Many Swedish companies in, among other things, the telecom, pharmaceutical and electronics industries are facing a difficult problem. When their patents expire, they must either pay the annual fee to the Russian state – and violate the sanctions imposed on Russia – or see their patents expire.

– In the shadow of the real war on the ground, this is a consequence, that there is a risk of Swedish patents ending up in Russian hands, says Peter Strömbäck, Director General of the Patent and Registration Office.

“Passed on in inappropriate ways”

He highlights that the finesse of the patent system is to get protection for one’s innovation. The other side of the coin is that the information about, for example, a technical solution is also made public and can thus be used by others if the protection disappears.

– In the past, in the 19th century, you received protection within your country, but now we have international conventions that allow you to receive protection across borders. This respects the countries globally, but not in this case when it is war and when it is Russia, he says and adds:

– Then there is a risk that the patent, which expires if you don’t pay it – which you can’t do when there are sanctions against Russia – is picked up in Russia and taken on in inappropriate ways.

“Losing protection – serious”

After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, several large foreign companies decided to leave Russia. Shortly afterwards, a number of them, including Ikea and McDonalds, saw their logos taken over by similar Russian variants, somewhat Gothenburg Post reported on.

Russia also threatened to seize and nationalize foreign companies that were more than 25 percent owned by so-called “unfriendly countries” and planned to leave the country.

In light of the trademark thefts this spring, Peter Strömbäck sees a risk of technical solutions being stolen and commercialized in Russia if companies lose patent protection. At the same time, it is difficult to say how big that risk is.

– Taking it further may be associated with investments and technical competence and we do not know what it means in terms of money if a patent expires. But don’t worry, the companies will lose their protection – that alone is serious enough, he says.

The companies that are at risk of being affected by the problem are, for example, in the pharmaceutical industry, telecoms and the automotive and electronics industry.

– In the pharmaceutical industry, it is common to want to maintain patent protection for a long commercial life, but in the telecom industry, development is fast and there it may be worth protecting for a shorter period of time.

The EU gathers strength

Peter Strömbäck cannot answer how many Swedish companies may be affected, but says that trade from the Swedish side towards Russia before the war accounted for 1.3 percent of Swedish exports. In 2019, 500 Swedish companies and around 20 large companies were active in the country.

He sees no opportunities for companies to circumvent the rules and a patent that expires cannot be revived. In order to overcome the problem, Sweden is cooperating with the EU – but so far no workable solution seems to be in sight.

– This is an important issue for the EU, which is gathering strength in various ways to act and deal with the problem as far as possible, given the current situation. Exactly what it can result in, I have a hard time seeing right now.