Despite the fact that the issue of intellectual property rights turnover is included in the perimeter of antimonopoly regulation, until recently the Russian Antitrust Agency took rather an observant position.

The regulator's position was that the issue of patent infringement is a private legal dispute between original and generic manufacturers, which should not affect the turnover of drugs, particularly the execution of contracts based on the results of public procurement. Only in isolated cases the Russian Antitrust Agency has established the fact of patent infringement and issued a corresponding order on the inadmissibility of anti-competitive practices.

Now the reverse trend has clearly emerged.

More in our update.

On 24 June, a new block of sanctions was adopted which, among other things, affects in the broadest possible way the prospects for registration and protection of intellectual property owned by Russian individuals and legal entities abroad.

On 4 November 2023 the decree of the Ministry of Industry and Trade No. 2701 dated 21 July 2023, which approved a new list of goods for parallel import and recognized the decree of the Ministry of Industry and Trade No. 1532 dated 19 April 2022 and all the amending decrees as null and void, comes into force.

By its Ruling of 25.09.2023 in case No. A40-185112/2022, the Ninth Commercial Court of Appeal ordered the pharmaceutical company Vertex, the right holder of a series of patents for the drug Trikafta (INN: Ivacaftor+Tezacaftor+Elexacaftor, Ivacaftor), to grant a simple (non-exclusive) license to the Russian pharmaceutical company MIK under Article 1362(1) of the Russian Civil Code (insufficient use of patents).

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has recently published a new decree amending the Decree No. 1532 of 19 April 2022 “On goods admissible for parallel import, that shall not be restricted by art. 1359(6) and 1487 of the Civil Code”.

By March 1, 2023, it is necessary to submit a notification on the implementation of cross-border transfer of personal data.

The new Federal law will enter into force on 18 October 2022. The amendments provide for the possibility to challenge extension of a patent related to a medicine, pesticide, or agrochemical (granting SPCs) by filing an opposition with Rospatent according to procedure set out in Article 1398 (2) of the Russian Civil Code if conditions for such patent extension, stipulated in Article 1363 (2) of the Russian Civil Code, have been violated.

Despite the fact that it is possible to obtain a single Eurasian patent by filing an application with the Eurasian Patent Organization (EAPO), the challenge of such patent is proceed separately in each country party of the Eurasian Patent Convention (excluded an administrative annulment of a patent under art. 19(xiii) of the Eurasian Patent Convention and Rule 53 of the Regulations to the Eurasian Patent Convention).

Overview of measures applied to designated persons according to the FAQ.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade partially legalized parallel import in Russia by approving the Decree No. 1532 of 19 April 2022 “On goods admissible for parallel import, that shall not be restricted by art. 1359(6) and 1487 of the Civil Code” . The list includes well-known brands of cars, home equipment, smartphones, etc.