– The transfer of scientific knowledge to be used for creating new technologies and be implemented in the real economy is a primary objective of Russia’s scientific, technological, and innovative development. A crucial perspective of that is the generation of properly registered intellectual output. This means that scientific research must be accompanied by methodological and legal support from the patent service. The protection of creations of the mind guarantees their lawful use and integration into production, – explained Lyubov Babushkina, Head of the KarRC RAS Patent Service.
Lyubov Babushkina, Head of the KarRC RAS Patent Service (left), and patent clerk Nina Minenko
The KarRC RAS currently holds title to include around 30 inventions and utility models, 50 computer programs, and 200 databases and know-how.
The developments produced within subdivisions of the KarRC RAS address important issues of the national economy. For instance, key inventions developed at the Institute of Biology pertain to plant cultivation, creation of new agricultural crop varieties, fur farming, fish farming, agricultural parasitology, biochemistry, immunology, land reclamation, and ornithology. The Institute of Geology produced inventions in the fields of mineral deposit prospecting and assessment, concentration of mineral resources, study of the properties of rock and natural minerals for use in stone casting, decorative glass-like facing materials, enamels, ceramics, porcelain, and polymer composites. Twenty-five patents have been obtained related to key uses of the unique shungite rock. The Forest Research Institute has patented inventions in forestry, reforestation, and biotechnology. Environmental research has resulted in new methods for recycling pulp and paper industry waste, yielding valuable new products: dietary protein for animal farming, organomineral fertilizers, and wood fiberboards.
Patenting is an official procedure for protecting intellectual property, comprising several key stages and regulated by Article 1350 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.
— There are three criteria for an invention to be patentable: novelty, inventive step, and utility – meaning the invention can be repeatedly reproducibly with the stated technical result. All the three properties are vetted by specialists at the Federal Institute of Industrial Property (FIPS), which is a key element of the state infrastructure for supporting invention, upgrade, and innovation activities in Russia, – said Lyubov Babushkina.
An important stage of patenting is checking the invention for novelty. Experts must verify that there are no analogues of the claimed invention or utility model anywhere in the world. In the meantime, the authors need to be cautious about what information regarding their work enters the public domain in order to avoid information leaks.
– Only concise information can be disclosed, omitting the technical result, detailed operation parameters, procedures, and other specifics. Once the papers are filed with FIPS, we are assigned the application ID and date. From that moment, the rights are attached to the rights holder. So, if you have an idea, have conducted an experiment yielding a result nobody else has obtained before – come to the patent service, – urged the Service Head.
