EAEU Treaty on Trademarks comes into effect

The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) Treaty on Trademarks, Service Marks and Appellations of Origin of Goods came into effect on 26 April 2021. It serves as a foundation document for the formation of a regional system within EAEU territory.

On 18 May 2021 the regulations under the treaty were affirmed by the EAEU council, establishing the fees and guidelines.

Most notable the treaty provides for:

• the introduction of the EAEU trademark and the appellation of origin of EAEU goods;
• the possibility of filing an application for registration of a trademark via EAEU member countries (ie, Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan) – it will be sufficient to submit one application to the IP office of one of these countries and the issued certificate will be valid throughout the union;
• the possibility of converting a national trademark application into a regional one and vice versa;
• the provision of a single, one-window agency for applicants; and
• the maintenance of a unified register of EAEU trademarks and appellations of origin to be posted on the official union website.

The affirmation of the regulations and official fees is another step towards the formation of a regional system for registering trademarks and appellations of origin in the EAEU.

It is anticipated that the new regional trademark filing system will reduce the time and cost for obtaining IP protection in the region. Applications for the EAEU trademarks and appellations of origin will be accepted for filing once all member states have confirmed the local fees in each state.

The opportunity to obtain a regional trademark in the EAEU countries (commonly known as a Eurasian trademark) has been long sought by applicants and IP owners. Companies that are already doing business in the region – or are only planning to start – as well as rights holders that face counterfeiting issues will benefit from this new regional IP initiative.