Region: Russian Federation

A legal entity may close by choice or circumstance. It is often the case that during liquidation procedures and following settlements with creditors, rights holders are no longer able to manage their trademarks. This article addresses the fate of those trademarks.

06 February 2019

According to the Russian Civil Code, a registered trademark or a non-registered designation can be recognised as a well-known trademark at the request of the brand owner. Although the procedural requirements are somewhat arduous, the benefits of registration make the process worthwhile.

16 January 2019

Bad faith is not recognised as grounds for refusal for a trademark application in Russia. Further, Rospatent does not have jurisdiction over findings of bad faith. However, there are other relevant courses of action that can be used to protest bad-faith applications.

09 January 2019

The Russian State Duma has passed the first reading of a draft bill on geographical indications. The bill is a welcome development as it aims to fulfil Russia’s obligations under Articles 22 and 23 of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, which requires protection of geographical indications.

19 December 2018

This article addresses the topic of employee-created rights or commissioned work in the field of trademarks in Russia, including traditional marks such as logos and stylised marks and non-traditional marks such as packaging, get-up, icons and user interfaces.

12 December 2018

The concept of use arises frequently in trademark law, but there can be regional differences in how this is applied in practice. This article focuses on trademark use and the various stages of a trademark's registration in Russia.

28 November 2018

In the first of a series of articles, Russian trademark experts give guidance on the approach to the fundamental issues faced by trademark owners in Russia. The first topic in this series is distinctiveness.

21 November 2018

The State Duma is planning to review a number of draft bills regulating cryptocurrency, initial coin offerings and crowdfunding, before adopting them in Autumn 2018.

12 September 2018

Although trade dress cases in the fashion industry are still rare in Russia, the extensive involvement of the Federal Anti-monopoly Service in trade dress litigation leads the way for designers to pursue this unconventional method of IP and brand protection. Part two of this update highlights key trade dress cases in Russia.

19 August 2018

Trademark registration does not always provide the necessary scope of protection against copycats, which drives the need for unconventional means of brand protection. Part one of this update summarises the types of protection available for fashion brands and the pitfalls of each.

15 August 2018