OPENING ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE EURASIAN PATENT OFFICE

The Eurasian patent system, has won worldwide recognition over the last ten years as a result of the successful activity of the Eurasian Patent Office, attested by the filing of Eurasian applications from more than eighty countries of the world. During the last five years their number increased more than 1.5 times, and totaled 2,000 in 2005.

The decade of the Eurasian Patent Organization (EAPO) was the period when the countries of our region marched towards openness of the domestic market for the whole world, and entrepreneurs mastered independent management of foreign economic ties, learned to compete both in the world and domestic markets. At the same time the potential for establishing and developing industries remained rather low, intellectual resources were insufficient, and investments almost inaccessible. Chronic and extensive shortage of financial resources was the main, and most often the only reason for stagnation of production. Yet, the world experience of today indicates that an investment period of the economic development is coming to an end, and innovation becomes the strategic trend.

Innovations are not the only factor of the competitive strength of goods and enterprises. Today they promote national competitive ability reflecting the status and perspectives of the economic development of the country. Whereas patents, licenses and technologies are the most important indexes of the innovation potential: national competitive strength is often defined as the ability to generate, assimilate and introduce new technologies.

In this way patents catalyze both the appearance, and development of economic relations. Following export of patents, the patent holding companies, possessing new technologies for an efficient use of natural resources, and manufacture of highly reprocessed products infiltrate into other countries, stimulating the transfer from potential to real competitive advantages for the countries of our region. Here is a good example: until recently the leaders of the Eurasian patenting system were the USA, Germany, Russia, the Netherlands, and France. Nowadays Japan takes the fourth place, by setting up manufacturing firms in our region, such as Toyota works in Saint Petersburg.

The presence of patent holding companies in the territory of our country promotes investments, this time into specific projects, in necessary capacities, and on acceptable conditions. This situation promotes the appearance of new manufacturing firms, increases employment and tax proceeds. In its turn, the competitive strength of the companies is to a great extent determined by the ability for innovation, expansion of markets and promotion of new products.

All this demonstrates that the Eurasian Patent Office promotes innovation, competitive ability and economic growth in the Contracting States of the Eurasian patent system. We are addressing this challenge consistently and efficiently.

It is common knowledge that a patent for invention inspires inventive activity, granting patent holders reliable guarantees for the protection of new ideas under the conditions of ruthless competition. Reliable Eurasian patents for inventions, issued in compliance with modern requirements set for the examination system, not only successfully influence the process of commercializing these inventions in the economies of the Contracting States, but, what is most important, protect them.

The number of Eurasian patents kept valid in the Contracting States favors the economical upturn in these countries.

Of no small account is the economic effect for the countries of the region, resulting from participation in the Eurasian patent system, since these countries receive, on a quarterly basis, their share of maintenance fees for Eurasian patents in their territories, and the volume of fees is growing from year to year. For instance, in 2005 their share amounted to 3,6 million US dollars.

One of the main tasks put forward before the Eurasian Office by plenipotentiaries of the EAPO Contracting States, is the promotion of the comprehensive development, and modification of national patent systems, planning the realization of such projects, which are beyond the strength for some patent offices. An example of such projects is the building up of joint digital libraries of patent documentation, electronic filing of applications, granting of a remote access to the world patent collections, etc., provided for in the EAPO Development Program for 2004-2009.

During the last years practically all needy patent offices of the EAPO Contracting States, with a direct EAPO financial support, received modern computer equipment, and were connected to the dedicated Internet channels; web - sites of these offices were opened in the Eurasian Web portal. An access was provided to the systems of the Eurasian patent documentation.

The Eurasian Office provides substantial support to these offices not only in strengthening their engineering basis and in updating information dataware, but also in professional development.

Annually the Eurasian Office trains a significant number of specialists from national patent offices. Specialists from these offices receive training at the Russian State Institute of Intellectual Property with the support of the Eurasian Office.

The role and significance of the patent information potential of the Eurasian Patent Office are of paramount importance. The Eurasian Patent Information System (EAPATIS) has been created, which holds more than 25 million patent documents, and meets the demands of examiners from national patent offices of the countries of the region, of the Eurasian patent agents and other interested users in the area of patent and documentation search.

No evidence is needed to show that patent information influences the development of innovative activity - timely publication of information on the latest achievements in various areas of human activity gives food for creativity.

This day inventions give necessary know-how for creating the inventions of tomorrow. In this way innovation stimulates innovation.

We know what we have to be proud of. The Eurasian Office, established ten years ago under the guidance of Victor Ivanovich Blinnikov, is extremely essential, and meets high standards in protecting industrial property. We know our strategy of development. A multinational body of top class specialists has been formed. Our Eurasian Office keeps traditions, and is open for new developments.

We thank all those who were with us all these years.

President of the Eurasian Patent Office
A.N. Grigoriev

Next »