Webinar: protecting online brands in Russia
The WIPR Insights webinar series has in recent weeks provided an in-depth look at how to enforce brands and trademarks online, whether it’s managing domain portfolios or enforcement through the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). The latest entry focuses on practical advice for online brand owners looking to enforce their trademarks in Russia.
One of the biggest challenges for many foreign brand owners in Russia is the same as for other visitors: the language. Takedown notices and communications with Russian platforms must be in a local language, explained Evgeny Alexandrov, partner at Gorodissky & Partners. That makes having the assistance of a local trademark lawyer all the more important.
Apart from cultural barriers, brand owners also need to be aware of the tools available to them under Russian trademark law. The ICANN-administered Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (UDRP) is not applicable to disputes concerning .ru, .su and other local country code top-level domains (ccTLDs), and “no similar administrative procedure has been adopted so far,” Alexandrov said.
But local nuances aside, online trademark protection strategies in Russia should be built on principles that will be familiar to brand owners in many countries. The most effective way to deal with counterfeits in Russia, Alexandrov said, is to use a comprehensive approach involving both online and offline actions.
The chances of being able to remove infringing goods from a platform without resorting to litigation are quite strong—Alexandrov estimates the efficiency of pre-trial methods, such as takedown notices, at 85%.
If the case does proceed to litigation, and brand owners are successful in their anti-infringement action, they may be able to choose between damages or statutory compensation.
“In most cases, brand owners prefer to claim statutory compensation,” Alexandrov said, as they will not be required to quantify the damage suffered. Statutory compensation is calculated in one of three ways: it can be a sum, between $160 and $80,000, determined by the court; double the cost of the counterfeit goods; or double the cost of the licensed use of the mark.
You can listen to the webinar here, and access the full series on the WIPR Insights channel here.
For more information on opportunities to participate in a webinar, contact Sarah Gooding on sgooding@newtonmedia.co.uk.
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