Offices & Countries / Russia / Industrial Designs

	Industrial Designs Official Fees Filing requirements FAQ

General information
An industrial design is an object of intellectual property which relates to an artistic solution of an article, defining its outward appearance.

As a kind of propriety, an industrial design is protected by law and certified by a patent giving to a patent owner the exclusive right to this industrial design. No other persons have the right to use a patented industrial design without authorization of the patent owner.

An industrial design can be protected by a patent if it meets the requirements of patentability, i.e. the claimed industrial design must be new and original. The maximal term of a patent validity in Russia amounts to 15 years (10 + 5) from the date of filing the application with the Russian Patent Office. The scope of protection of an industrial design is defined by the set of its essential features. The following shall be recognized as the essential features of an industrial design: features defining the aesthetic and (or) ergonomic details of the outward appearance of the article, especially shape, configuration, ornament and combination of colors, etc.

In order to obtain a patent, an industrial design application shall be filed with the Russian Patent Office. According to the Russian Patent Law, natural persons residing outside Russia or foreign legal persons cannot communicate with the Russian Patent Office by themselves. Therefore, when protecting an industrial design in Russia, they or their patent attorneys shall apply to Russian patent attorneys registered with the Federal Executive Body in the Field of Intellectual Property.

The patent attorneys of the company "Liapunov and Co." provide the following services in the field of legal protection of industrial designs:

• preparing, filing and prosecution of industrial designs applications in Russia and other countries;
• conducting a design patent search;
• providing a legal advice in the field of intellectual property and estimation of patentability of an industrial design;
• drawing up an agreement of assigning a patent;
• preparing an expert opinion about infringing the exclusive right of a patent owner;
• presenting client's interest before the Chamber of Patent Disputes;
• protection of a patent owner's rights at the court;
• payment of annuities for keeping a patent in force.