Rospatent refused to register a brand with a geographical name

The Myskhako winery is challenging Rospatent's refusal to register a trademark of the same name for the production of soft drinks and mineral water in the IP Court. 

Rospatent justified the refusal by saying that the verbal element "Myskhako" in the brand is a geographical name and is perceived as a place of extraction of natural water. However, the winery has not provided evidence that it has such production, which means that the designation may mislead the consumer about the natural origin of the products. In February 2025, Myskhako LLC filed an objection to the refusal, citing "the consumer's lack of perception of the claimed designation as the place of origin of the disputed goods." But the Rospatent board did not accept the arguments, again arguing that the settlement of Myskhako is not known for natural sources of mineral water.

Lawyers believe that the probability of overturning the decision in court is extremely low. According to Sergey Zuykov, patent attorney and managing partner of Zuykov and Partners, there are a lot of refusals to register geographical names, this is a common practice. Such designations are more often registered as geographical names.

Alyona Pantelei, a lawyer at Forward Legal, adds that "both the legislation and Rospatent's approach have become quite tougher in this regard, so it is becoming increasingly difficult to achieve registration." 

Source: Kommersant