The period for entering the Belarusian national phase of a PCT application is 31 months from the priority date. This term can be restored within 12 months from its expiration if the failure to meet the deadline was unintentional.
Filing requirements in Belarus
The patent application based on a PCT in Belarus may be prosecuted in Belarusian or Russian. The international application can be filed with the Belarusian Patent Office in the first language, but a translation must be provided within two months of entering the national phase in Belarus.
To obtain the filing date, the Patent Office requires:
- A request to grant a patent.
- Applicant’s and author’s data.
- International application materials.
The original Power of Attorney must be submitted to the Belarusian Patent Office within 2 months from the PCT national phase entry, and legalization or notarization of the POA is not required.
Examination of a Belarusian patent application involves both formal and substantive examinations. A request to conduct a substantive examination must be filed within three years from the international filing date, and the restoration of this term is not stipulated.
The novelty grace period in Belarus allows disclosure of information about the invention within 12 months before filing the application with the Belarus Patent Office, provided it was made by the inventor, applicant, or a third party that obtained the information directly or indirectly from them.
For a grant, the official fee should be paid within three months from the date of receiving the decision to grant a patent. The first post-grant annuities, starting from the 3rd year until the year when the grant decision is issued, must be paid within this term. Subsequent annuities are paid before the beginning of the next year of validity. Late payment of annuities is possible within a six-month grace period with a 50% surcharge. The maximum validity period is 20 years from the filing date.
If the prosecution process proceeds smoothly, it takes approximately 3 years to obtain a patent in Belarus.
It is possible to enter the national phase of Belarus of a PCT application as a utility model. The validity term of a utility model is 5 years from the filing date and can be extended for 5 additional years. The average time from filing to the grant of a utility model patent in Belarus is 1-2 years. Utility models should be new and industrially applicable.
For foreigners, it is necessary to perform patent prosecution in Belarus through an agent, a registered Belarusian patent attorney.
You can find a list of Belarus IP firms here.