Restrictions and measures of state support for business: the digest for 16 – 29 September 2024

DRAFT LAWS

A mechanism of the compulsory licensing of foreign patents may be launched in Russia

Draft federal law No. 717759-8

The draft has been put before the State Duma.

It has been proposed that the provisions of article 1362 of the Russian Civil Code regarding compulsory licensing be extended to an invention/utility model/industrial design in cases when:

• a patent holder has connections with hostile states;
• a patent holder has unilaterally withdrawn from a contract in the absence of any violations on the part of the licensee, or undertakes actions hindering the exercise by the licensee of its rights to utilise such intellectual property;
• the above withdrawal/actions result in the item of patent rights and goods in which it is discernible being unavailable in Russia.

It has been stipulated that the legal rules will apply to legal relationships that emerged starting from 24 February 2022 as well as to the obligations whose deadline for performance fell after 23 February 2022. 

A number of temporary measures in state procurement may become permanent

Draft federal law No. 722148-8

The draft has been put before the State Duma.

Specifically, according to the amendments to Law No. 44-FZ it has been proposed:

• to reduce from 3 to 1 years the minimum term of a contract for federal and regional needs whose material terms may be changed (articles 95(1)(2) and 95(1)(3));
• to establish that it shall be permanently possible to change material terms of a number of contracts with sole suppliers concluded for ensuring preparation for mobilisation and implementing measures of state support and other things (article 95(1)(10));
• to specify that the client may electronically request quotations if the starting (maximum) contract price does not exceed RUB 10 million. The Government may decide to increase the starting maximum contract price for the procurement of certain medical items (article 24(10)(1));
• to make it a permanent rule that limitations do not apply to the annual volume of electronic quotation requests (article 24(10)(2));
• to vest the Government with the powers to establish that a number of purchases made from small and medium-sized enterprises and socially oriented non-commercial organisations should be excluded from customers’ calculation of their annual volume of procurement (a temporary exclusion of purchases of medicines and medical devices applies until the end of 2024 — see article 112(71)).

Draftl aw No. 667365-8 to amend legislation regarding public procurement has passed its reading in the State Duma. In particular, it has been proposed that:

• regulation be improved of procurement from a single supplier;
• it be clarified that the Government and supreme executive authorities may allow the material terms to be amended in a contract that is in effect for a term of at least one year.

LEGISLATION

Subjects of critical information infrastructure (CII) have been released from the obligation to develop a list of facilities to be classified 

The Russian Government’s Decree No. 1281 dated 19 September 2024

Came into effect on 27 September 2024.

In view of the Russian Government’s Decree No. 2360 dated 20 December 2022 being adopted, competent authorities (entities) will draw up lists of typical industry-based CII facilities, further to consultation with the Federal Service for Technical and Export Control (FSTEK). These lists are used as source data for classification purposes.

The Decree No. 1281 has adjusted the rules for classifying CII facilities (see the Russian Government’s Decree No. 127 dated 8 February 2018); namely the obligation has been excluded of CII subjects to draw up/approve a list of CII facilities that are to be classified.