Administrative Review Process for Disputes: Optimizing Rospatent Activity

For the applicant or third parties who do not agree with the decision taken by the specialists of the patent office based on the results of the examination of the claimed subject matter, the legislators provide for the right to challenge the decision taken by this state authority.

As a general rule, for this category of disputes at the first stage of conflict resolution the case is considered in the administrative proceedings. The Chamber for Patent Disputes of Rospatent is the institution authorized to resolve such disputes.

In September 2020 a regulatory enactment establishing the Rules for Consideration and Resolution of Disputes by the Federal Authority for Intellectual Property by Administrative Procedure (hereinafter the Rules) came into force.[1] Starting from September 6, 2020, all public petitions received at Rospatent will be considered in compliance with the adopted Rules. Later, the Patent Office published a reference explaining the nature and peculiarities of the innovations described in the Rules.[2]

The analysis of the sources above allows us to draw conclusions about the upcoming improvements in the activities of Rospatent, which will be achieved through the following.

• Optimization of office workflow and access to documents.

In the announcement published by Rospatent, there is the possibility to submit documents through the patent office official website, including trademark application, opposition, revocation letter, petition and other applications of the citizens in the electronic form. Also, if the opposition is accepted for consideration, it will be posted on the website with the provision of access to the parties.

• Acceleration within the framework of disputes resolution.

The following procedures have been accelerated: the period for formal examination of the applications and oppositions is shortened to 5 working days; the first session on the oppositions to Rospatent decision is shortened to 1 month after acceptance of the application for consideration; for other objections and applications it shall be within 2 months, on condition of the confirmed payment of the State duty. The deadlines for adjournment of the panel session and the list of grounds for adjournment are fixed.

• Accretion of powers of the parties.

The persons can participate in the sessions using video conferencing technology. The possibility of presenting new arguments during the consideration of the dispute by the person who filed an objection and the counter opinion of the parties on these arguments is also introduced.

It is worth assuming that the listed innovations will accelerate the process of consideration of disputes in the administrative procedure, as well as allow specialists considering disputes to get an up-to-date information for qualified and objective resolution of disputes.