The RF CCI reviewed the possible changes to the procedure for the early termination of trademarks due to non-use
On March 10, a meeting of the Council of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation on Intellectual Property was held. The expert group was represented by Chairman of the Council Dmitry Fadeev, Deputy Chairman of the Council Sergey Zuykov, Deputy Director of the Federal Institute of Industrial Property Roman Zakharov, and other experts.
The following issues were discussed at the meeting:
- the possibilities of classifying UX / UI design as activities in the field of information technology;
- early termination of the legal protection of trademarks due to non-use, if the right holder is in bankruptcy proceedings;
- the development of a position on introducing possible changes to the procedure for the early termination of trademarks due to non-use.
Sergey Zuykov in his report raised the issue of possible changes to the procedure for early termination of trademarks due to non-use. The need to “cleanse” the trademark register from marks that are not used by their right holders is the main objective of the principle that obliges the right holder to use the registered marks. However, today this mechanism is obviously slow because filing a lawsuit is a costly procedure for a business.
The INTA's "Report and Recommendations on Criteria for Cancellation of Trademarks Due to Non-Use" (2013) indicates that according to the criteria for the procedure for the early termination of trademarks due to non-use, countries (agencies) are divided into three main groups:
- with no application requirements.
- with minimum application requirements.
- a formal system with overly burdensome application requirements.
INTA included the Russian Federation in the third group, along with Iraq, Jordan, Malaysia, Mexico, and Honduras. In addition, the statistics of the number of cases that were considered in the Chamber for Patent Disputes of Rospatent and then in the IP Court can serve as confirmation of the excessive requirements for filing applications with the court.
Sergey Zuykov noted that after the transfer of the procedure for revocation of trademarks in connection with non-use from Rospatent to the IP Court, the number of cases per year on the early termination of trademarks fell by 2-2.5 times.
At the end of the Council meeting, the working plan for 2022 was approved and a new board of the Council was formed. Proposals were also developed on priority measures to support businesses under sanctions pressure. The proposals of the Council on the introduction of patent holidays were sent by Sergey Katyrin, the President of the RF CCI to the Russian government.
Source: RF CCI