Belarus

GENERAL INFORMATION

Area: 208,000 sq. km.

Population: 9,200,861 (January 2023).

Capital: Minsk.

Language: Belarusian (official), Russian (official).

Currency: Belarusian ruble.

 

 

GENERAL REMARKS

One of the ex-USSR republics, Belarus is now an independent State with its own Patent Office (National Center of Intellectual Property – NCIP). The first Belarusian Patent, Trademark and Industrial Design Laws came into force on February 5, 1993.

 

 

PATENTS OF INVENTION

LEGAL BASIS

• Civil Code of December 17, 1998, with amendments as of November 19, 2024.
• Patent, Utility Model and Industrial Designs Law of December 16, 2002, last amendments as of January 18, 2023.

 

MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

• Paris Convention, since April 14, 1993.
• Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), since April 14, 1993.
• Eurasian Patent Convention, since August 12, 1995.

 

FILING REQUIREMENTS

• Power of Attorney;
• Assignment of rights to patent, if the inventor is not the applicant;
• Specification and abstract (may be filed in Belarusian, Russian or any other language whereby a certified Belarusian or Russian translation should be filed within a two-month term);
• Drawings, if applicable;
• Priority document, if applicable (to be filed within three months from the filing date).

 

REMARKS

National Phase of PCT: under Chapter I and II: 31 months.

Validity: patent issued after formal and full examination – valid for 20 years from the filing date.

Annuities: are accumulated and due after the granting decision; starting with the 3rd year.

Opposition: is possible within six months after publication of the abstract in the Official Gazette.

 

 

TRADE AND SERVICE MARKS

LEGAL BASIS

• Civil Code of December 17, 1998, with amendments as of November 19, 2024.
• Law on Trademarks and Service Marks, last amendments as of January 9, 2023.

 

MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

• Paris Convention, since April 14, 1993.
• Madrid Agreement, since December 25, 1991.
• Madrid Protocol, since January 18, 2002.

 

FILING REQUIREMENTS

• Power of Attorney;
• The sign to be protected, and its description; 5 prints (8 x 8 cm) or 10 prints if colors claimed;
• List of goods and services, according to the International Classification;
• Priority document, if any (late filing during three months is possible).

 

REMARKS

Kinds of protection: individual and collective trademarks. Service Marks are registrable. Besides the original version, filing of the word mark applications in the Cyrillic alphabet is highly recommended.

Classification: International.

Obligation to use the registered mark: must be used; if not used within any three-year period after the registration (or last use) date, the mark can be cancelled upon request of an interested party; nominal use (advertising, publications) is accepted in absence of actual use.

Duration – renewals: 10-year period after the filing date, renewable for further 10-year periods.

Opposition: a trademark registration may be objected to by any person, partially or in whole, if the established conditions for trademark registrations were not fulfilled.

 

 

INDUSTRIAL DESIGNS

LEGAL BASIS

• Civil Code of December 17, 1998, with amendments as of November 19, 2024.
• Patent, Utility Model and Industrial Designs Law of December 16, 2002, last amendments as of January 18, 2023.

 

MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

• Paris Convention, since April 14, 1993.
• Hague Agreement, Geneva Act, since July 19, 2021.
• Protocol on the Protection of Industrial Designs to the Eurasian Patent Convention, since April 19, 2022.

 

FILING REQUIREMENTS

• Power of Attorney;
• The model itself or, when not appropriate, photographs or drawings thereof (7 copies);
• Designation of the model, with indication of its characteristics;
• Specification of the model, if necessary;
• Priority document, if any (can be filed within two months after filing).

 

REMARKS

Duration – renewals: after formal examination: 10 years. Renewable for an additional period of 5 years.

Opposition: is possible within six months after the publication in the Official Gazette.

 

 

DOMAIN NAMES

LEGAL BASIS

There is no specific legislation although some regulations on the organization and management of country code top-level domain names do exist.

 

FILING

• ccTLD: .by
• Applicant: individuals and legal entities.
• Local Presence: not required.

 

REMARKS

Duration – renewals: one to two years, renewable.

Uniform dispute resolution procedure: none.

 

 

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