RusBankrot
We know everything about bankruptcy
18/12/2024
Wednesday
THIS DAY IN HISTORY:
18 December 
1970 France, on behalf of 25 EU countries, called for the decriminalization of same-sex relations.
1970 France, on behalf of 25 EU countries, called for the decriminalization of same-sex relations.
1970 The slavery was abolished in the United States.
1970 the slavery in the United States was abolished.
1970 The anthem of the Russian Empire “God Save the Tsar!” was performed for the first time.
18 December
1970 France, on behalf of 25 EU countries, called for the decriminalization of same-sex relations.
1970 France, on behalf of 25 EU countries, called for the decriminalization of same-sex relations.
1970 The slavery was abolished in the United States.
1970 the slavery in the United States was abolished.
1970 The anthem of the Russian Empire “God Save the Tsar!” was performed for the first time.
Dispute between Yandex and Rambler over the word ‘Afisha’ may become a precedent
This week, the Intellectual Property Court is about to consider a dispute that has been run by two digital companies since 2019 over the word ‘Afisha’. It deals, in particular, with the possibility / impossibility of registering commonly used categories as trademarks.
According to experts, the court verdict can have a significant impact on many Russian companies that use descriptive categories in their business activities.
We should remind our readers that in 2019, Yandex registered the ‘Yandex.Afisha’ brand. The registration was later canceled by the Patent Dispute Chamber. With this decision, Russian Federal Service for Intellectual Property reacted to the complaint of Rambler company. An attempt to challenge this decision in court did not bring a positive result.
In early October 2021, many media outlets, referring to Vedomosti, wrote about the possibility of concluding an amicable agreement between Yandex and Rambler. According to sources representing the online ticket sales market, a mediation procedure was used in resolving the conflict, in which the Chamber of Commerce and Industry acted as an intermediary.
However, now we are talking, apparently, about technologies for comparing trademarks by experts when checking for the possibility of confusion. The so-called ‘composite’ trademarks, known in world legal practice, suggest that a commonly used term can be found as an independently unprotected part of a trademark. At the same time, in a number of countries it is forbidden to ‘dissect’ the trademarks into elements when comparing. In the USA, this rule has received a special name of an anti-dissection rule.
According to experts, the court verdict can have a significant impact on many Russian companies that use descriptive categories in their business activities.
We should remind our readers that in 2019, Yandex registered the ‘Yandex.Afisha’ brand. The registration was later canceled by the Patent Dispute Chamber. With this decision, Russian Federal Service for Intellectual Property reacted to the complaint of Rambler company. An attempt to challenge this decision in court did not bring a positive result.
The case reached the Presidium of the Intellectual Property Court.
According to the @ruarbitr telegram channel, the process is being observed by all lawyers whose work is related to the protection and maintenance of intellectual rights. And although the judicial precedent cannot be formally considered a source in the Russian legal system, the possibility of monopolization of descriptive categories (such as the word ‘afisha’) by individual market participants can affect the well-known brands, the names and advertisements of which contain similar words.In early October 2021, many media outlets, referring to Vedomosti, wrote about the possibility of concluding an amicable agreement between Yandex and Rambler. According to sources representing the online ticket sales market, a mediation procedure was used in resolving the conflict, in which the Chamber of Commerce and Industry acted as an intermediary.
However, now we are talking, apparently, about technologies for comparing trademarks by experts when checking for the possibility of confusion. The so-called ‘composite’ trademarks, known in world legal practice, suggest that a commonly used term can be found as an independently unprotected part of a trademark. At the same time, in a number of countries it is forbidden to ‘dissect’ the trademarks into elements when comparing. In the USA, this rule has received a special name of an anti-dissection rule.
Now the domestic justice has to find out to what extent the average Russian identifies the word ‘afisha’ with the trademark of the same name through which it is possible to purchase tickets.
Yandex has a whole series of trademarks in which the company's name is supplemented with a descriptive category (food, taxi, music). With this in mind, the issue of brand customization can become a major hurdle for a business. If the representatives of Themis unexpectedly prohibit the use of such words as a verbal part of the brand, the intellectual property market in Russia may face a wave of litigation and turmoil. 08.11.2021
