OJSC “Lidskoe Pivo” (ААТ «Лідскае Піва»), the Belarusian manufacturer of Lidski kvass (a traditional rye-bread drink), had become aware of a locally manufactured kvass distributed in the Russian market under the same brand name “Lidksi”. Furthermore, the infringing product label designs were similar to the Client’s product labels that are protected in Russia as registered trademarks. It is noteworthy that the word elements of the Client’s trademarks, including the brand name “Lidksi” itself, have been disclaimed and thus do not enjoy legal protection.
The Moscow City Arbitrazh (state commercial) Court had not established the trademark rights infringement and fully dismissed the case. However, KIAP lawyers have successfully appealed this decision to the higher court and managed to prove a confusing similarity between the designations used by the defendants and the Client’s trademarks. The appellate court made it clear that the comparison of the label designs has to be based on their overall impression by consumers and with due regard to all other factors which may affect similarity.
KIAP team representing the Client in this case consists of Elena Buranova, the Head of IP Practice, as well as IP Associates Viacheslav Shmelev and Maxim Tabolo. Tatyana Ignatovskaya, Partner at Stepanovsky, Papakul and Partners, has been coordinating the project at Belarusian end.
Date: 15.11.2019