NCIP's Performance Rates Keep Growing During COVID-19 Pandemic

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Center of Intellectual Property (hereinafter – NCIP) continues to operate almost at its full capacity, ensuring the protection of intellectual property rights at the proper level, as well as fulfilling the functions of a patent authority. This was facilitated by both timely responses of the management to the situation with COVID-19, and high professionalism of the personnel, despite the fact that some employees were transferred to a distant mode of work.

So, over the four months of 2020, there has been an increase in many key indicators of NCIP activity. In particular, the number of applications for the granting of patents for industrial property objects, registration of trademarks, remuneration collection, and the number of works transferred to the collective management has increased.

Statistics on the Activities of NCIP in the Period January – April 2020.

Collective Management of Economic Rights of Authors and Other Right Holders

During the reporting period January-April 2020 on the territory of the Republic of Belarus, in the interests of authors and right holders, whose rights are managed by NCIP, the sum of authors’ remuneration received totalled 381,753.1 BYN (concert activities), 389,741.9 BYN (IP-TV), 30,213.3 BYN (Internet, other means of communication in the public domain), which is 113.3%, 153.6% and 171% of the amount of remuneration collected for the same period in 2019, respectively

In January-April 2020, remuneration received from foreign collective management organizations (CMOs) that established relations with NCIP under agreements on mutual representation of interests in favour of the Belarusian authors and right holders who transferred their economic rights to the collective management of NCIP totalled 1,351. 2 BYN, which is 471.5% of the amount of remuneration collected for the same period in 2019.

Within 4-months period of 2020, data on 3,568 works were added to the database containing information about the rights transferred to the CMO. The dynamics are reflected in Figure 1.

Filing of Applications and Registration of Industrial Property Objects

Inventions

During the period January-April 2020, 129 applications for granting invention patents of the Republic of Belarus were received. That is 100.8% in relation to the number of applications filed during the same period of 2019.

At the same time, 24 applications were submitted by foreign applicants, which is 104.3% in relation to the number of applications filed during the same period of 2019.

Utility Models

In January-April 2020, a total of 114 applications for granting utility model patents were submitted to NCIP. That is 100.9% of the number of applications filed during the same period of 2019.

At the same time, 18 applications were submitted by foreign applicants, which is 128.6% of the number of applications filed during the same period of 2019.

Industrial Designs

It should be noted that the number of industrial designs registered in the State Register for foreign patent holders increased.

In total, 36 industrial designs were registered, which is 116.1% compared to the same period of 2019.

Plant Varieties

The number of plant varieties registered in the State Register maintained at the same level.

Topographies of Integrated Circuits

In total, during the period January-April 2020, 8 topographies of integrated circuits were registered, which is 800% compared to the same period of 2019.

Trademarks and Service Marks

In the period January-April 2020, a total of 1,158 applications for trademark registration were filed under the national procedure (113.5% compared to the same period of 2019), of which 737 were submitted by applicants from the Republic of Belarus (110.3% compared to the same period of 2019) and 421 – by foreign applicants (119.6% compared to the same period of 2019).

Preliminary examination was carried out in respect of 1,066 applications, which is 101.7% compared to the same period of 2019.

In January-April 2020, examination of 3,026 claimed designation was carried out, which is 109.8% compared to the same period of 2019. 2,940 decisions on their registration were taken (116.7% compared to the same period of 2019).