Protection of rights to intellectual property objects

Protection of rights to intellectual property.

When planning to supply a particular product from outside the Eurasian Economic Union, you need to know that if goods included in the register of intellectual property are imported, their customs clearance will be suspended for 10 working days.
During this period, it is necessary to obtain permission from the owner of the intellectual property right to register the goods. If the permission of the copyright holder is not obtained, the customs authority makes a decision to seize such goods, seize them or confiscate them. The period of suspension of customs clearance of goods at the request of the copyright holder may be extended by the customs authority, but not more than by 10 working days, if representatives of the copyright holder have applied to the authorized bodies for the protection of their rights in accordance with the law. The customs authority, no later than 1 working day following the day the decision is made to suspend the release of goods containing intellectual property, must notify the declarant and the copyright holder about the reasons and timing of the suspension, and also inform the declarant (or his representative) the name, location of the copyright holder, and to the copyright holder or a person representing his interests - the name and location of the declarant.

Upon expiration of the suspension period for the release of goods containing objects of intellectual property, the release of such goods is resumed and carried out in the manner established by the Customs Code of the Customs Union, with the exception of cases where documents confirming the seizure of goods, seizure or confiscation of them are submitted to the customs authority.

Important ! The Law of the Republic of Belarus “On customs regulation in the Republic of Belarus” No. 129-Z dated January 10, 2014 includes the following as objects of intellectual property:

• goods containing objects of copyright and related rights;
• trademarks;

service marks;

• names of places of origin of goods included at the request of the copyright holder in the customs register of intellectual property objects.

In accordance with the Law of the Republic of Belarus of February 5, 1993 No. 2181-XI “On Trademarks and Service Marks”, a trademark and service mark are recognized as a designation that helps distinguish the goods, works and (or) services of one person from similar goods of other persons .(, 52 KV)

According to Articles 2 and 3 of the Law “On Trademarks and Service Marks”:

1. The right to a trademark is protected by the state. A certificate is issued for a registered trademark. A trademark certificate certifies the priority of the trademark, the exclusive right of the owner to the trademark in relation to the goods specified in the certificate, and contains an image of the trademark.

2. A violation of the exclusive right to a trademark is the use of a trademark or a designation confusingly similar to it, without the permission of the owner of the trademark, expressed in the commission of actions provided for in paragraph 1 of Article 20 of this Law, in relation to homogeneous goods, as well as heterogeneous goods , designated by a trademark recognized as well-known in the Republic of Belarus. (Clause 1 of Article 20 of the Law stipulates that the use of a trademark to individualize goods in respect of which the trademark is registered is carried out, including by using the trademark on goods that are produced, offered for sale, sold or otherwise put into civil circulation , stored, transported or imported into the territory of the Republic of Belarus for the purpose of introduction into civil circulation, as well as on labels and packaging of such goods).

Registers of intellectual property objects

In the Republic of Belarus, the register of intellectual property objects is maintained by the State Customs Committee of the Republic of Belarus. The register is constantly updated, and you can view it in its current version by following this link.

Each member state of the Eurasian Economic Union maintains its own registers of intellectual property. Information about the registers of the Russian Federation, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Republic of Armenia and the Kyrgyz Republic is also posted on the website of the State Customs Committee of the Republic of Belarus at the link.

The decision of the Customs Union Commission No. 290 of June 18, 2010 “On the Regulations for the interaction of customs authorities of the member states of the Customs Union on the issues of maintaining a unified customs register of intellectual property objects” approved the creation of a Unified customs register of intellectual property objects of the member states of the Customs Union. The body authorized to maintain such a register is the Federal Customs Service of the Russian Federation. Perhaps soon all registered brands will be included in the unified register of member states of the Customs Union. However, you need to know that today only national registries operate.

It is important to know! According to ch. 46 of the Customs Code of the Customs Union, measures to protect rights to intellectual property are not applied by customs authorities in relation to goods moved across the customs border:

• by individuals for personal use, including those sent to their address in international mail;
• in accordance with the customs procedure for customs transit;
• diplomatic missions, consular offices, other official missions of foreign states, international organizations, personnel of these missions, institutions and organizations, for official and personal use.

With regard to goods imported from the CIS countries, the Decision of the Council of Heads of Government of the CIS “On the Rules for customs control over the movement across the customs border of goods containing objects of intellectual property” dated September 28, 2001, approved the Rules for customs control over the movement across the customs border of goods containing objects of intellectual property property (ratified by the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Republic of Moldova, the Republic of Armenia, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Tajikistan, Georgia, the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Republic of Kazakhstan, Ukraine, the Kyrgyz Republic).

The Decision defines counterfeit goods: “ counterfeit goods are goods containing objects of intellectual property (objects of copyright and related rights, trademarks, geographical indications) created and/or transported across the customs border in violation of the rights of the copyright holder provided for by national legislation.”

The full text of the Agreement “On the Rules for Customs Control over the Movement of Goods Containing Intellectual Property Objects across the Customs Border” can be found here.

How to enter a trademark into the FCS register

Russian and foreign organizations, as well as individuals who have exclusive rights to it, can submit an application for inclusion of a trademark in the FCS register. You can apply through the official website customs.ru or the State Services portal.

The application is submitted in the form from Appendix No. 1 to the order dated January 28, 2019 and the following documents are attached to it:

• information about the copyright holder and his representative (if available);
• information about the object of intellectual property;
• information about the period during which the participation of the Federal Customs Service will be required in the protection of intellectual rights;
• confirmation of the right to a registered trademark;
• description of cases of already discovered violations, for example, the sale of counterfeit goods under a protected trademark.

Only one trademark or service mark may be reported per application.

Within a month after the application, the Federal Customs Service makes a decision on entering the trademark into the register of intellectual property or a reasoned refusal to do so. The period for consideration of the application may be extended by another month if additional documents are required to confirm rights.

If everything went well, the following is entered into the registry:

• registration number;
• name or description of the trademark;
• details of the document on legal capacity;
• name, as well as ICGS classes and EAEU HS codes of goods for which protection and control measures are taken;
• information about the copyright holder and his authorized representatives.

There is no fee for entering information about a trademark into the register.

Inclusion of an intellectual property object in the customs register

In the second part of our article, we will consider the issue of including an object of intellectual property in the customs register.

Basic documents:

• Law of the Republic of Belarus “On customs regulation in the Republic of Belarus” No. 129-Z dated January 10, 2014. Chapter 44 of the Law “Measures to protect intellectual property taken by customs authorities” is posted in full at the end of our article.
• Customs Code of the Customs Union. Chapter 46 “Features of customs operations in relation to goods containing objects of intellectual property” is also posted in the article.

How to check the presence of technical specifications in the registry

You can check whether a protected trademark is included in the register of intellectual property objects of the Federal Customs Service only on the official website of the department. Databases on other resources may be out of date or unreliable.

We go to the customs service website and select the appropriate register.

A search is possible by registration number, trademark name, product name, copyright holder. Let’s try to check the presence of the well-known brand “Adidas” in the registry; to do this, enter this word in the name field of the intellectual property object.

Now you can see who is the copyright holder of the mark and its authorized representative (for example, the official distributor in the Russian Federation). Based on this information, the customs service makes a decision on the import or export of goods.

Thus, the register of intellectual property allows the customs service to block the circulation of counterfeit goods and protect the interests of trademark rights holders. In addition, goods from the countries of the customs union included in the OIP register are declared in a special manner, separately from other goods.

Procedure for inclusion in the register

To be included in the register, the copyright holder submits to the State Customs Committee of the Republic of Belarus an application for the customs authorities to take measures to protect his rights to the intellectual property object . Such an application can be submitted both when protecting rights when importing goods and when exporting them, as well as in relation to goods under customs control.

The application must contain information about the copyright holder, about the object of intellectual property, about the goods, the customs procedure and the period during which the customs authorities will make a decision on the protection of rights to the object of intellectual property. The full list of information that must be contained in the application is specified in Article 252 of the Law.

Also in paragraph 3 of Art. 252 of the Law contains a complete list of documents that must be attached to the application.

The Customs Committee must submit documents confirming the existence and ownership of the right to an intellectual property object:

• certificate;
• license agreement;
• extracts from state registers of objects of industrial property rights and agreements on the transfer of rights to such objects;
• extracts from the international registers of the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization;
• other documents that the copyright holder may submit to confirm his rights to the intellectual property.

In the Republic of Belarus, the authorized body for registration of trademarks is the National Register of Intellectual Property. Follow the link to learn about the procedure for registering trademarks. On the website of the National Register, link, there is an information retrieval system for databases of industrial property objects. An extract from the state register of objects of industrial property rights for submission to the State Customs Committee of the Republic of Belarus is issued by the National Register on a paid basis.

About the timing. The period for consideration of the application by the State Customs Committee is one month. For verification purposes, it may be extended for another month. The period for placing an intellectual property object in the register is 2 years. Customs authorities do not charge a fee for entry into the register. After two years, this period may be extended.

Important! An object of intellectual property in respect of which the State Customs Committee of the Republic of Belarus has decided to take measures to protect the rights to the object of intellectual property is included in the customs register only on the condition that the copyright holder ensures the fulfillment of the obligation to compensate for property harm (damage). In this case, the amount of security for the fulfillment of the obligation or the insurance amount must be equivalent to at least ten thousand euros at the official exchange rate of the Belarusian ruble established by the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus.

If the copyright holder fails to comply with the conditions relating to ensuring the fulfillment of the obligation to compensate for property harm (damage), the intellectual property object is subject to exclusion from the customs register by decision of the State Customs Committee.

Based on the information posted on the website of the State Customs Committee of the Republic of Belarus, insurance contracts for civil liability of the copyright holder for causing property damage are concluded by the following insurance companies:

• BRUSP "Belgosstrakh";
• BRUPEIS "Eximgarant of Belarus";
• ZASO "Promtransinvest";
• JLLC "Belkoopstrakh";
• USP "Belvneshstrakh";
• OJSC Belvnesheconombank.

Contact our specialists or by phone. + 375 (44) 580-31-66 for concluding commission agreements and consultations in the field of customs legislation.

Law of the Republic of Belarus “On Customs Regulation in the Republic of Belarus”, Chapter 44 SECTION VII FEATURES OF CUSTOMS OPERATIONS IN RELATION TO SEPARATE CATEGORIES OF GOODS

CHAPTER 44 MEASURES TO PROTECT RIGHTS TO INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OBJECTS TAKEN BY CUSTOMS AUTHORITIES

Article 251. Grounds for taking measures to protect rights to intellectual property by customs authorities

1. Customs authorities take measures to protect rights to intellectual property related to the suspension of the release of goods in accordance with Chapter 46 of the Customs Code of the Customs Union and this chapter.

2. Measures to protect rights to objects of intellectual property are taken by customs authorities in relation to goods containing objects of copyright and related rights, trademarks, service marks and names of places of origin of goods (hereinafter referred to as the object of intellectual property), included at the request of the copyright holder in the customs register objects of intellectual property.

Article 252. Application for the adoption by customs authorities of measures to protect rights to an object of intellectual property and the procedure for its consideration

1. The copyright holder (his representative) who has reasonable grounds to believe that there may be a violation of his rights in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Belarus in connection with the import of goods into the Republic of Belarus or their export from the Republic of Belarus or when performing other actions with goods under control customs control, has the right to submit to the State Customs Committee of the Republic of Belarus an application for the customs authorities to take measures to protect the rights to an object of intellectual property (hereinafter referred to in this article as the application).

2. The application must contain information:

2.1. about the copyright holder, and if the application is submitted by his representative, also about the representative:

for a legal entity: official name, information about registration in the country of location (the body that registered the legal entity, registration number, date and place of registration), payer registration number (if available);

for an individual: surname, first name, patronymic (if available), series (if available) and number of an identity document, or a valid passport or other document replacing it, issued by the relevant authority of the state of citizenship or usual place of residence of a foreign citizen or stateless persons or an international organization;

2.2. about the object of intellectual property:

for an object of copyright and related rights: form and type of work, name, description, information about documents confirming the existence and ownership of the right to an object of intellectual property;

for a trademark and appellation of origin of a product: name, image, description, list of goods indicating their classes in accordance with the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Registration of Marks, adopted by the Nice Agreement on the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Registration of Marks of June 15, 1957 in respect of which the trademark is registered, the name of the place of origin of the goods, information about documents confirming the existence and ownership of the right to an object of intellectual property;

2.3. about goods containing an object of intellectual property, including codes of the Commodity Nomenclature of Foreign Economic Activity at a level of at least six digits, about the place of manufacture of such goods, their manufacturers and persons who have permission or a license to use the rights to an object of intellectual property, other available at the disposal of the right holder (his representative) information;

2.4. on the customs procedure (procedures), when placing goods under which (which) it is advisable for customs authorities to take measures to protect the rights to an object of intellectual property;

2.5. about goods, the import of which into the Republic of Belarus or the export of which from the Republic of Belarus, or the performance of other actions with which while they are under customs control, in the opinion of the copyright holder, entails a violation of his rights, sufficiently detailed so that the customs authorities can identify such goods;

2.6. on the period during which customs authorities will take measures to protect rights to intellectual property.

3. Attached to the application:

documents confirming the existence and ownership of the right to an object of intellectual property (certificate, license agreement, extracts from state registers of objects of industrial property rights and agreements on the transfer of rights to such objects, extracts from international registers of the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization, other documents that the copyright holder can submit in confirmation of his rights to an object of intellectual property), and if the application is submitted by his representative, a power of attorney issued by the copyright holder to such a person is also attached to the said application;

obligation of the copyright holder in writing to compensate for property damage (damage) that may be caused to persons specified in paragraph 5 of Article 331 of the Customs Code of the Customs Union as a result of suspension of the release of goods in accordance with Chapter 46 of the Customs Code of the Customs Union.

The documents specified in paragraph two of part one of this paragraph may be submitted to the State Customs Committee of the Republic of Belarus in the form of originals or their notarized copies.

If documents are submitted in a foreign language, their notarized translation into one of the state languages ​​of the Republic of Belarus is attached to the application.

Simultaneously with the submission of the application, if possible, samples, photographs or other images of goods containing intellectual property, as well as goods that can serve as confirmation of the existence, in the opinion of the copyright holder, of a violation of his rights.

4. In cases where the application does not contain the information specified in paragraph 2 of this article, the copyright holder (his representative) fails to provide the documents specified in part one of paragraph 3 of this article, as well as inconsistency of the documents specified in paragraph two of part one of paragraph 3 of this article , the requirements established by parts two and three of paragraph 3 of this article, the State Customs Committee of the Republic of Belarus, no later than five working days from the date of receipt of the application, informs the copyright holder (his representative) in writing about the refusal to accept the application, indicating the reason for the refusal.

5. The State Customs Committee of the Republic of Belarus considers the application within a period not exceeding one month from the date of receipt of the application and decides to take measures to protect the rights to an object of intellectual property or to refuse to take such measures.

6. In order to verify the accuracy of the information provided by the copyright holder (his representative), the State Customs Committee of the Republic of Belarus has the right to request information and documents confirming the declared information from the copyright holder (his representative), third parties, as well as from government bodies. The requested information and documents must be submitted within ten working days from the date of receipt of the request. In this case, the State Customs Committee of the Republic of Belarus has the right to extend the period for consideration of the application, but not more than for one month.

7. A decision to refuse to take measures to protect rights to an object of intellectual property is made in the following cases:

7.1. submission by the copyright holder (his representative) of false information or failure to comply with the requirements established by this chapter, with the exception of those established by paragraphs 2 and 3 of this article;

7.2. failure by the copyright holder (his representative) to provide information or documents requested in the manner prescribed by paragraph 6 of this article;

7.3. if the State Customs Committee of the Republic of Belarus decides that the customs authorities cannot ensure the adoption of measures to protect the rights to an object of intellectual property.

8. If the copyright holder (his representative) fails to provide a document confirming the fulfillment by the copyright holder of the obligation specified in paragraph three of part one of paragraph 3 of this article, in the ways provided for by the civil legislation of the Republic of Belarus, or an insurance contract for the civil liability of the copyright holder for causing property damage (damage) in favor of the persons specified in paragraph 5 of Article 331 of the Customs Code of the Customs Union, within one month from the date of sending the notification of the decision taken by the customs authorities to take measures to protect the rights to an object of intellectual property, such a decision is subject to cancellation.

9. In the event of a change in the information specified in the application or in the documents attached to it, the copyright holder (his representative) is obliged to immediately notify the State Customs Committee of the Republic of Belarus.

Belgospatent, NCIS. Trademark Registration™

The Republic of Belarus is a member country of 17 comprehensive international agreements in the field of spiritual heritage (capital, value), operating under the leadership of WIPO.

Our republic, among others, also participated in diverse settlements in the field of protection of spiritual values, signed within the CIS and EurAsEC. The people's licensing mechanism for the protection of items of industrial capital of our republic was formed in 1992. The Government Invention Committee of the Republic of Belarus (Belgospatent/NCIS) carries out the main government responsibilities for regulating this structure. The main trends in the work of the committee are the legal protection of objects of industrial wealth: discoveries, necessary forms, industrial copies, trademarks, performance indicators, other enterprises, as well as types of flora; reference support for our foreign and foreign legal entities; implementation of a policy in the field of selling patents for research and technological achievements and in the introduction of objects of industrial capital into civil use, international assistance. Belgospatent/NCIS reports directly to the Government of the Republic of Belarus. The institution has 122 employees. The state budget supplies it with funds.

During the period of operation of the Belarusian State Patent/NCIS, a regulatory and legal framework for the state structure for the protection of industrial property was developed. Resolutions “On patents for inventions and utility models”, “On patents for industrial designs”, “On trademarks and service marks”, “On patents for plant varieties”, “On the legal protection of topologies of integrated circuits” were developed and approved. The decrees “On brand names” and “On the legal protection of geographical indications and appellations of origin of goods” have been thought out. To implement the license for spiritual property, bills of the Republic of Belarus “On Amendments to the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus”, “On Amendments to the Administrative Code of the Republic of Belarus” and “On Amendments to the Customs Code of the Republic of Belarus” were created, taking into account the degree of legal and managerial responsibilities for non-compliance with powers on objects of industrial and spiritual wealth, the customs management process. The implementation of the entire set of canons creates the prerequisites for local and foreign bearers for the regulatory protection of emerging enterprises of industrial heritage and other results in the field of technical sciences, helps create foreign trade opportunities for Belarus and mobilize the most advanced foreign methods and contributions to the state economy. The instrument providing the implementation of decrees are orders of the Government and lawful sources created by Belgospatent. The Government Decree adopted the “Regulations on Service Objects of Industrial Property”, regulating the relationship relating to the transfer of a creation or other object from the creator to the lessee. He rightfully has the prerogative over the thing. The Decree most fully takes into account the benefits of creators and tenants in the formation of industrial property. The state decision adopted the “Regulations on the procedure and conditions for state stimulation of the creation and use of industrial property objects.” The national promotion mechanism involves mandatory incentives for creators for the invention and use of industrial property objects, including representatives who support the production and use of these objects. The provision stipulates the obligation for delay in payment of incentives.

Belgospatent adopted the documents “On approval of the Regulations on patent duties and fees”, “On the procedure for assessing and accounting for intellectual property as part of intangible assets”, which were approved by Government Order. “Methodological recommendations for assessing the value and accounting of intellectual property objects as part of intangible assets”, “Regulations on the procedure for issuing special permits (licenses) for carrying out expert work on assessing the value of intellectual property objects as part of intangible assets” were developed and adopted. The norm of the Republic of Belarus “Assessment of intellectual property objects” has been approved and entered into force. For state management elements, the “Approximate Regulations on the Patent Division of Ministries, Associations Subordinate to the Government, and State Enterprises” have been adopted. The template of the Republic of Belarus “Patent Research. Order of conduct". In addition, norms have been created for the creation, presentation and analysis of requirements for industrial property enterprises, canons for performing licensing assessments, a procedure for studying and recording permitted agreements and contracts for the settlement of powers, as well as a series of lawfully systematic documents required for the profitable operation of the people's licensing mechanism. An assessment of the situation of legislative protection of industrial property shows that over the period of time from 1993-1999. 8,840 requests for openings were submitted from local and foreign interested parties, including 5,487 from ours and 2,252 from foreigners. For industrial models for 1993-1999. 597 applications were submitted. In 1998, 73 requests for practical models were received and 141 in 1999. From 1993 to 1999, over 40,000 applications were submitted for registration of trademarks, including 14,270 through the national process and 25,900 applications under the Madrid Agreement. 3,370 licenses for discoveries, 260 for industrial types, 120 documents for practical types were taken into account in the State Register, while 30,030 trademarks were recorded, of which 21,700 were registered under the Madrid Treaty process. In the period from 1996-1999, 91 applications were issued for types of vegetation, 35 licenses granted. The State Register has registered 380 patent agreements and 350 contracts for the settlement of powers, namely trademarks - 300, discoveries - 55. Most applications for registration of licenses for discoveries were submitted from individual innovators (30%), the Ministry of Education (30%), the Ministry of Industry (20%). Next come the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus and the Ministry of Health (7.8% each), the Ministry of Agriculture and Food (5%) and the Ministry of Architecture and Construction (2%). An assessment of the dispersion by area of ​​the discoveries taken into account notes that the majority of discoveries by national manufacturers are found in chapter A of the International Patent Classification (meeting vital needs) - 23%, in part C (metallurgy, chemistry) - 20%, point B (various technological activities) - 20%, area G (physics) - 12% and article F (mechanics) - 9%. Of the foreign applicants, companies from Germany (7%), the USA (4%), Ukraine and the Russian Federation (2% each), Great Britain (1.4%), France (1.3%), Italy (1.0%) showed the most extreme initiative.

Since 1994, the Committee has been publishing the “Official Bulletin” once every three months, which contains information about applications for industrial property, about protective papers issued for them, about the number of records, lists, notifications, and public statements. Collections of methodological works “Industrial Property”, annual “Catalogs of Scientific and Technical Developments and Inventions”, and the publication “Intellectual Property in Belarus” are published. All stages of document flow regarding applications for industrial property enterprises and collections of information bulletins are automated. The programming mechanism in Belgospatent arose on the basis of a formed system, the main provisions of which were an integrated approach, staged design, direction to the latest methods, and a set of problem resolution. At the moment, the structure includes a number of subsystems that coordinate, using a database (DB), formed for any type of industrial enterprise. Each individual subsystem contains a certain number of types of automated workstations (AWS), in most cases an automated workstation for a dispatcher for entering data into the database, an automated workstation for a specialist, etc. All actions are computerized, including registration in the database of the time of submission of an application, document flow through correspondence with applicants, performing verification, issuing a printed magazine and finally issuing protective papers. All operations via the Internet use a common information storage for all types of industrial property. At the moment, the following subsystems can be noted: ● the trademark subsystem, the database of which contains a list of references, illustrations of trademarks (text, graphic, composite), a list of products and services. There is a search device with an interface and alternatives similar to the ROMARIN program, allowing for verification; ● discovery subsystem, its database contains a list of sources, equations, histories, diagrams. The possibility of document flow during the verification of discoveries has been created; there is also a search device with which you can find the necessary requests and licenses in the database according to the list. ● a subsystem of practical types with potential similar to the subsystem of discoveries. There is a question of preparing the coordination of these two subsystems; ● subsystem of industrial models, the database of which contains a catalog and snapshots of declared prototypes. There is a search device here too; ● subsystem of vegetation types. Its database stores a classifier for inflorescence varieties, a list of references, and the results of variety studies; ● subsystem for drawing up administrative papers. She uses the above-mentioned information bases and samples representing the sizes of parts of publications, and creates the necessary parts of newsletters. The subsystem covers the workstation of the journal director, who establishes the structure of this publication and creates the generation of notices based on the database data, the workstation of the page managers who perform the final finishing of the publication; ● subsystem for printing protective papers, which adds the necessary information based on DB materials on all types of industrial property to the forms of these documents. All the work of publishing numerous defense papers is performed by one employee; ● tax registration and management subsystem (at the maintenance stage).

The named subsystems are used all year round for 2-5 years. They were created in a file-server structure by the capabilities of the database control mechanism (DBMS). It is planned to use the potential of this huge DBMS on a large scale. Along with this, in connection with the acquisition of personal premises by Belgospatent, the main difficulty in organizing the programming mechanism - the territorial isolation of departments - disappears. Verification of discoveries using the WIPO project will be provided with fast Internet channels and access to reference facilities. In the international project, NCIP is actively working together with WIPO, the European and Eurasian Patent Offices, as well as similar bodies of 45 world states. The Republic of Belarus is a member of WIPO, the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks, the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), the Nice, Locarno and Strasbourg Agreements on International Classifications, the Nairobi Treaty for the Protection of the Olympic Symbol, the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and artistic works, the WIPO Copyright Treaty and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty. In the near future, Belarus intends to accede to the Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedures, the Protocol to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks and the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Deposit of Industrial Designs. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, many former Soviet republics faced a critical situation in the field of protecting industrial property enterprises, the best salvation from which was the organization of a new intergovernmental structure for the protection of these items. The result of the collective work of the CIS republics, the EPO and WIPO was the emergence of the “Eurasian Patent Convention”. The Republic of Belarus, the second after Turkmenistan, handed over the mandate to approve the Convention on May 8, 1995. Being a party to the Eurasian Patent Convention since August 12, 1995, the Belarusian Republic, together with other member countries, has all the rights of a territorial mechanism for the legal protection of discoveries, which makes it possible to meet the requirements of domestic applicants. The Republic of Belarus is taking vigorous steps to become a member of the World Trade Organization. State bills in the field of spiritual talent (including industrial property, exclusive and related prerogatives) operate in accordance with the terms of TRIPS. In 1993, the State Patent Committee began to unite the republic's licensing mechanism into an international patent structure. For this purpose, interstate and interdepartmental agreements with several countries were created and approved. On October 20, 1993, an Intergovernmental Agreement was concluded with Ukraine, and on July 20, 1994, with the Russian Federation in the field of protection of industrial property. By the end of 1993, Interdepartmental Agreements were signed with Bulgaria, with the Republic of Armenia, in 1995 - with the Patent Offices of Poland and the Czech Republic, in 1997 - with the Patent Office of France. Barter agreements for licensed materials have been signed with the EPO, Canada, Austria, the Netherlands, Macedonia, Greece, Japan, Estonia, Mongolia, Uzbekistan and other states. With the help of the NCIP EPO and WIPO, the first international meeting in the field of protection of spiritual property was held, held in the capital of Belarus on June 21-22, 1995, “Symposium for heads of patent offices of the CIS countries on regional cooperation and patent protection.” In November 1997, in Minsk, with the assistance of WIPO and Rospatent, Besgospatent organized a republican practical and scientific lecture “Legal protection and commercialization of intellectual (industrial) property.” On May 25-27, 1998, an interethnic symposium “The Economic Significance of Intellectual Property” was held in Minsk. This event, which was prepared by Belgospatent with the assistance of WIPO and the EPO, was attended by licensed representatives, authorized patent authorities, scientists and official societies of England, Switzerland, Ukraine, the Russian Federation, Moldova, the Kyrgyz Republic, Georgia and the Republic of Belarus. The territorial symposium “Legal protection and introduction into civil circulation of industrial property objects” was held in Minsk in December 1999 with the interaction of employees of the Eurasian Patent Office, who shared information related to the possibilities of the EAPC for domestic applicants, the rules for granting a Eurasian license, and the exercise of prerogatives emanating from Eurasian license. Belgospatent interacts with the organization of patent representatives, using its participants to develop bills and regulatory and methodological frameworks for the protection of industrial property, with the Belarusian Association of Appraisers, the Society of Rationalization and Invention through the preparation of joint symposiums and meetings, and also participates in international fairs and expositions.

Since 1994, Belgospatent has been demonstrating Belarusian discoveries every year at international fairs and exhibitions, incl. at the 22nd International Exhibition of Inventions in Geneva (1994), the 44th International Exhibition of Inventions and Innovations “Brussels Fair-95”, the Universal Hannover Fair (1996 and 1997), the International Exhibition of Inventions and Innovations “GENIUS-96” "in Budapest, the 6th International Exhibition of Inventions and Innovations "East-West-Eurointelligence-98" in Sofia (Bulgaria). The inventions shown there were awarded eight gold, three silver, five bronze medals and five diplomas, in addition to special Grand Prix prizes in Brussels and Budapest.

Significant participation is allocated to personnel training. For this purpose, the Training and Research Center for Industrial Property, which operates on a self-supporting basis, has been established at the NCIS.

At the moment, the Center operates for the following main purposes: ● training of personnel in the field of protection of spiritual property; ● training of experts in the analysis and registration of enterprises of spiritual property among intangible funds; ● providing assistance in protecting rights to industrial property; ● international economic process; ● book printing and printing activities; ● implementation of the tasks of Belgospatent.

Academic work consists of the following provisions: 1. Training of specialists according to a 1000-hour curriculum with the provision of a state diploma in the specialty “Jurisprudence”, specialization “Legal Support of Intellectual Property” and the qualification “Lawyer”. 2. Training for certification of licensed representatives of the Republic of Belarus. 3. Training of experts in the analysis of enterprises of spiritual property among intangible assets in 90- and 150-hour programs. 4. Organization and conducting of symposiums and meetings. The center provides advice on topics related to licensing and patent work for institutions, companies and individuals. For this purpose, there are departments of the Center in all cities of the region. With their help, a variety of assistance is provided by agreement: creating materials for applications to industrial property enterprises, monitoring the licensed purity of created products, etc. A regulation on the cost of services for the development and development of industrial property and a list of prices for licensing and reference services have been adopted. The regulations allow for marketing practices for the production and sale of industrial property, reference, consulting and documentary support for applicants on issues of accounting for industrial property, etc. The funds earned by the Center go to organize a development fund, salaries to order executors, including reimbursement of expenses on training specialists in the field of protection of spiritual heritage. The Center has established and enriched the Innovation Data Bank (IDB), which is considered an official department of the International Bank of Licensed Technologies 'Klenner International, Inc'. BDI collects information on innovation and its transfer in Belarus and abroad. In addition, the Center is engaged in printing and printing, research and scientific work, creating information banks on industrial property, and publishing business magazines. Trends in the development of the national licensing system of the Republic of Belarus are represented in the transition of the State Patent Committee to self-financing thanks to incoming taxes and fees, in the formation of a provision that creates the entry into civil circulation of industrial property and their large-scale use in the state economy (offering duty discounts, hazard insurance, financing and etc.); in government assistance for foreign licensing of discoveries and other items; in the formation of patent trade, in increasing interaction with licensing authorities of different countries and international departments.

CUSTOMS CODE OF THE CUSTOMS UNION

CHAPTER 46. FEATURES OF CUSTOMS OPERATIONS IN RELATION TO GOODS CONTAINING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OBJECTS

Article 328. Measures to protect rights to intellectual property taken by customs authorities

1. Customs authorities, within their competence, take measures to protect the rights of copyright holders to intellectual property in the manner established by this chapter.

2. Measures to protect rights to intellectual property are not applied by customs authorities in relation to goods moved across the customs border:

1) by individuals for personal use, including those sent to their address in international mail;

2) in accordance with the customs procedure for customs transit;

3) diplomatic missions, consular offices, other official missions of foreign states, international organizations, personnel of these missions, institutions and organizations, for official and personal use.

3. Measures to protect rights to intellectual property objects taken by customs authorities do not prevent the right holder from resorting to any means of protecting his rights in accordance with the legislation of the member states of the customs union.

4. Customs authorities take measures to protect the rights to intellectual property objects, the customs register of which is maintained by these customs authorities in a member state of the customs union, and intellectual property objects included in the unified customs register of intellectual property objects of the member states of the customs union, and in accordance with the legislation of the member states of the customs union also in relation to intellectual property objects not included in such customs registers.

Article 329. Duration of protection of rights to intellectual property by customs authorities

The period for protecting the rights of the copyright holder to intellectual property objects is established when intellectual property objects are included in customs registers maintained by customs authorities in the member states of the Customs Union, and the unified customs register of intellectual property objects of the member states of the Customs Union, taking into account the period specified by the copyright holder in the application, but no more than 2 (two) years from the date of inclusion in such registers.

This period may be extended on the basis of an application from the copyright holder an unlimited number of times, but each time for no more than 2 (two) years, subject to compliance with the requirements provided for in this chapter.

The period of protection of the rights of the copyright holder to objects of intellectual property cannot exceed the period of validity of the rights of the copyright holder to the corresponding object of intellectual property.

Article 330. Customs registers of intellectual property objects

1. Based on applications from copyright holders, intellectual property objects are included by customs authorities in the customs register of intellectual property objects, which is maintained by the customs authority of a member state of the customs union in the manner and under the conditions established by the legislation of the member states of the customs union.

2. The customs authority includes in the customs register of intellectual property objects, which is maintained by the customs authority of a member state of the customs union, objects of intellectual property that are subject to protection on the territory of a member state of the customs union, in accordance with the legislation of that state.

3. The conditions for inclusion of intellectual property objects in the unified customs register of intellectual property objects of the member states of the customs union and the procedure for its maintenance are determined by an international agreement of the member states of the customs union.

Article 331. Suspension of release of goods containing objects of intellectual property

1. If, when performing customs operations related to the placement under customs procedures of goods containing intellectual property objects included in the customs register maintained by the customs authority of a member state of the customs union, or in the unified customs register of intellectual property objects of the member states of the customs union, the customs authority has detected signs of violation of intellectual property rights, the release of such goods is suspended for a period of 10 (ten) working days.

At the request of the copyright holder or a person representing his interests, this period may be extended by the customs authority, but not more than by 10 (ten) working days, if these persons have applied to the authorized bodies for the protection of the rights of the copyright holder in accordance with the legislation of the member states of the customs union .

Decisions to suspend the release of goods and to extend the period of suspension of the release of goods are made in writing by the head of the customs authority or a person authorized by him.

2. The customs authority, no later than 1 (one) working day following the day of the decision to suspend the release of goods containing intellectual property, notifies the declarant and the copyright holder or persons representing their interests about such suspension, the reasons and timing of the suspension, as well as informs the declarant the name (last name, first name, patronymic) and location (address) of the copyright holder and (or) the person representing his interests, and the copyright holder or the person representing his interests - the name (last name, first name, patronymic) and location (address ) declarant.

3. Upon expiration of the suspension period for the release of goods containing objects of intellectual property, the release of such goods shall be resumed and carried out in the manner established by this Code, except for cases when documents confirming the seizure of goods, seizure of them, or their confiscation, or other documents in accordance with the legislation of the member states of the customs union.

4. Customs authorities have the right to suspend the release of goods containing intellectual property objects that are not included in the customs register of intellectual property objects, which is maintained by the customs authority of a member state of the customs union, and the unified customs register of intellectual property objects of the member states of the customs union, without a statement from the copyright holder in in the manner determined by the legislation of the member states of the customs union.

5. The copyright holder, in accordance with the civil legislation of the member states of the customs union, is liable for property damage (damage) caused to the declarant, owner, recipient of goods containing intellectual property as a result of the suspension of the release of goods in accordance with this chapter, unless it is established violation of the rights of the copyright holder.

Article 332. Cancellation of a decision to suspend the release of goods containing objects of intellectual property

1. The decision to suspend the release of goods is subject to cancellation before the expiration of the period for suspending the release of goods if:

1) the customs authority has received an application from the copyright holder or a person representing his interests to cancel such a decision;

2) the intellectual property object is excluded from the customs register of intellectual property objects, which is maintained by the customs authority of the member state of the customs union and the unified customs register of intellectual property objects of the member states of the customs union;

3) other cases are determined by the legislation of the member states of the customs union.

2. Cancellation of the decision to suspend the release of goods is formalized in writing by the head of the customs authority or a person authorized by him.

3. After the decision to suspend the release of goods is canceled, the release of such goods is resumed and carried out in accordance with this Code, unless otherwise provided by the legislation of the member states of the customs union.

Article 333. Providing information, taking samples of goods

1. The customs authority provides the declarant, the copyright holder or a person representing his interests with information about the goods in respect of which a decision has been made to suspend release.

2. Information received by the declarant, the copyright holder or a person representing his interests, in accordance with this article, is confidential and should not be disclosed by them or transferred to third parties, as well as government bodies, except for cases provided for by the legislation of the member states of the customs union.

3. With the written permission of the customs authority, the copyright holder, the declarant or their representatives have the right, under customs control, to take samples of goods in respect of which a decision has been made to suspend their release, to conduct their research, as well as to inspect, photograph or otherwise record such goods.