Cherkizovo is suing Ratimir over the brand of smoked sausage

In February 2024, Cherkizovo Group, the largest meat producer in Russia, filed a lawsuit against Ratimir LLC because of the Flamenco sausage brand. Cherkizovo Group has been producing smoked “Salami Flamenco” sausage under the Cherkizovo Premium brand for more than 15 years, a violation of rights was discovered in 2023 and a claim was sent to Ratimir LLC. Cherkizovo has owned the trademark "Flamenco" according to the 29th class of the Nice Classification (sausages, meat delicacies) since 2021, it follows from the Rospatent database. No similar trademark or application for it was found at Ratimir.

Ratimir LLC was founded in 1997 by entrepreneurs Alexander Trush and Vadim Dymov from Primorsky region. Together they also founded the meat processing company Dymov, and then divided the business. Dymov left Ratimir in 2009.

The case is scheduled for March 18. The plaintiff demands compensation of 12 million rubles.

Conflicts about infringement of rights arise very often, especially recently in the market of meat products and sausage products, from 100 to 300 claims and disputes per month is a minimum, says Sergey Zuykov, patent attorney, managing partner of Zuykov and partners. Over the past 5-7 years, the number of disputes related to trademark infringement has been growing steadily, as there are fewer and fewer sonorous brands that would not be registered, adds Alina Akinshina, CEO of Online Patent. According to her, not so long ago the number of registered trademarks in the Russian Federation exceeded 1 million.

The court's decision not in favor of the defendant can cause very significant damage to the violator – significantly more than the compensation claimed in the claim of 12 million rubles. The actual damage depends on the amount of products produced using the disputed trademark. If a lot was produced, the amount of compensation in double the value of the counterfeit goods can be very significant, explains Zuykov.

Source: Vedomosti