Obtaining effective patents is the main goal of our assistance to the client.
Entering the Russian national phase by a PCT application is one of the possible ways to seek patent protection in Russia which is available to our clients. The due term to enter the Russian national PCT phase with an international application is before the expiration of 31 months from the priority date of the PCT application. Foreign applicants are to be represented before the Russian Patent Office (Rospatent) by a registered Russian patent attorney. The power of attorney is not requested by Rospatent at the stage of filing (entering the Russian national PCT phase) but the Russian patent attorney must have it. The power of attorney is to be provided in a simple written form, no legalization is required.
The main advantages of filing a patent in Russia via PCT are the following:
- the International Search conducted at the International Phase of the PCT procedure gives the applicant understanding of the patentability prospects of the claims originally filed;
- the avoidance of formal objections of the Russian Patent Office during the formal examination since a PCT application is to be considered as properly filed Russian national application;
- faster patent prosecution compared with a conventional patent application;
- possibility to file Russian language translation later (after a request from the examination);
- right to amend the claims based on the original text of the PCT application as it is considered as the original materials of application;
- discount on office fee provided by Rospatent for International Search for the application and electronic filing of it;
- one can enter the Russian national phase filing an application for an invention patent or utility model patent (if the application relates to a device only).
While communicating with the examination of Rospatent in the prosecution of the PCT application at the Russian national phase our patent attorneys are focused on obtaining quality patents. So the philosophy of our job in patent prosecution is not only to assure the future patent validity over prior art but also to achieve the best suitability for the future enforcement in the Russian court. We know very well that many of the problems and difficulties which affect successful patent litigation (enforcement and validity trials) appear to be a result of shortcomings during the patent application’s prosecution. The experience of our patent attorneys in validity trials before Rospatent’s Chamber for Patent Disputes gives them a deep understanding of the essence of the patent prosecution based on their practical experience in construing the claims. Our standard approach is to provide qualified advice on the Russian patent prosecution procedure and do our best in each patent application prosecution case rather than simply ask for instructions from our clients (or foreign patent attorneys) and follow them.