent is exhaustively listed in patent laws.

According to Art. 33 of the Law “On Patents for Inventions, Utility Models, Industrial Designs” a patent for the specified objects of industrial property may be declared invalid in whole or in part in the following cases:

1) non-compliance of the protected invention, utility model, industrial design with the conditions of patentability;

2) the presence in the formula of the invention, utility model of features that were absent in the original description (formula);

The list of grounds for invalidating a patent for a plant variety is somewhat different. According to Art. 22 of the Law of the Republic of Belarus “On Patents for Plant Varieties”, a patent during the entire period of its validity can be challenged by any citizen or legal entity and declared invalid in the following cases:

1) if it is established that on the date of issue of the patent the conditions for patentability in relation to novelty and distinctiveness of the protected variety were not met;

2) if it is established that at the date of grant of the patent the conditions for patentability in relation to the uniformity and stability of the protected variety were not met, and the examination decision was based mainly on information and documents submitted by the applicant;

19. Service objects of industrial property.

In current legislation, the concept of “official” is used in relation to such objects of industrial property rights as inventions, utility models, industrial designs, plant varieties.

An invention, utility model, industrial design are considered official, e.g. If they relate to the employer’s field of activity, provided that the activity that led to their creation relates to the employee’s official duties, or they were created in connection with the employee’s performance of a specific task received from the employer, or the employee used experience or resources when creating them employer (Article 6 of the Law of the Republic of Belarus “On patents for inventions, utility models, industrial designs”) .

A similar definition is given for utility plant varieties.

To recognize inventions, utility models, industrial designs and plant varieties as utility, several conditions must be met.

First, the named objects are anyway must relate to the employer's area of ​​activity. The point is that an industrial property object created by an employee can be used in accordance with the types of activities defined in constituent documents legal entity or certificate of state registration of an individual entrepreneur.

Secondly, in order to recognize an object as a service item, one of the grounds specified in patent laws must be present. The first possible basis for recognizing an object of industrial property as official is that creation of an object is part of the employee’s job responsibilities. An industrial property object can receive official status if its creation is part of the author’s labor responsibilities, determined in accordance with an employment agreement (contract).

Rights and obligations of the employee and employer when obtaining patents for industrial property objects.

Recognition of official status for an object of industrial property entails certain legal consequences when deciding who can obtain a patent for it. However, the current legislation does not contain a unified approach on this issue. The right to obtain a patent for a service invention, utility model and industrial design belongs to the employer, unless the contract between him and the employee provides otherwise. But an employer can obtain a patent for a service plant variety only if if this is provided for in the contract.

The main responsibilities of the author and his employer when obtaining a patent for industrial property objects are determined by legislative acts. An employee who has created a service object of industrial property must notify the employer in writing. According to the Law “On Patents for Inventions, Utility Models, Industrial Designs,” if the employer does not submit an application to the patent authority within 3 months from the date of notification by the employee, the right to obtain a patent passes to the employee.

The relationship between the author and the employer is regulated in more detail Regulations on service objects of industrial property, approved by Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus dated December 27, 1998 No. 1957 (hereinafter referred to as the Regulations). The regulation specifies the requirements for the notification of the creation of a service object of industrial property - the notification must be signed by the employee and contain a description of the created object, disclosing it with completeness sufficient to determine the suitability of this object in the employer’s activities, as well as the materials necessary to fill out an application for patent. The provision imposes on the employee the obligation to assist the employer in preparing application materials and corresponding with the patent authority. For its part, the employer is obliged to provide the employee with copies of the application materials, inform about the progress of the examination, and also provide the opportunity to review the correspondence regarding the application.

If an employer intends to patent a service object of industrial property not only in Belarus, but also abroad, he is obliged to inform the employee about this and indicate the countries in which he intends to claim protection. In other countries, an employee can obtain a patent in his own name.

In case of non-receipt of a patent for reasons depending on the employer, clause 8 of the Regulations provides for the payment of remuneration to the author, designed to compensate for the author's losses.

The provision regulates the relationship between the author and the employer that arises even after filing an application for a patent. If the employer, after filing an application, loses interest in obtaining a patent or maintaining a patent in force after receiving it, he must promptly offer to the employee who created the industrial property work either a gratuitous assignment of the right to obtain a patent (if the patent has not yet been obtained) or a gratuitous assignment the patent itself. The provision gives the employee three months to agree to this proposal; if the employee does not do this, the employer has the right to refuse to protect the facility.

The provision also provides that the author of a service object of industrial property retains the pre-emptive right to acquire a patent on announced terms when it is assigned by the employer (or the legal successor of the employer) to third parties, as well as in the event of liquidation of a legal entity.

Termination of an employment contract does not affect the rights and obligations of the employee and employer arising in connection with the creation of an official invention, utility model, industrial design, or plant variety.