15.02.09

Private, legal operators who do not have the consent of a trademark's legal owner will be driven from the market if they sell goods with the trademark in question.

Russian consumers will thus be forced to buy imported goods at higher prices. This especially concerns the Far-East region, where the market for privately imported Japanese automobiles is well developed.

This position was declared by an advisor to Anatoly Semenov, the chair of the State Duma's Intellectual Property Committee, during a recent session of the Supreme Arbitration Court (SAC).

In particular, according to the proposal, any person importing goods to be sold in Russia, without the consent of the legal owner to use the trademark is in violation of the law. This would apply to any importation of goods that are not intended for use only by the importer.

The impact of the decision has been far-reaching. Yesterday, the chairman of SAC, Anton Ivanov, announced that representatives from different organizations came together to submit an appeal asking the court not to take measures that would, they said, have an adverse effect on the majority of independent importers. According to Mr. Ivanov, this document contains 70,000 signatures. 

According to Mr. Semenov, resolution of the issue lay beyond the problem connected to the trademarks. “Foreign firms are lobbying for such a norm because they are interested in monopolizing the Russian market through dealer networks,” he noted.

Anton Ivanov declared that the SAC should release, in the near future, its decision concerning a dispute between Russia's customs agency and the company Genesis. The dispute deals with the question of whether it was legal for Genesis import Porsche Cayennes, which were purchased legally abroad, but without the consent of the manufacturer to import it to Russia.

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Source: "Новый Регион - Экономика"