Earlier this month, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced that it was terminating engagement with officials from the Russian Federal Service for Intellectual Property (Rospatent) and Eurasian Patent Organization (EAPO), per guidance issued by the U.S. Department of State (see "USPTO Terminates Engagement with Rospatent and EAPO"). Nearly a week later, the USPTO announced that it would no longer grant requests to participate in the Global Patent Prosecution Highway (GPPH) at the USPTO when such requests are based on work performed by Rospatent as an Office of Earlier Examination under the GPPH (see "USPTO Terminates PPH with Rospatent and Terminates Engagement with NCIP"). The USPTO also announced at that time that it had terminated engagement with officials from the national intellectual property office of Belarus (i.e., the National Center of Intellectual Property (NCIP)).
In a USPTO Alert email distributed earlier today, the Office advised stakeholders that questions regarding dealings with Rospatent should be directed to the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) via email at OFAC_Feedback@treasury.gov. The Office also advised Applicants filing international applications under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) to exercise caution before selecting Rospatent as an International Searching Authority (ISA) or International Preliminary Examining Authority (IPEA), explaining that "[d]oing so may prevent successful processing of international applications under the PCT, including the transmittal of fees through financial institutions." The USPTO updated its guidance statement regarding engagement with Rospatent, EAPO, and NCIP to include the above advice.
For additional information regarding this and other related topics, please see:
• "Georgian and Estonian Patent Offices Join Other IP Offices in Expressing Support for Ukraine," March 13, 2022
• "Several Law Firms Close Russian Offices," March 13, 2022
• "Russia Permits Uncompensated Use of Certain Patents without Patentee Consent," March 11, 2022
• "Lithuanian Patent Office and EUIPO Join Other Patent Offices in Expressing Support for Ukraine," March 10, 2022
• "USPTO Terminates PPH with Rospatent and Terminates Engagement with NCIP," March 10, 2022
• " Life Sciences Business Leaders Call for Immediate and Complete Economic Disengagement from Russia," March 9, 2022
• "PRH Joins Other Patent Offices in Expressing Support for Ukraine," March 9, 2022
• "USPTO Terminates Engagement with Rospatent and EAPO," March 7, 2022
• "Ukrpatent Continues Normal Operations Despite Russian Aggression," March 6, 2022
