The Russian Federation is a Contracting Party of the two Madrid system agreements:

• Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks

• Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks

The Federal Institute of Industrial Property (FIPS) receives Russian applications for the international registration of marks and complies them with the set requirements before transferring them to World Intellectual Property Organization International Bureau (WIPO IB) as well as conducts substantive examination of the international application for the provision of legal protection in the Russian Federation.

The set examination time period in the Russian Federation is twelve month starting from the date of notification by WIPO IB. As a result of the substantive examination the Office sends to WIPO IB either a statement of grant of protection or a notification of the provisional refusal based on any grounds supported by the Paris Convention or Article 1483 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation Part IV. Any refusal may become a subject to review or appeal, depending upon the laws and practices of the Russian Federation. Time limit for responding to provisional refusal is six month starting the date of the notification of provisional refusal.

For revision of the provisional refusal, the holder of the international registration is entitled to submit arguments to overcome the grounds for refusal specified in the notification of refusal only through a representative, registered patent attorney (in Russian) of the Russian Federation in accordance with Article 1247 par. 2 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation Part IV.