Maxim Ali has commented on the Russian Ministry of Economic Development proposals to transform the business climate in the field of IP

The Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation has developed amendments for the transformation of the business climate in the field of intellectual property. If the bill is adopted, citizens without the status of the individual entrepreneur will have the right to register trademarks and inherit the exclusive rights to them. Also among the changes proposed by the Ministry is a possibility of disposal of IP rights through information systems that will ensure the safety and public availability of the information entered in it. In addition, the bill introduces a mandatory registration of mortgage of exclusive rights to registered computer programs and databases, which would facilitate lending against the pledge of intellectual property.

Maxim Ali, Head of IP/IT Practice at Maxima Legal, told The Advocatskaya Gazeta newspaper, that the need to obtain the status of the IP stops some potential applicants. In addition, the expert stressed that the possibility of registering a trademark for a physical person gives more opportunities for the protection of assets and their retention by the beneficiaries of the company.

However, according to Maxim, the bill does not solve another conceptual problem, an impossibility of registering a trademark for several persons. “At first glance, there are no serious reasons why such registration should not be possible. Especially since the institution of a collective trademark is inoperable. The draft law rather perpetuates the current situation by suggesting that several heirs independently agree on who will be the rightful owner of the trademark. This mechanism can hardly be considered effective: a dispute between heirs is very likely to end up in a court, which will have very few guidelines for its proper resolution”, explained Maxim Ali.

“In terms of information systems, judging by the explanatory note, the bill is aimed at blockchain systems. We cannot say that there is an urgent need for this right now. It is quite possible that changes are offered for realization of a specific project in this sphere”, suggested Maxim Ali. According to him, the condition of mandatory registration of the pledge of exclusive right to a computer program, registered in Rospatent (Federal Service for Intellectual Property), is interesting. “This would really give greater guarantees to the participants of the turnover, including companies that are planning to buy a program or invest in its development,” – said the expert.

To read the full article (in Russian) please see the Advokatskaya Gazeta website >>>