In Russia, Starbucks has become “Stars Coffee”, McDonalds has been replaced by “Vkusno i tochka”, and the clothing store “Maag” is a doppelganger of Zara. In several of the cases with copied store concepts, the new chains have also opened in premises that their predecessors sold.
If you think of a more well-known brand when you see a new one, this may be an indication of trademark infringement. But depending on which agreements exist, it can also be perfectly okay to imitate or use another company’s trademark, says Gustav Melander, trademark lawyer at the Patent and Registration Office.
– The protection you have only applies if you use a trademark without consent, he says.
According to Reuters, for example, McDonald’s imposed strict restrictions on its successors, while the fast food chain KFC voluntarily allows its Russian counterpart to use the brand. Ikea, which received a copy in the Belarusian company Swed House, which is now trying to establish itself in Russia, states for The TV4 news that one looks at whether it may be a trademark infringement.
Unsafe protection
According to Gustav Melander, the trademark legal protection in Russia is quite similar to what we have in Sweden. But after the country’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Russian state issued a decree saying that Russian companies and individuals do not necessarily have to compensate rights holders who come from a so-called “unfriendly” or “hostile” country. This includes, among other things, the EU countries.
In practice, this may mean that Russian companies or individuals can now use inventions and ideas that were previously patented. Officially, the decree can only be used in exceptional cases concerning the security of the kingdom or the public’s health, but according to Gustav Melander, the uncertainty may still mean that the owner of the right to, for example, a trademark may hesitate to sue the infringer.
– At the moment, there are many indications that intellectual property rights are being protected, but there are points of concern. Rights holders are therefore perhaps a little unsure of how a Russian court will act.