FICPI’s Executive Committee (ExCo) held an emergency session online on 9 March 2022, to discuss the situation in Ukraine.
After a lengthy debate, during which the Russian delegates were present, the ExCo resolved to suspend FICPI's National Section in Russia, but without sanctioning the Russian members as individuals. All FICPI Russian members will be treated as individual members until such time as the National Section may be readmitted or other resolution of the ExCo.
The ExCo confirmed that the individual members in Russia would be eligible to participate in FICPI events, such as the upcoming World Congress, but also agreed that no FICPI members from Russia would be asked to represent FICPI at any external meeting, such as WIPO, SACEPO and the like.
The ExCo expressed their deep concerns and sympathy for its three individual members from Ukraine. A recent open letter from the National Association of Patent Attorneys of Ukraine concerning the war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine was circulated.
The ExCo also noted with concern recent reports that Russia was planning to implement measures that might effectively annul some IP rights owned by proprietors from countries that had sanctioned Russia in view of the conflict in Ukraine*.
*FICPI is checking these reports with its members in Russia and will provide information shortly.