The Supreme Commercial Court decided not to reconsider lower court decisions invalidating the Federal Service for intellectual property, patents and trademarks’ refusal to register the “Volodya i Medvedi” trademark, the court told on Monday.
The Royalty company sought to register the trademark for alcoholic beverages, beer, juices and sparkling water.
The watchdog rejected Royalty’s trademark application in October 2010, stating that the trademark would damage the country’s image and public interests.
According to the Patent service, “Volodya i Medvedi” clearly refers to President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.
“Volodya” is a nickname for “Vladimir,” while “medved,” the root word of Medvedev’s last name, means “bear.”
Meanwhile, the watchdog said the brand would also make reference to the president through the use of a bear on the trademark, which is the symbol of Putin’s United Russia party.
In December 2011, Royalty objected to the watchdogs decision, the objection was dismissed.
Later, the company referred to the court.
In September 2011, the Moscow Commercial Court obligated the watchdog to register the Volodya i Medvedi trademark for Royalty. The appeals court upheld the judgment.
The watchdog reconsidered Royaltys objection pursuant to the judicial acts and satisfied it in February, having finally registered the brand for Royalty.
Sergei Feklyunin
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