Just as the war in Ukraine resulting from Russia’s invasion has passed 100 days, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced it will terminate its agreement with its Russian counterpart, the Russian Federal Service for Intellectual Property, Patents and Trademarks (aka Rospatent), effective December 1, 2022. Rospatent will no longer function as either an International Searching Authority (ISA) or International Preliminary Examining Authority (IPEA) for PCT applications which are received by the USPTO as receiving office (RO/US). The USPTO has recommended to applicants that still wish to designate Rospatent as an ISA or IPEA to use caution, as it may violate recent actions by the U.S. Treasury Department (see General License No. 31). Although patent, trademark, and copyright applications can continue to be filed and prosecuted with Rospatent, paying fees through opening and maintaining deposit accounts with Rospatent or Russian banks is prohibited under General License No. 31.
The USPTO had earlier terminated its Global Patent Prosecution Highway (GPPH) with Rospatent as a result of war in Ukraine.
We will continue to update developments on the blog.