EAPO President Grigory Ivliev stated this at the seminar on legal protection of industrial designs in the Eurasian region held in Ashgabat.
Applicants from all around the world are in need of industrial designs to promote their products in the market. However, this IP object is highly underestimated in Eurasian countries. The Eurasian Patent Office actively promotes patenting of industrial designs.
“Product’s external appearance greatly influences its commercial success. In some cases, it is the only feature that allows consumers to distinguish one product from another. Companies all over the world actively use industrial designs for effective promotion of the corporate brand, advertising purposes and customer attraction,” explained Grigory Ivliev.
Legal protection of industrial designs grants exclusive rights to the design, including the shape and color of the product. This protection prevents third parties from using the design without the consent of the right holder. The system of industrial design protection in the Eurasian region was established in 2021.
The number of applications is steadily increasing every year. In 2024, the number of applications filed in 9 months increased by 40% compared to the previous year.
“In January, a Eurasian industrial design patent for the first time became the subject of a pledge agreement to obtain a loan. Such cases are not so common in our countries. Residents of the Moscow Innovation Cluster are currently implementing the pilot project on lending against the pledge of IP. At the same time, such pilot projects are supposed to mitigate conservative bank approaches and expand access to financing for small and medium-sized innovative companies,” said Grigory Ivliev.
Furthermore, in some cases courts (Kazakhstan and Russia) have awarded damages for infringement of rights for industrial designs protected by Eurasian patents. EAPO examiners explained how to obtain such patents at the seminar in Turkmenistan.
