The Impact of EU Sanctions on the Trademark Sector

On June 24, 2025, the European Union introduced the next 14th Package of Sanctions against the Russian Federation (The Council Regulation (EU) 833/2014), the provisions of which directly relate to the field of intellectual property. Thus, article 5s contains the following provisions:

"Intellectual property offices and other competent institutions established under the law of a Member State or the European Union shall not accept:

(a) new applications for registration of trademarks, patents, industrial designs, utility models, protected appellations of origin of goods and geographical indications, filed by citizens of the Russian Federation or individuals residing in the Russian Federation, as well as legal entities, organizations or bodies established in the Russian Federation, including if they are filed jointly by a citizen of the Russian Federation or individuals residing in the Russian Federation, legal entities, organizations or bodies established in the Russian Federation, with one or more individuals or legal entities that are not citizens of the Russian Federation, residing or established outside the Russian Federation;

(b) any application or submission filed by citizens of the Russian Federation or natural persons residing in the Russian Federation, as well as by legal persons, organizations or bodies established in the Russian Federation, in the course of registration procedures with such intellectual property offices relating to any of the intellectual property rights referred to in paragraph (a)."

The cited provisions significantly restrict the rights of Russian applicants and right holders in the territory of the European Union. As options for registering a trademark in the European Union, it was possible to file a national regional application (EUTM), file national applications with the Offices of the countries of interest, and file an international application with the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization (IB WIPO).

The European Union consists of 27 countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Hungary, Germany, Greece, Denmark, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Finland, France, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Sweden and Estonia. In addition, Article 5s of the sanctions of June 24, 2025 mentions Switzerland as a party that undertakes to comply with these requirements.

An analysis of international applications filed by Russian individuals and legal entities carried out on the website of the IB WIPO showed the following.

The Austrian Office issued 11 full provisional refusals based on EU sanctions out of 16 international applications filed after June 24, 2025; None of the 36 international applications had yet been examined by the Bulgarian Office; The Hungarian Office issued 8 full provisional refusals based on EU sanctions out of 13 international applications; The German Office issued 25 complete provisional refusals based on EU sanctions out of 38 international applications.

Thus, in the event that the examination of the international application took place after June 24, 2025, the Office of the Contracting Party (EU Member State) issued a provisional refusal with reference to the provision of the 14th Package of EU Sanctions of June 24, 2025 (article 5s par. 1a of the Council regulation (EU) 833/2014). The preliminary refusal provides a deadline for submitting a response, but at the moment it is not possible to overcome this ground, since the sanctions can only be lifted after the end of the conflict in Ukraine.

Thus, the formal requirement to provide a period for responding to a preliminary refusal is met, but, unfortunately, it is impossible to carry out any real actions now.

Despite the imposed sanctions, applicants from Russia file international applications indicating EU countries, either not knowing about the innovations, or hoping that the situation will be resolved by the time the application is considered.

In this situation, a possible option for registering a trademark remains the filing of a national or international application for an applicant not from the Russian Federation. At the same time, it is important to take into account that the composition of the founders of foreign companies is checked for the inclusion of such individuals in the sanctions lists.

Unfortunately, it is very difficult to predict when the situation in the EU will change, since the Union's policy is currently quite hostile towards Russia. At the same time, intellectual property, it would seem, should remain unshakable as part of progress, economic development, and movement forward. However, neither applicants, nor copyright holders, nor patent attorneys can influence the circumstances.

At the same time, the regions of Asia (China) and the Middle East (United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar) are becoming the most popular among Russian applicants.