Region: Russian Federation

The appeal panel of the Moscow State Arbitration Court has upheld a decision to reject SPI Group's request for cancellation of the vodka mark PERTSOVKA in Latin script owned by the state-run company Soyuzplodoimport. The court also refused to reinstate SPI Group's cancelled PERTSOVKA registration in Cyrillic script on the grounds that it was likely to cause confusion with the Latin script mark.

01 December 2003

Future Enterprises PTE has filed a cancellation action against McDonald's Russia's registration of MCCAFE for a chain of coffee shops. Future Enterprises claims that the mark is confusingly similar to its MACCOFFEE mark for instant coffee. The case is likely to require a detailed analysis of the interpretation of confusing similarity.

18 November 2003

Amendments to the Trademark Law in 2002 introduced the concept of acquired distinctiveness into Russian law. Two recent cases highlight the effect that these changes have had on trademark registration procedure. In one case, the mark AVIABOR was deemed to have acquired distinctiveness through use, while in the other, the Chamber for Patent Disputes looks likely to overturn a registration refusal on similar grounds.

08 October 2003

The Foundation for Internet Development has opened up registrations for domain names in the '.su' (Soviet Union) country-code top-level domain. This follows a priority registration period, which was designed to allow trademark owners to register their trademarks as domain names.

25 September 2003

Following last year's amendments to Russia's trademark legislation, the government has issued Decree 793 establishing the fee structures for the Patent Office and the newly-created Chamber for Patent-Related Disputes, which examines, among other things, opposition applications.

09 September 2003

The Russian law enforcement agencies have raided a chandelier plant, terminating the production of counterfeit Swarovski products. The plant was being run by an underground cartel that employed about 40 workers who made chandeliers with poor-quality metal and Turkish crystals, and then branded them with the famous SWAROVSKI trademark.

08 July 2003

The United State's Gillette Company has filed a lawsuit against the registered owner of the 'gillette.ru' domain name - Moscow-based Kameo. Gillette asserts that Kameo is guilty of trademark infringement and is demanding that the company cease using the domain name. The outcome of this case will help clarify recent amendments to the Trademarks Law.

23 June 2003

The Russian government has amended the country's competition legislation so as to reduce the anti-competitive effects of trademark acquisitions and licence agreements.

18 February 2003

Changes to the Russian Trademark Law have come into force. The amendments - which bring Russia one step closer to WTO membership - draw a clear line between genuine and counterfeit goods, and toughen the penalties for counterfeiting.

07 February 2003

The Presidium of the Russian Federation Supreme Arbitration Court has arrived at the important conclusion that the '.ru' domain registry may be held liable in cases involving unlawful registration. It also ruled that the courts may order the registry to cancel a registration and transfer the domain name to the plaintiff-trademark owner.

04 July 2002