Trademark (service mark) registration in the Russian Federation

Law protection of a trademark (service mark) in the Russian Federation is executed as per its state registration.

Trade mark (service mark) can be registered in the name of a juridical person or a natural person, carrying out any entrepreneurial activity.

The trademark (service mark) registration application is filed with the Federal Institute on intellectual property.

The application should consist of:

• Trademark registration application form, with the name of the applicant, his official address;
• Claimed designation (5 copies, size 8X8 centimeters) and its description;
• List of goods for which the claimed designation is to be registered, grouped as per the INPI classes of goods and services for trademark registration;

Apart from that to the application should be attached:

• Document, confirming payment of the fee in the established amount;
• The collective trademark charter in case the application is filed for a collective trademark;
• A copy of the PBOUL registration certificate in case the trademark is registered in the name of a natural person, carrying out entrepreneurial activity;
• Power of Attorney in the name of the Patent Attorney sealed and signed by the Director of the company in case the application is filed by a Patent Attorney.

To avoid collisions with the previously registered trademarks and prior applications it is advisable to conduct preliminary search of similar/identical registrations/applications. This preliminary search aimed at establishing similarity/identity can be fulfilled free of charge in the Rospatent Internet database (only registered trademarks, search of wordy elements only). The extended search (including priority applications under consideration) can be made in the Russian Patent Office, where this service is chargeable.

Trademarks are registered and the applicants are granted trademark registration certificates if the claimed designations meet the requirements of the Law “On trademarks……” (they should NOT carry information about the type, quality, quantity, characteristics of the goods or services, be terms in the field in which these trademarks are registered, consist of consonants only, violate any other author’s rights, be similar to previously registered of filed for registration trademarks etc.).

The duration of trademark expertise in the Federal Institute of intellectual property is not regulated and thus is varied but on the average the expertise takes about 1 year from the date of filing the application.