The Russian Government has approved new Rules for the Payment of Remuneration for Employee Inventions, Utility Models, and Industrial Designs. The document will take effect on September 1, 2026, remain in force for six years, and replace the corresponding 2020 regulations. Among other changes, the new rules introduce a method for calculating remuneration that takes into account the regional minimum wage, a technological leadership coefficient, and whether the project is included in the list of critical high-tech technologies.
An employer must pay remuneration to the author of an employee-created intellectual property asset no later than two months after the patent is granted. If a patent was not obtained within the prescribed period due to procedural violations—such as missing the deadline for filing a request for state registration, failure to pay required fees, or certain other violations—remuneration must be paid no later than 24 months after the relevant patent application was filed.
In addition to a one-time payment, under the new regulations an employer that obtains a patent must make additional annual payments to the creator of the invention for as long as the patent remains in force. These payments must be made within three months after the end of each calendar year.
If the right to use an employee invention is transferred to another party under a license agreement, the employer must pay the author 10% of the remuneration received by the employer. If exclusive rights to the invention are transferred, the author must receive 15%. If the employer is a research organization or a higher education institution, the remuneration rate will be 50%.
“If an employee invention, employee utility model, or employee industrial design is created through the joint creative efforts of several employees who are co-authors of that employee invention, employee utility model, or employee industrial design, remuneration shall be paid to the co-authors in proportion to the creative contribution made by each of them,” the document states.
If the co-authors independently enter into an agreement determining the size of each person’s creative contribution, they must notify the employer of the agreed allocation. If no such agreement exists, the creative contributions must be deemed equal.
The remuneration is calculated using a formula comprising four components: M(reg), the minimum wage in the relevant constituent entity of the Russian Federation; K(tl), the technological leadership coefficient; K(trl), the coefficient reflecting the technology readiness level of the technology described in the intellectual property asset; and K(ip), the coefficient corresponding to the type of intellectual property asset.
The technological leadership coefficient will be 1.5 if the technology is included in the list of critical high-tech technologies and 1 if it is not. The technology readiness level coefficient will be set at 0.3 for Technology Readiness Levels 1, 2, or 3; 0.7 for Levels 4 or 5; 1.5 for Levels 6 or 7; and 3 for Levels 8 or 9.
The document also establishes the coefficient for the type of intellectual property asset: 1 for an invention and 0.7 for a utility model or industrial design.
The regulations also establish a method for calculating annual remuneration for the creator of an intellectual property asset. Three coefficients are used: A(1), representing the author; K(rel), the coefficient reflecting the relevance of the intellectual property asset; and K(use), the coefficient reflecting the extent to which the intellectual property asset is used in the employer’s own activities. The relevance coefficient ranges from 0.25 to 1, while the use coefficient ranges from 0.1 to 5.
In 2021, a methodology was approved for calculating compensation payable to a patent holder when a compulsory license is issued. At the time, it was stated that if the Russian Government authorizes the use of an invention in the country without the patent holder’s consent, the patent holder may receive 0.5% of sales revenue.
Source: Vademecum, June 2, 2026.
