The system of the state regulation in the field of intellectual property in the Russian Federation

One of the fundamental articles in this case is Article 1246 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, which is devoted to the peculiarities of the state regulation of the public relations in the field of intellectual property.

Depending on the tasks set and the powers available, the state authorities can be divided into legislative, executive and judicial.

The field of intellectual property, like any other area of the socially significant relations, requires to be regulated by and with the participation of all the above mentioned branches of the authorities for its full development and operation. In this regard, it seems logical to consider the system of the state regulation in accordance with the presented classification.

The legislative state authorities.

The activity of such institutions is aimed at developing, creating, approving and further improving the legislation of the Russian Federation in order to protect and defend the rights and freedoms of the citizens and the state. The federal normative acts describe the fundamental provisions that contribute to the full operation of the state as a structure. The main legislative authority in Russia is the Federal Assembly, which powers include adopting the federal laws. Thus, the development, approval and further modification of Part 4 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation devoted to intellectual property are under the jurisdiction of this institution.

There are also other state authorities, whose powers include the creation of normative and non-normative legal acts that influence on the field of intellectual property. The above documents add and disclose the meaning of the current norms, and they are a kind of the legal framework that ensures the full operation of the legislation. The powers to create such clarifying provisions are conferred to the federal executive authorities.

The executive state authorities that operate in the field of intellectual property.

The Government of the Russian Federation is the supreme executive authority at the federal level in Russia. If we consider the powers of the above institution in the field of intellectual property, the following can be highlighted:

• The normative legal regulation and, in particular, the publication of the bylaws that add and disclose the provisions of the current legislation.
• In accordance with the provisions of Paragraph 5 of Article 1246 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the Government of the Russian Federation is entitled to establish the rates, the procedure and the period of the payment of remuneration for employee’s inventions, utility models and industrial designs.
• According to Paragraph 6 of Article 1246 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the right to establish the rates, the procedure for collecting, distributing and paying remuneration for certain kinds of the use of works, performances and phonograms is also included in the powers. Provided that such activity is carried out with or without the right holders’ consent, but with the payment of remuneration in both cases.
• Promoting the inventive activity and patenting inventions, utility models and industrial designs.
• Regulating in the field of accounting for intangible assets, the rights to trademarks, as well as contributing to the activity of the Intellectual Property Court and others.

Within the framework of the above fields of activity, the Government of the Russian Federation has the powers to create and introduce into force the bylaws in the form of resolutions and orders. It also develops and proposes for improving and changing the current legislation and distributes the powers among the inferior authorities of the executive authority in order to fulfill the tasks set by the President and the state Duma.

The Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation is the executive authority, which activity involves, among other things, contributing to the development in the field of intellectual property. The range of powers of this institution includes:

• Introducing the drafts of the normative acts in the field of the creation, use and protection of the results of the intellectual activity to the Government of the Russian Federation.
• Adopting the bylaws within the framework of the activity being carried out. In particular, the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation approves the forms of the certificates for the trademarks and the names of the place of origin of the products, the procedure for extending the validity period of a patent for an invention, utility model or industrial design and so on.[1]
• Monitoring the activity of other executive state authorities.

The Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation fulfills the tasks set, including through the Federal Service for Intellectual Property, which is under its jurisdiction.

The Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation is also the executive authority that has a number of powers to protect and defend intellectual property. In accordance with Paragraph 5.4.10.7 and Paragraph 5.4.10.8 of the Resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation “On the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation,” this organization shall:

• monitor the compliance with the legislation of the Russian Federation on the copyright and related rights in the determined field of activity.
• monitor the activity of the organizations accredited by the state for the collective management of the copyright and related rights.[2]

In addition to this, the powers to carry out the state policy in the field of intellectual property in varying degrees refer to the activity of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation and others.

The Federal Service for Intellectual Property (Rospatent) has undoubtedly the widest range of the tasks and functions in the field of intellectual property. This organization is engaged in registering, checking and accounting intellectual property. It also considers the appeals and objections of the citizens related to the registration of intellectual property. In addition, the specialists of the Federal Service for Intellectual Property are engaged in generalizing the practice of applying the legislation in the relevant field of the public relations, submitting the drafts of the federal laws to the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation and exercising other powers.

The following may be referred to other executive authorities that monitor the compliance with the legislation in the field of intellectual property: the Federal Customs Service, the Federal Antimonopoly Service, the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media and others.

The judicial authorities, which have powers to consider the disputes in the field of intellectual property.

In this case, when determining the relevant judicial instance and jurisdiction of the dispute, it is essential to clarify the parties, namely: whether there are the individuals among the participants in the dispute or whether the conflict has occurred between the legal entities. Depending on this, the disputes may be considered both in the general jurisdiction courts and in the arbitration instances. A specialized state authority – the Intellectual Property Court, which operates as a part of the arbitration courts is worth noting individually. Despite this fact, both the legal entities and the individuals are entitled to apply to it, provided that the jurisdiction is complied.