Rules relating to extension of a patent term have been adopted in Belarus. The rules have come into force on 2 February 2011. The patent term can be extended for patents relating to pharmaceutical and plant protection products. Accordingto these rules, a request for extension of the term of a patent shall be filed when the patent is in force within 6 months from the date on which information about the issued patent was published in the official bulletin or, if the marketing authorization to use the claimed product was issued later, from the date on which such authorization was issued.
The Eurasian Patent Office will extend the patent terms in accordance with the above rules for cases where information about the issued patent was published in the official bulletin, or the marketing authorization to use the claimed product was issued, as the new rules have come into force.
In case the patent and the marketing authorization have been issued more than 6 months prior to 2 February 2011, arequest for extension of the term of a patent can be filed no later than in 6 months from the date on which the new rules came into force, i.e. by 2 August 2011, provided that the 20-year term from the filing date of the patent application has not expired by the date of the request.
The following documents are needed for filing the request for extension of the patent term in Belarus:
– Belarussian Letters Patent Document (original) / the number, title and filing date of the Eurasian basic patent registered in Belarus
– notarized copy of the marketing authorization including information on the product making possible its identification as the product defined in the claims of the patent
– power of attorney