Russian manufacturer of Nemiroff may start producing drinks under brand Demiroff

United Penza Distilleries, which produced vodka and Nemiroff tinctures, plans to start production of Demiroff spirits, follows from the data of Rosaccreditation. The company received declarations of conformity for Demiroff De Luxe bitter tincture "Honey with pepper on lime honey" and Demiroff De Luxe special vodka.

Earlier, the owner of the Nemiroff brand (with its main production in Nemirov, Vinnytsia region of Ukraine), announced the revocation of the license for the production of beverages in Russia after the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. An independent producer in Penza was the last Nemiroff licensee. In the summer of 2023, Nemiroff Intellectual Property Establishment appealed to the Arbitration Court of the Penza Region with a lawsuit banning the United Penza Distilleries from using Nemiroff brands, demanding that such actions after February 1, 2022 be recognized as a violation of their rights. The Demiroff brand for alcoholic beverages was registered by Penza Intellectual Law LLC at the end of 2023.

Renaming may not get rid of claims from Nemiroff and threatens to reduce sales, experts warn.

Alina Sidorova, a leading trademark specialist at Online Patent, notes that Rospatent apparently considered the Nemiroff and Demiroff trademarks to be dissimilar. The owner of the Nemiroff brand may file a new lawsuit, but the outcome of the case will depend on whether it is possible to prove the similarity of the trademarks.

Patent attorney, managing partner of Zuykov and partners Sergey Zuykov believes that changing the first letter is unlikely to solve the problem, and the owner of the Nemiroff brand can continue the proceedings. As judicial practice has shown, Russia continues to protect the intellectual property rights of foreign companies, regardless of the country of origin. In addition, renaming to Demiroff may also be a consequence of an agreement between the parties. As Mr. Zuykov points out, in this case, a settlement agreement must be concluded, which is approved by the court.

Well-known alcoholic brands with Ukrainian roots have already been renamed in Russia: for example, in 2022, the plants "Rodnik and K" and "Russian North", which produced vodka "Khortytsia" and "Morosha", launched the brands "Horta" and "Lesnaya Morosha".

Source: Kommersant Publishing House