Russia: Twin-faced daily bread

Managing IP is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Gardens, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Russia: Twin-faced daily bread

When registering a trade mark in Russia, the question often arises whether it is worthwhile to register a Cyrillic version of the trade mark in addition to the Latin one. The decision is with the trade mark owner who will appreciate having enlightening knowledge of what may happen in this situation though there is no hard and fast rule to decide this or that way.

There is a trade mark registration (number 335180) for Le Pain Quotidien (daily bread). The owner of the trade mark filed an appeal against another trademark registration (number 01143) (daily bread in Cyrillic). Naturally, the goods covered by the trade marks are identical. The appellant argued that the word combination "pain quotidien" is a French set expression in the 11th verse of the sixth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament and is part of the Sermon on the Mount. This verse is one of the best known parts of the entire New Testament: "Donne-nous aujourd'hui notre pain quotidien" (Give us this day our daily bread). The designation «ХЛЕБ НАСУЩНЫЙ» is a Russian equivalent of the French expression "pain quotidien" and is in fact a traditional translation of the French text. The appellant argued that the existence of the appealed registration is an obstacle to the operation of the appellant on the Russian market in case he wants to use the Russian equivalent of his trade mark, either himself or through his licensees.

The Board of Appeals examined both expressions and decided otherwise. It stated that the French expression is not deeply rooted in the Russian language, unlike other words and expressions such as "accessoire" – аксессуар, "boutique" – бутик and "Cherchez la femme" – шерше ля фам. These words and expressions are borrowed from the French language and are widely used by the Russian rank and file. In fact, they became the Russian words.

If one evaluates the words «ХЛЕБ НАСУЩНЫЙ» and "pain quotidien" from the phonetic point of view they are absolutely different and have no common features when phonetic similarity is examined. The compared designations have a different combination of consonants and vowels, letters, sounds, different phonetic length, different position of sounds and combinations of sounds in relation to each other, etc.

Visually, the designations are quite dissimilar, they produce a different visual impression because the characters belong to different alphabets, word combinations are different and juxtaposition of letters is different. Complete phonetic and visual dissimilarity results, and the lack of any association in the eyes of the consumer between the two designations leads to the conclusion that the designations are not similar in general, hence the Board of Appeal did not find any grounds to make a conclusion that the trade mark number 401143 is not protectable.

This is a clear cut case however it brings the problem to light. In many other cases the picture may not be so obvious. There are cases, and their number is not so small, where lack of a Cyrillic registration led to lengthy conflicts in the Patent Office.

Biriulin-Vladimir

Vladimir Biriulin


Gorodissky & PartnersRussia 129010, MoscowB. Spasskaya Str25, stroenie 3Tel: +7 495 937 6116 / 6109Fax: +7 495 937 6104 / 6123pat@gorodissky.ru www.gorodissky.com

more from across site and SHARED ros bottom lb

More from across our site

Working with Harvey and Microsoft, the firm has been at the forefront of developing AI tools for its lawyers, and is now exploring new projects and business models
The Emotional Perception AI case, which centres on the patentability of an artificial neural network, will be heard next week
Developments included a court order related to InterDigital’s anti-anti-suit injunction against Disney, and clarification on recoverable costs
Partners at Foley Hoag examine how recent CJEU jurisprudence may serve as a catalyst for recalibrating US judicial reluctance to entertain foreign patent claims
International law firms have high hopes for their IP practices in Saudi Arabia, with many opening offices, but recruiting and retaining talent in the Kingdom presents unique challenges
Patrick Ogola joins us for our ‘Five minutes with’ series to discuss helping African entrepreneurs on the global stage, and explains why young lawyers should speak up
Heli Pihlajamaa, the EPO’s principal director for patent law and procedures, joins us to take stock of the unitary patent following its second anniversary
Kelly Thompson, chair of South African firm Adams & Adams, discusses self-belief, self-doubt, and the importance of saying yes
The renowned food brands were represented by a host of lawyers, including members of the firms’ IP teams
Partners at Bird & Bird and Taylor Wessing discuss how Saudi Arabia offers unique opportunities for firms dealing in IP and tech
Gift this article