Further to our article of 4 April 2017 the expected changes to the cancellation process of unused trademarks in Russia have entered into force on 12 July 2017.
According to the changes made to the Russian Civil Code, the cancellation process of unused trademarks has been specified. Prior to filing a claim with the IP Court it will be necessary to send a warning letter to the owner of the unused mark and ask the owner to voluntarily withdraw the unused trademark from the register or to assign it to the sender. In case the owner of the unused trademark does not react to this request, it will be possible to start court proceedings. The owner of the unused mark will have two months to respond to the letter.
In case of court proceedings it would be necessary to prove the use of the mark within three years prior to the date of sending the warning letter. Any usage which has started after the warning letter will not be considered as a proper use of the mark.
For any further information, please contact Ms Annikki Hämäläinen.
The 2019 INTA Annual Meeting is just days away! Our IP experts team, Annikki Hämäläinen, Heidi Mikkola, Jussi Mikkola, Riikka Palmos, Markku Simmelvuo and Marina Smirnova look forward to meeting as many clients and friends as possible.
Our trademark attorney Annikki Hämäläinen has written the Russia chapter in The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Trade Marks 2019. Here you will find a broad overview of common issues in the trademark law and regulations in Russia. You can read the Russia chapter here.
Patent Attorney Linda Norrgård, M. Sc. (Tech.), strengthens Papula-Nevinpat’s team of IP experts as of 1 April 2019. Linda has worked with patents since 2008, spending most of her career in various Finnish patent firms.
Papula-Nevinpat’s team of IP experts is growing, as European Patent Attorney Miika Tupala has been appointed patent attorney as of 1 April 2019.
