PTO Halts ‘Engagement’ With Russian IP Agency Over Ukraine Invasion

The Patent and Trademark Office will stop granting requests for participation in the Global Patent Prosecution Highway information-sharing program when the requests are based on work performed by Rospatent, Russia’s agency in charge of intellectual property, said a notice in Monday’s Federal Register. The ban is retroactive to March 11, it said. Pending patent applications linked to Rospatent that received “special status” from PTO under the GPPH before March 11 will lose that status and be returned “to the regular processing and examination queue,” it said. PTO has “terminated engagement” with Rospatent, the Eurasian Patent Organization and patent authorities in Belarus, said the notice. PTO announced last month it would take these steps over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Japan Patent Office, secretariat of the GPPH, was advised of PTO’s decision, it said.