Equal protection!
The new ruling may reassure Western companies with trademark rights in Russia. According to the World Trademark Review platform, the judge now states that “equal protection of intellectual property of foreign organisations … is guaranteed in Russian Federation territory. The motives behind the decision of the first court … are not based on a correct application of substantive law‘. Phew, thankfully.
More trademark issues in Russia
Does that mean that all the trademark issues in Russia are now a done deal? No, certainly not. As we reported earlier, hijackers in Russia are currently applying for trademark registrations for world-famous brands en masse. Hijacker Torgovje Technologii applied for nearly 100 registrations in a particularly creative manner. They provided all their brands with their own design.
Refusal
Take note, though, that these are still only applications. This means that no rights can yet be claimed from them. The applications all need examination by the Russian trademark office Rospatent, and if all goes well, Rospatent will refuse them because they are more or less identical to the well-known registered trademarks. That is, if all goes well… First, let’s wait and see what happens.
Bas Kist
