Laws Affecting IP Licensing—Russia

1. Is there a requirement to register licences in your jurisdiction and, if so, what are the sanctions for failure to do so and how could either of the parties be adversely affected if licences are either not registered or are unregistrable?

Yes, there is a legal requirement to register certain IP licenses in Russia. More specifically, the grant of a license concerning registered IP subject matter (e.g., invention, trademark, design, etc.) must be registered with the Russian Federal Service for Intellectual Property (Rospatent). A license that is not registered with Rospatent in respect of registered IP will be regarded as non-granted (Article 1232 (6) of the Russian Civil Code). As a result, an unregistered licensee will not stand as a valid licensee against third parties. No specific sanctions for failure to register an IP license are set forth by law, however, there may be negative legal consequences that should be taken into account, which are described in