USPTO Cuts Ties With Russia Following Ukraine Attacks

(March 4, 2022, 7:13 PM EST) -- The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced Friday that it has severed ties with its Russian equivalent over the invasion of Ukraine, mirroring a similar move by the European Patent Office earlier this week.

The USPTO said in a statement on its website that it suspended communication with Russia's federal patent and trademark agency, known as Rospatent, as well as the Eurasian Patent Organization, a Russia-based international patent agency.

According to the USPTO, the move is a reflection of guidance handed down by the U.S. Department of State regarding the Russian invasion.

"Like so many, we are deeply saddened by the events unfolding in Ukraine," the USPTO said.

The announcement comes days after the European Patent Office cut ties with the same two Russia-based intellectual property agencies on Tuesday.

The European Patent Office had attributed the decision to the "appalling violence" occurring in Ukraine and said that it would consider further "consequences" before an administrative council meeting at the end of this month.

Russia initiated attacks against Ukraine in February, seeking to gain control of the neighboring country, which had declared its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

Last month, Ukraine urged the International Court of Justice to make Russia halt all military action, arguing that Russian President Vladimir Putin was violating the Genocide Convention, an international treaty signed in 1948 that prohibits genocide, and flouting the human rights of Ukrainian citizens. The international court will hold hearings later this month.

The invasion has been the impetus of various sanctions imposed on Russia by world leaders, including the U.S., Switzerland and the European Commission.

The Biden administration initiated another round of sanctions yesterday against Putin over the dissemination of false pro-war propaganda. The decision came just days after President Joe Biden denounced the "premeditated and unprovoked" war during his State of the Union address on Tuesday.

Various international law firms, such as Dentons and CMS, have shut down their offices in Ukraine's capital Kyiv and cut ties with Russian clients to comply with the mounting sanctions.

Earlier today, a coalition of environmental activists urged more than 75 nongovernmental organizations, including Bank of America Corp. and Deutsche Bank AG, to also sever ties with Russia.

The USPTO said in its statement on Friday that the office hope's for "the restoration of peace and human dignity."

The USPTO, the Eurasian Patent Organization and Rospatent did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday.

--Additional reporting by Dani Kass, Daniel Wilson, Caroline Simson, Najiyya Budaly, Kevin Penton, Rachel Rippetoe and Irene Madongo. Editing by Jay Jackson Jr.

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