Amendments to the list of authorities mandated to draw up protocols for IP infringements

On March 1, 2021, new editions of the Code of the Republic of Belarus on Administrative Offenses (CAO) and the Procedural Executive Code of the Republic of Belarus on Administrative Offenses (PECAO) came into force.

The CAO retains administrative responsibility for violation of exclusive rights to intellectual property (Article 10.15 of CAO), as well as for unfair competition, including that related to the illegal use of means of individualization and the results of intellectual activity (Article 13.33 of CAO).

At the same time, the list of officials authorized to draw up protocols on administrative offenses has been amended. So, according to Article 3.30 of the PECAO, protocols on administrative offenses under Article 10.15 of the CAO can be drawn up only by the officials of the internal affairs agencies, bodies of the State Control Committee, customs authorities, and those under Article 13.33 of the Code of Administrative Offenses – by the officials of the bodies of the Ministry of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade.

Please note that since March 1, drawing up protocols on administrative offenses under the abovementioned articles lies outside the competence of the National Center of Intellectual Property and the State Committee on Science and Technology of the Republic of Belarus.