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Italiano In this article we give you an overview on how to register a trademark in Russian Federation: what are the filing and registration proceedings and the validity and duration of a trademark, with a wise advice.
In this post we talk about:
Which kind of trademarks it is possible to register in Russian Federation
It is possible to register word, figurative and tridimensional marks and their combination. The mark can be registered in each color or combination of colors.
We remind you that Russian Federation adheres to the Nice Classification, so you can decide the classes for the protection of your products.
Filing and registration of a trademark in Russian Federation
After filing, the Trademark Office of Russian Federation examines the application, first from a formal and then from a substantial point of view, including possible conflict with earlier rights.
This means that in the Russian Federation it is particularly important to conduct a similarity trademark search: the circumstance that local Trademark Office examines the brand under the substantial profile means that it can issue an objection if it finds the existence of an earlier trademark, identical to or similar with yours.
This means, more specifically, that there exists the risk that the Russian Trademark Office refuses to register your trademark whether an earlier trademark, identical to or similar with yours, exists. According to the results of the examination, the Trademark Office decides whether to admit or reject trademark to the registration.
In the event of an unfavorable decision, the holder of the application can file an appeal before the Court of Appeal of the Patent Office (“the Appeals Board”). In the event also the decision of the Court of Appeal is unfavorable, the Supreme Patent Board can be appealed. The decision of the Supreme Patent Board is final.
The registration of the trademark will be announced by publication in the Official Gazette and third parties may contest the trademark, within five years from the date of publication, for relative grounds of invalidity. It will be always possible to challenge the mark for absolute grounds of invalidity.
Since 1 October 2014 some amendments of the Civil Code of Russian Federation have entered into force. These changes include the publication of trademark applications and the possibility given to third parties, after publication, to submit written observations to the examiner before the mark is registered
Validity and duration of a trademark in Russian Federation
The trademark registration will be valid for ten years from the filing date of the application, renewable for further te-year periods, potentially indefinitely.
The registered trademark becomes vulnerable to a cancellation action for non-use in case of non use after three years from the date of registration.
Suggestions for registering a trademark in Russian Federation
We suggest you to take into consideration that Cyrillic characters are used in everyday life. A trademark in Latin characters is not protected in Cyrillic version and vice versa; therefore, it is advisable to register your trademark in both versions.
Eva Troiani law firm is pleased to provide you with further clarifications on how to register your trademark in Russian Federation.
Telephone No. +390658233422
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