EU’s 14th package of sanctions against Russia European

EU’s 14th package of sanctions against Russia European

Patents & national impact at the Belgian Patent Office

Following our article published in March 2022 on our website about the impact on IP rights due to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, several European measures have been implemented, including the EU’s 14th package of sanctions against Russia.

At the European Patent Office (EPO), the following measures have been adopted (entered into force on 16 December 2024 for applications filed on or after 25 June 2024):

– If a Russian applicant had filed a European patent application, the designation of EU Member States will be deemed withdrawn,
– The same applies to Euro-PCT applications upon entry into the European phase.

The EPO will notify the affected applicants who can appeal the decision.

In Belgium, like all European Union member states, it was required to implement and enforce the provisions of Council Regulation (EU) No 833/2014, as amended by Council Regulation (EU) 2024/1745. This includes the measures introduced in Article 5s.

In practical terms, The Belgian Patent Office will verify whether the owner falls into one of the following allowed categories:

1. nationals of a Member State of the European Union, of a member country of the European Economic Area or of Switzerland
2. natural persons holding a permanent or temporary residence permit in a Member State of the European Union, a member country of the European Economic Area or Switzerland.

If the Belgian Patent Office identifies that one of the applicants is Russian, the patent will not be granted in Belgium under the current sanctions in place.

As IP professionals, we advise you to re-assess your portfolio in light of your commercial intentions with Russia.