Board of Appeals

The Board of Appeals

The Board of Appeals was set up in 1995 as a specialised body of the National Center of Intellectual Property (NCIP), which deals with pre-trial dispute resolution in cases concerning industrial property protectability in the Republic of Belarus.

The Board of Appeals is administered by the Pre-Trial Settlement Division.

Scope of Consideration

The Board of Appeals examines:

Claims:

upon decisions made as a result of preliminary examination of:
-Application for granting an invention patent,
-Application for registration of trademarks or service marks,
-Application for granting a plant variety patent,
-Application for registration and granting the rights to use appellations of origin.

upon decisions made as a result of patent examination of:
-Application for granting an invention patent,
-Application for granting a plant variety patent,

upon decisions made as a result of expertise of:
-Application for granting a utility model patent,
-Application for granting an industrial design patent,
-Application for trademark registration,
-Application for registration of topographies of integrated circuits;
-Application for registration and granting ownership rights to use appellations of origin.

upon decisions resulting from reexamination of a trademark;
upon decision of disclaiming ownership rights for the appellation of origin.

Objections:

contra to granting a patent for inventions, utility models, industrial designs, plant varieties,
contra to legal protection of a trademark,
contra to appellation of origin registration,
contra to certificate issuance on ownership rights of appellation of origin.

Statements:

on recognition of a trademark or a sign or a combination of signs used as well-known in the Republic of Belarus,
on termination of legal protection of a well-known trademark in the Republic of Belarus,
on termination of appellation of origin registration,
on termination of ownership rights certificate issued for appellations of origin.

Legal Framework

The activities of the Board of Appeals are administered by the Provision on Boards of Appeals of the governing Patent Office approved by the Resolution of the State Committee on Science and Technology of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus No.2 of January 10, 2003.

Claims, objections and statements submitted to the Board of Appeals are reviewed according to the Provision on the Procedure of Claims and Objectives Review by the Board of Appeals of the Patent Office adopted by the Regulation of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus No. 1679 of December 22, 2009, and Provision on Filing Claims, Objections and Statements about Appellations of Origin and their Review by the Board of Appeals of the Patent Office approved by the Order of the Director General No. 55 of June 19, 2018.

Claims and objectives relating to topographies of integrated circuits and plant varieties are regulated by the laws “On Legal Protection of Topographies of Integrated Circuits” of December 7, 1998 and “On Plant Variety Patents” of April 13, 1995.

Consideration of applications for recognition of trademark as well-known in the Republic of Belarus is regulated by the Rules for Recognition of a Trademark as Well-Known in the Republic of Belarus approved by the Resolution of the State Patent Committee of the Republic of Belarus No. 2 of August 9, 2001.

Important Information

Claims, objections and statements filing

Claims are submitted to NCIP using a standardised template independently by an applicant or via a patent attorney of the Republic of Belarus.

Objections and statements are submitted to NCIP by an applicant independently or via a patent attorney of the Republic of Belarus.

Individuals whose place of permanent residence and domicile is located in foreign countries negotiate the cases linked to claims, objections, statements about inventions, utility models, industrial designs, trademarks and appellations of origin via patent attorneys of the Republic of Belarus unless otherwise provided by the international treaties of the Republic of Belarus.

Provisions for submitting claims, objections and statements:

Any submitted claim, objection or statement should be accompanied by:

A payment confirmation of a fixed fee for submitting a claim, objection or statement;
Power of attorney registered in accordance with the law if a claim, objective or statement are submitted via a representative;
An objection to granting a utility model patent is accompanied by soliciting a utility model examination in conformity with legally set patentability terms together with a payment confirmation for such solicitation.

It is recommended to name the full list of authorities in a power of attorney presented to the Board of Appeals by a patent attorney in every case in question, e.g.:
Signing, submitting, altering, recalling of claims (objections and statements);
Signing, submitting reviews for objections substantiating motives of oppositions against patents, certificates or registrations against which an objection has been submitted;
Participating in claims (objections, statements) reviews including an authority to speak out at the collegium of the Board of Appeals, giving explanations about the case or stating exceptions to the collegium members;
Signing any documents linked to correspondence flow in the Board of Appeals, administering correspondence, receipt of any documents etc.

Any power of attorney from a legal entity must be signed by its Director. Should the power of attorney be signed by another person, then documents confirming this person’s authority from this legal entity should be appropriated.

The Board of Appeals does not accept submitted claims, objections and statements not meeting legally set criteria especially in paragraphs 4-11 and 13 of the Provision on Submitting Claims or Objections and Their Review by the Board of Appeals of the Patent Office approved by the Regulation of the Council of Ministers No. 1679 of December 22, 2009. In such case a paid patent fee is not subject to reimbursement.

Upon elimination of defects which consequentially caused refute of a claim, objection or statement for review they can be resubmitted with a new payment of a fixed fee.

In case additional materials have been handed in to the earlier submitted objection to the attention of the Board of Appeals, it is to be examined whether legal fundamentals of the objection in question have not been changed. What changes the legal fundamentals are editions to patentability violations other than in the objection, reasons for refusal of registration of trademarks, appellations of origin or granting a certificate for ownership rights of the appellation of origin. Such materials can be compiled as a separate objection.

Review of a claim, objection, and statement

Claims are reviewed at the collegium sessions of the Board of Appeals during one month, objections and statements are reviewed during six months from their date of initial submission to NCIP.

The review of the claims, objections and statements provide for the participation in this process of applicants, owners of the disputed patents, registration, certificate or their lawful representatives. Absence of any designated participant duly informed about the date of a claim, objection or statement review at the collegium session will not impede the hearings of the review.

An applicant of a claim, objection and statement or their representative duly informed about the receipt of their applications can recall their submitted application prior to announcing the resolute part of decision made by the Board of Appeals. In such case a paid patent fee is not subject to reimbursement.

Upon termination of the objection and statement review proceedings, repeated appeal to the Board of Appeals on a dispute between the same parties, on the same subject and grounds, and in case of a claim – on the same subject and grounds, is not allowed.

The Board of Appeals makes and drafts a decision with a motivational part about the outcome of such reviews and distributes it to participants or their representatives involved into a review of a claim, objection or statement in 5 days with regard to the claim and 2 months – to the objection or statement after the decision has been made.

Any decision of the Board of Appeals can be appealed against in the Judicial Board on Intellectual Property Cases of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Belarus in due course of the legal procedure.

The decision of the Board of Appeals made upon reviewing an application for the registration of a trademark as well-known in the Republic of Belarus can be appealed against in the Judicial Board on Intellectual Property Cases of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Belarus by an applicant himself during six months after this decision has been made. All the rest can apply with an appeal six months after information about this well-known trademark of the Republic of Belarus has been published in the official bulletin.

Consultations on the Activities of the Board of Appeals

Information on the activities of the Board of Appeals can be received through: