Russia at the end of 2024 showed an increase in international patent applications
In 2024, Russia increased the number of filed international patent applications by 4%, while according to Rospatent in the country there is a decline in the number of patents issued. Russian companies are still limited in the process of applying for intellectual property abroad, but experts consider the preserved level of activity a positive factor.
According to the results of 2024, Russia showed an increase of 4% by the number of filed international patent applications for the PCT system (Patent Cooperation Treaty – an international system for obtaining patents, which allows the applicant to protect his invention simultaneously in several countries), follows from the annual report of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIS). So, 709 applications were submitted against 681 in 2023. However, the number of applications for trademarks for the « Madrid system » decreased by 6%: from 1.5 thousand in the previous year to 1.4 thousand.
According to Rospatent for 2024, presented on March 7, the number of patents issued in the Russian Federation was 22 thousand against 23 thousand in the year before last. The number of applications for registration of trademarks was 137.4 thousand, 12% more than a year ago. In Rospatent, an increase in filing applications for the registration of inventions (+4%) and industrial samples (+18%) was also recorded. The leaders in the number of patented inventions were Tatneft (199), the Kuban Agrarian University (151) and the research center of the Eye Microsurgery (147). Leaders on the number of applications for registration of promotional assets were Yandex (74), AvtoVAZ (65) and T1 DJITal (63).
Based on the data of the Global Brand Database service-a free online database developed and supported by WIS, in 2024 the most applications for international patents came from Yandex (29), a producer of Binnopharm Group drugs (16) and Gazprom Neft (15), the patent attorney of the Law Firm notes Kosenkov and Kosenkov and Kosenkov and Kosenkov and Kostya Suvorov « Vyacheslav Igumnov. However, he adds that due to the « features of the filter on the site » the results may be inaccurate.
Earlier, Kommersant wrote that the head of the Federation Council Committee on Economic Policy, Andrei Kutepov, introduced a bill to the State Duma, simplifying the issuance of a “forced license” for foreign patents. According to the project, who are interested in using foreign intellectual property for work, Russian enterprises will be able to go to court ahead of schedule if the owner of the patent is related to “unfriendly” states or refused to fulfill the license agreement (see “Kommersant” of September 16, 2024).
“Statistics on submitting applications in the PCT system are correct, but not indicative because there are now many problems when submitting international applications,” says Alexei Vakhnin, president of the chamber of patent attorneys. Russian companies are faced with the suspension of payments by foreign banks, as well as due to the growing dollar and euro exchange rate, such applications are very expensive, he adds.
The general director of the company « Online Patent » Alina Akinina believes that the growth of patent applications by 4% cannot be called significant. She notes that the overall level of activity is preserved and this is a positive factor. A decrease in dynamics by trademarks by 5.8% also cannot be considered critical, she says. Alina Akinina also recalls that the submission of international registrations on trademarks in 2024 was significantly complicated by the termination of the possibility of paying for international duties in Swiss francs from Russian accounts (in Switzerland there is a head structure of WIS, responsible for registering international trademarks).
“If the Russian economy will demonstrate growth in connection with warming relations with foreign states, this can stimulate an increase in the number of international applications, especially in the areas of optical and computer technology,” Vyacheslav Igumnov admits. He adds that the mitigation of existing restrictions and the development of interstate organizations can also lead to an increase in applications. This will have a special influence on large companies with state participation, which are now under sanctions, the expert predicts.
