The monarchy was overturned in Russia in 1917 and for many years there was no reason for mentioning the word other than to compare the beauty of socialism with atrocities of Czarism. Now that the image of socialism has somewhat tarnished, Czarism-related issues have surfaced again though from a different angle – a trade mark conflict.

There is some subconscious nostalgic feeling for times past so that people register trade marks that include the word Czar. A JSC Sinergia Capital registered a trade mark for Czar (number 118888) in respect of goods in class 33 – alcoholic beverages with the exception of beer (a strange omission of a most popular drink).

Later, another person registered a trade mark for Czar Of Al The Whole Of Rus (number 314526). This registration covered beer as well as other alcoholic drinks.

It is clear that the alcohol market is an uncompromising territory. The owner of Czar initiated a court case against Czar Of Al The Whole Of Rus claiming that the respondent should cease production and sales of alcoholic products under the confusingly similar trade mark, destroy counterfeit (in his opinion) products and publish information on the infringement case in the magazine Alcoholic Beverages and Beer. Punitive damages were also claimed in the amount of about $100,000.

The respondent provided a response to the court in which he rightfully claimed that he was using his own trade mark. The court's judgment could be predicted: so long as there is a registration its owner has the right to use it. The decision of the court was appealed by the plaintiff who did not sit on his hands but launched a public poll and submitted the report to the court. The decision of the first instance court however stood.

The plaintiff again appealed to the cassation court which dismissed the decisions of the lower courts The cassation court came to the conclusion that the lower courts did not evaluate the submitted evidence in its entirety. Now the cassation court has sent down the case to the court of first instance and the whole case will be considered from scratch and with consideration for all the circumstances and provisions of the material and procedural law.

What will be the outcome of the battle of the Czars remains to be seen. What is not doubted is that the psyche of the country has changed irrevocably and association with the past (allusion to Czars) may bring advantages to business.

Vladimir Biriulin

Gorodissky & Partners
Russia 129010, Moscow
B. Spasskaya Str
25, stroenie 3
Tel: +7 495 937 6116 / 6109
Fax: +7 495 937 6104 / 6123
pat@gorodissky.ru
www.gorodissky.com