An agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (hereinafter referred to as the WIPO) on the Establishment of a WIPO Representative Office in the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the Agreement) was signed in Geneva on 10 April 2013, and has been applied provisionally to the parties since 10 June 2013.
The WIPO is a special agency of the United Nations for the development of an accessible international intellectual property system. It promotes activities to improve the protection of intellectual property and the harmonisation of national legislations in this area.
Currently, the WIPO has offices in four countries, including the United States (New York), Japan (Tokyo), Brazil (Rio de Janeiro), and Singapore.
The Agreement specifies the objectives and the functions of the office, the contribution and the rights of the parties and contains provisions on the privileges and immunities that are granted to the office and its staff in the Russian Federation.
The activities of the office in the Russian Federation will be aimed at improving the protection of intellectual property, supporting the organisation’s Global Intellectual Property Systems for the registration of intellectual property, developing the system of personnel training, and holding conferences and seminars.
Expenditures on the operation of the office shall be financed by budget allocations that have been stipulated for Rospatent in the federal budget for 2014 and the planning period of 2015 and 2016.
The Agreement contains regulations that differ from those stipulated by the legislation of the Russian Federation, concerning granting privileges and immunities to the WIPO and its staff, and, in accordance with Subparagraph A, Paragraph 1, Article 15, of the Federal Law On International Treaties of the Russian Federation, and shall be subject to ratification.
The draft law was considered and approved at the Government meeting on 20 February 2014.
