 TRADE MARKS
In most cases a trademark can be legally protected in the Russian Federation in virtue of its official registration .
Law of the Russian Federation ¹ 3520-1 On Trademarks, Service Marks and Appellations of Origin of Goods of September 23, 1992 shall govern the relations arising in connection with legal protection and use of trademarks, service marks, and appellations of origin of goods.
A trademark may be registered in the name of a legal entity or a natural person officially recorded as an "individual businessman" .
A trademark application should be submitted to the Russian Federal Agency for Intellectual Property, Patents and Trademarks (Russian Patent Office) .
The application must contain:
the claimed mark / logo ( 6-12 representations 8 x 8 cm ) and its brief description;
the list of goods and/or services for which the registration is requested drafted in accordance with the International Classification of Goods and Services .
The application must be accompanied by:
- a document confirming the payment of the official filing fee in the required amount ;
- the Bylaw of the collective mark if the application is to be filed on a collective mark ;
- a copy of the " individual businessman " registration certificate or similar document if the trademark is to be registered in the name of a natural person engaged in individual business activity ( extracts from the trade registers, trade chambers' registers, trade books, etc. );
- a Power of Attorney issued by the Applicant in the name of a Russian Patent Attorney signed by the managing official of the company and sealed (if the application is filed via a Patent Attorney). Legalization or notarization is not required.
To avoid any collision with prior registered trademarks or pending applications , it is recommended to carry out preliminary trademark search . Full availability trademark search is carried out at the Patent Office.
A trademark may be registered if it complies with the Absolute and Relative Grounds provided by the Russian Federal Act “On Trademarks, Service Marks and Apellations of Origin ", i.e. a trademark may not refer to the type, quality, quantity and characteristics of the products or services, be a specific term in the area the trademark is claimed for , consist of consonants only, infringe copyright owned by third parties , be confusingly similar to the prior registered trademarks or pending applications filed for similar goods/services , etc.).
There is no fixed period during which a trademark examination is to be performed by the federal executive authority for intellectual property, but an average term is about a year after the submission of the application.
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(Trade mark registration is governed by the Act “On Trademarks, Service Marks and Appellations of Origin” of 23.09.92 with subsequent amendments).
The approximate term of trademark registration procedure is 18-24 months. As an alternative, accelerated procedure with grant of Certificate within 5-6 months can be chosen by client.
To file a trademark application we need at least one clear representation of the logotype , the Power of Attorney (simply signed ), full Applicant's details ( address, full name, nationality, etc.) and the list of products/services in respect of which the registration is being claimed. If a trademark is to be filed in the name of an individual we would need an official confirmation that such person is recorded as "an individual businessman". |
