The Eurasian Patent Office welcomed scholarship holders from the member states of the Eurasian Patent Organization (EAPO) who will be mastering the competencies of examiners under the supervision of professionals of the Eurasian Patent Office and the Federal Institute of Industrial Property (FIPS).

— You have come a long way to join us. You are already high-level examiners, but we are sure that being involved with the EAPO examiners, supervisors, the FIPS examiners will help you to improve your professional skills, said Grigory Ivliev — I would definitely meet with you again in two months and ask you what you have learned, what you have studied, what impressions you have left, what else you would be interested in.

EAPO President Grigory Ivliev presented a book on the history of the Eurasian patent system — “Eurasian Patent Organization in Acts and Persons” by Alexander Grigoriev who was one of the EAPO founders and President of the Office from 2004 to 2016. Alexander Grigoriev also addressed the scholars of the programme, sharing experiences on the creation of the unique Eurasian patent system.

The first scholarship programme “Examination of Inventions in the Field of Chemistry and Medicine” has 8 participants specializing in medicine from the EAPO Member States: Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Kazakhstan, and Republic of Tajikistan. In addition to the training activities aimed at basics of the profession of a pharmaceutical and medical examiner, the program also includes study tours of the EAPO, the Rospatent Museum and the FIPS Library. The current program will last for one year, until April 3, 2024. The supervisor of the first programme is Aurelia Ceban, Deputy Director of the Examination Department of the EAPO – Director of the Chemistry and Medicine Division. Besides her, each scholarship holder will be supervised by an individual mentor.

The EAPO Scholarship Programme has been approved by the EAPO Administrative Council to train talented professionals, recommended by national patent offices or professionals from EAPO Member States, in the basics of professional examination of patent applications. The scholarship holders could then proceed at the EAPO Examination Department or at the national patent offices, but by understanding the office’s examination approaches.

The programme also includes an internship module at FIPS – the leading and most extensive examining institution within the EAPO member states. FIPS is a part of Rospatent system, the Russian national patent office, which ranked repeatedly among the leading patent offices in the world, primarily because of the digitalization process, timelines and high quality of examination.