Answer ... Third parties are prohibited from carrying out the following acts without the authorisation of the patent holder:

• importing into Russia, making, using, offering for sale, selling, putting on the Russian market by any means or keeping for such purposes an item that incorporates a patented product;
• importing into Russia, making, using, offering for sale, selling, putting on the Russian market by any means or keeping for such purposes a product obtained directly from a patented process;
• importing into Russia, making, using, offering for sale, selling, putting on the Russian market by any means or keeping for such purposes a device that implements a patented process; or
• using a patented process.

Further, a patent may be infringed by taking active steps that threaten direct infringement.

A patented invention is considered to be used if all features of the independent claims, or features equivalent thereto, are used in the product or the method. A feature will be considered equivalent if it gives the same result as the patented feature in the independent claim.

Answer ... Yes. Equivalence is to be determined by the court or, more frequently, by a court-appointed expert. The expert will decide whether there is equivalence. The scope of equivalence is not considered; it either exists or does not.

Answer ... Activities that take place outside Russia cannot support a patent holder’s case in court or otherwise influence court proceedings in Russia.

Answer ... There are no additional remedies against wilful or deliberate infringement; the same remedies are sought for each. However, if compensation is claimed by a plaintiff instead of damages, the court may consider the wilful character of the infringement and award higher compensation. There are no standards to determine whether infringement is deliberate.

Answer ... The patent holder or its exclusive licensee may bring a civil action for patent infringement directly.

Answer ... Within the three-year limitation period, which starts when the plaintiff discovers or should have discovered that its rights have been infringed.

Answer ... Civil infringement proceedings begin with the collection of evidence by the patent holder, and the drafting and dispatch of a cease-and-desist letter if necessary. In commercial courts (which handle disputes between companies and private entrepreneurs), a cease-and-desist letter is optional for non-material claims (eg, cessation of infringement, prohibition on the use of infringing products, confiscation of infringing products and equipment used for manufacturing such products). However, since 12 July 2017, it is mandatory to send a cease-and-desist letter for material claims (ie, damages, compensation) 30 days before filing a civil action with the court. The pre-trial procedure is not applicable to cases handled by the common courts (which handle disputes involving individuals).

Answer ... Before the courts or before the Federal Anti-monopoly Service.

Answer ... The jurisdictional requirements for each venue are as follows:

• Commercial courts (civil litigation, cases involving administrative offences) – patent disputes relating to business activities (ie, the parties are legal entities or individual entrepreneurs);
• General jurisdiction courts (civil litigation, cases involving administrative offences, criminal cases) – patent disputes involving natural persons; and
• Federal Anti-monopoly Service – unfair competition disputes, involving authorised use of the patented subject matter between commercial legal entities/individual entrepreneurs.

Answer ... The court can oblige a party to provide any kind of evidence and disclose necessary documents upon request of a trial participant. The judge will be the fact finder.

Answer ... Yes. In civil proceedings, the judge will be the fact finder. In administrative anti-monopoly proceedings, the ad hoc commission will consider the case and decide on the facts. The burden of proof in court proceedings rests with the plaintiff; while in anti-monopoly proceedings, the infringing party must disclose all available evidence of infringement upon the demand of the Federal Anti-monopoly Service.

Answer ... When the action is filed, the court of first instance will conduct preparations for the trial and set a date for a preliminary hearing. At the hearing, the judge will ask the parties to present their evidence and an outline of their written legal position on the case. The judge will also usually ask the parties to provide a list of potential experts and a list of questions for technical analysis.

After the preliminary hearing, the court will set a date for the first hearing on the merits. During the preliminary hearing or the first hearing, the court will usually appoint an expert to conduct a technical examination and approve the questions that the expert will consider. Both expert opinion and witness testimony are admissible forms of evidence under Russian law. There is also another type of evidence called ‘specialist consultation’.

Answer ... The following remedies can be granted to a successful plaintiff:

• injunctions, which are granted if the defendant’s product contains every feature of the independent claim of the patented product;
• damages (if proven) or compensation;
• seizure and destruction of counterfeit products; and
• publication of the court decision.

Answer ... If the patent holder loses at first instance or there is incomplete fact finding, a violation of material/procedural law or similar, the decision may be appealed before the appellate court. New evidence may be produced at the appellate court only if the party presenting this new evidence can prove that it did not have the opportunity to present the evidence at first instance. The appellate decision may be further appealed to the IP Court, whose decision in turn may be appealed to the Supreme Court in its capacity as second cassation and supervisory instance.