In recent weeks, more than 50 applications have been submitted to Rospatent for the registration of well-known brands of a number of companies that have decided to curtail or limit their activities in Russia due to its activities on the territory of Ukraine. Among these names are Visa, Apple, Durex, BMW, Chanel, Dior and many others. Some of the entries include titles that differ from the original spellings, but have the same identity. Lawyers say that the initiators are unlikely to be able to register these brands.
Behind the appeals to the Federal Service for Intellectual Property are representatives of domestic business and individual entrepreneurs.
Over the past months, a number of foreign brands have stopped their work in the Russian Federation or limited investment in businesses located in Russia.
Entrepreneur Alexander Gershtein believes that nothing prevents Russian business from using the names of foreign brands for their own purposes. The businessman intends to develop his business under the brand name Durex, which belongs to the British manufacturer of contraceptives.
Together with partner Vadim Ryabchenko, Gershtein filed an application with Rospatent to register the Facebook and Instagram brands (both social networks are banned in the Russian Federation).
The non-profit organization "Intellectual Property Market Support Agency" filed an application for registration of trademarks Mastercard, Audi and American Express. Representatives of Russian business intend to become owners of the brands Coca-Cola, Pampers, Reebok, Adidas and many others, as evidenced by the applications filed with Rospatent.
According to lawyers who register existing brands, entrepreneurs will fail, as they will be denied due to copyright and the criterion of "confusing similarity." The departure of companies from the Russian market does not mean that they cease to exist, explains Yury Fedyukin, managing partner at Enterprise Legal Solutions. He adds that the trademarks of such organizations continue to be protected by law.
Sergey Zuykov, managing partner of Zuykov & Partners, believes that the protection will be lifted after the government decides to cancel the intellectual property of some other countries.
Despite the statements of lawyers, last week Rospatent accepted for consideration an application for the trademark "Idea", which copies the style, spelling and even the direction of the business of the Swedish furniture company IKEA.
bbabo.Net