The Protocol on the Protection of Industrial Designs to the Eurasian Patent Convention (EAPC) adopted on September 09, 2019 at the Diplomatic Conference in Nur-Sultan entered into force on March 17, 2021 for Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan and Armenia, April 11, 2021 for Russia and April 12, 2021 for Kazakhstan. The document has been ratified in Tajikistan and the issue of joining the Protocol is being considered in Belarus and Turkmenistan.
On April 12, 2021, a meeting of the EAPO Administrative Council was held, at which Part II «Industrial Designs» of the Patent Regulations to the EAPC and the new Regulation on EAPO Fees, as well as amendments to the existing Patent Regulations and Regulations on Fees, aimed at harmonizing documents, were approved.
The issues on the distribution of fees paid under the Protocol, as well as on the date of the start of accepting applications for Eurasian industrial designs were considered. According to the EAPO, the acceptance of applications is scheduled to begin on June 01, 2021.