The EPO said it stands "in solidarity with all those suffering from the appalling violence in Ukraine and all refugees seeking safety in other countries," and that it had decided to pause its cooperation with the Russian and Belarusian patent agencies, as well as the Eurasian Patent Organization.
The Munich-based agency said it will consider further actions and "consequences" ahead of its next administrative council meeting on March 22.
"Our office was founded in the spirit of European and international cooperation," the EPO said. "We stand for peace, progress and prosperity, with staff drawn from across the 38 contracting states of the European Patent Convention."
Ukraine, Russia and Belarus are not part of the EPO, which was formed in 1973 to provide a single system for reviewing and granting European patents. It started with 16 countries and has grown to 38, including Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, which had previously been under Soviet rule.
The EPO also said it would be working to provide funds to aid organizations, with the agency making a contribution and employees being encouraged to do as well. The EPO said its social association will be organizing aid efforts.
"Our aim will be to ensure that the aid reaches all those affected, whether in Ukraine, in the neighboring countries or those seeking safety, in particular in our host countries," the agency said.
The Moscow-based Eurasian Patent Organization that the EPO also addressed Tuesday includes Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
The Russian and Belarusian patent offices, along with the EAPO, didn't immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office did not respond to questions late Tuesday night about whether it has any similar plans in the works.
Since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, it has been sanctioned by countries including the U.S., United Kingdom, Japan and the ever-neutral Switzerland. The sanctions' targets include Russian banks and financial institutions, as well as high-ranking officials in the governments of Russia and Belarus, which has aided in the invasion.
On Monday, Ukraine requested the International Court of Justice to urgently step in and stop Russia, accusing the Kremlin of using false claims of genocide in the regions of Luhansk and Donetsk to justify its invasion into Ukraine.
The resulting conflict has caused "grave and widespread" violations of the human rights of the Ukrainian people, Kyiv told the court.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday also signed the country's application for membership in the European Union, further severing itself from Russia.
--Additional reporting by Caroline Simson and Theresa Schliep. Editing by Lakshna Mehta.
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