The Legal 500

Legal Update No. 325
 
Goltsblat BLP advises of the publication of Resolution of the Presidium of the Russian Supreme Court No. 8817/11 of 29 November 2011 upholding decisions of three lower courts in relation to a case on early termination of legal protection for the VECHERNIE trade mark with respect to goods under ICGS class 05 "pharmaceuticals" and "dietary substances for medical purposes" because the trade mark has been used during production and sale of biologically active supplements that are not on the registered list of goods.

Vodka may be indelibly linked with Russia, but a new brand called “Volodya i Medvedi” could damage the country’s interests, according to the Patent Agency.

A series of changes has recently been introduced into the Russian Intellectual Property Law for the purpose of bringing it into line with international agreements – including the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works – and to fulfill the requirements for accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Owners of trademarks and service marks registered in the Russian Federation will be able to obtain priority domain name registrations in the new Cyrillic .РФ domain and avoid cybersquatting, but this advantage may extend to owners of trademarks in Cyrillic only

A new legal act issued in Russia has revised the rules applicable to state registration of license agreements and other forms of disposal of rights in the field of intellectual property.