Decree 299: Unfriendly Nations

A staggering by product of the war in Ukraine is the little publicised decree issued on 5 March by the Russian Government which legalises counterfeiting.

The decree removes the requirement to compensate owners of patents, utility models and industrial designs from unfriendly countries, that being, those states who have issued sanctions against Russia. The decree relies on the Russian Civil Code which gives the right “in case of extreme necessity associated with supporting the defence and safety of the state, the protection of citizens’ life and health,” to allow the use of IP without an owner’s consent at short notice and for “proportional” compensation”. The decree has that compensation at 0%.

It is likely that this is a tit for tat response to the sanctions regime installed by the West. As it currently stands, the list of unfriendly countries includes the United States and Canada, the EU states, the UK, Montenegro, Switzerland, Albania, Andorra, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, San Marino, North Macedonia, and also Japan, South Korea, Australia, Micronesia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Taiwan.

If you have any questions on the above, please do not hesitate to contact the team at McDaniels Law on 0191 281 4000 or legal@mcdanielslaw.com.