Russia's First-to-file And State-Secret Check Requirement Explained

This article was originally published on IAM Media.

Although international agreements harmonise the underlying principles of patenting among countries, each jurisdiction's patent laws still have their own peculiarities, such as restricting the filing of international applications with other patent offices for national security purposes. This is why it is essential to understand the unique traits of the IP laws of the country in which an invention was created before seeking the legal protection of an invention in another country.

Russia has a first-to-file requirement. According to Article 1,395 of the country's Civil Code, the application for an invention or utility model created in this country can be filed in a foreign state or with an international organisation six months after filing an application at the Russian Patent and Trademark Office (Rospatent). This is providing that Rospatent does not notify the applicant that the application contains secret