Intellectual Property Protection in Russia

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Any results of intellectual activity are subject to protection if they are unique and meet the requirements enshrined in the norms of national legislation and international law. The distinction of the legal protection regime depends on the type of object, the status of the right holder, and other factors. In this article we will tell you how intellectual property rights are protected in Russia and what measures can be applied to infringers.

Emergence of Intellectual Property Rights

Patent law distinguishes between protected industrial and commercial property, as well as a number of unprotected objects, for which no patent or certificate can be obtained. Depending on the content of intellectual activity, such distinction is as follows:

a patent can be obtained for objects of industrial property - utility models, inventions, industrial designs, topologies of integrated circuits, selection achievements;
protection certificate is issued for the objects of commercial property - trademarks, service marks, commercial designations, etc.;
without issuance of a patent or certificate there is a protection regime for production secrets (know-how), confidential and commercial information - the federal law provides that the protection of such objects is carried out by the right holder himself.

Depending on the type of the object, the subject composition of right holders will also differ. Patents for industrial property objects can be obtained by individuals, organizations and entrepreneurs, the employer of the inventor. A certificate for trademarks can be obtained only by subjects of commercial activity - legal entities and entrepreneurs.

To establish the regime of protection for the object of intellectual property rights in the Russian Federation, it is necessary to undergo the procedure of patenting or registration of means of individualization. It consists of the following stages:

registration and submission of the application to Rospatent - the composition and content of the documents in the application will depend on the type of the object to be registered;
Publication of the application information in the official Bulletin of Rospatent;
Conducting of the formal examination, in the course of which the completeness of the submitted documents and the correctness of their completion are checked;
For the industrial property objects examination on the merits is conducted, i.e. Rospatent specialists make an information search in the registers, determine the availability of the patentability criteria;
For commercial property objects examination of the designation is carried out - besides searching through the registers, the experts will check the distinctiveness of trademarks or other objects;
At the final stage, information about the registered object is entered into the register, and the applicant receives a patent or certificate of protection.

A patent or a certificate gives rise to exclusive rights to the intellectual property object. During the period of validity of a patent or a certificate, the right holder may use the object for his own needs, sell or transfer the exclusive rights to third parties with registration in Rospatent. In addition, the ownership of a patent or a certificate gives the opportunity to use legal protection measures against any infringement in the field of patent law.

Protection of infringed intellectual rights

The owner of exclusive rights may encounter unlawful use of the object by others. It does not matter for prosecution whether or not the infringer planned to receive income from the illegal activity. To use protective measures, it is sufficient to prove the existence of registered rights, as well as the fact that the object was used without the consent of the right holder.

Let us highlight the most common types of violations that owners of intellectual property rights may encounter:

an attempt to appropriate the rights to the result of intellectual work;
any form of use of the object without the consent or permission of the right holder - the introduction of someone else's technology in production, manufacturing products under someone else's brand name, etc;
violation of the terms of license agreements, in terms of exceeding the territory of legal use of the object, illegal issuance of sublicenses, etc;
refusal to pay remuneration stipulated in the agreements on transfer of rights.

Protection of intellectual property of a company may also be carried out against special types of infringements. For example, if another company uses a similar or identical trademark to mislead consumers, there may be administrative liability for violation of antitrust laws of the Russian Federation.

Depending on the nature of the violation, as well as the resulting adverse consequences, liability will come in the following directions:

according to the norms of civil law, damages, punitive compensation, in court the agreement on the transfer of rights is terminated, written claims are made, etc;
administrative responsibility according to the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation is applied for illegal use of means of individualization, inventions and other protected objects if the amount of loss does not reach a big size and the offence was committed for the first time;
criminal punishment is applied in case of repeated infringements, or when a large and especially large amount of damage to the right holder is detected - the amount of damage is determined in the course of expert examinations and must exceed 100 thousand rubles and 1 million rubles, respectively.

An independent direction for liability is the antimonopoly legislation. Although a violation of competition rules is punishable under the CAO RF, the procedure for imposing a fine is significantly different, since these cases are handled by the FAS Departments.

When unlawful use of another's property, or any other type of infringement is detected, a written demand must be made. For industrial and commercial property, a written claim is a prerequisite for subsequent recourse to a court. In the text of the demand it is possible to specify :

to stop the unlawful use of another's object, or to legitimize the relationship by registering a license;
for the elimination of the threat of future infringement;
to voluntary compensation for damages or payment of remuneration.

If such measures of influence have not brought a positive result, the right holder may appeal to the courts. It is a judicial act that is the most effective option for protection against any infringement in the field of patent law.

The subject matter of judicial claims may be:

recovery of damages caused by the perpetrator - the price of the claim is calculated by the right holder himself, and is proved by the general rules of civil law;
exaction of punitive compensation instead of damages - the amount of compensation will be determined by the court in the range from 10 thousand rubles to 5 million rubles, or in double the value of the counterfeit goods or infringed property rights;
confiscation of the means of production and counterfeit goods produced with the illegal use of another's object;
termination of licensing agreements and recovery of penalties.

The rights holders can take cases to court on their own or through representatives by power of attorney. Lawyers, attorneys, patent attorneys and other subjects empowered on the basis of a power of attorney may act as representatives. In order to calculate damages or assess the value of exclusive rights one may apply to an independent expert. The expert's report will serve as appropriate evidence in courts of all instances.

Intellectual property protection services

Independent protection of copyright and patent rights is fraught with adverse consequences. Without a thorough knowledge of the rules of law and the provisions of judicial practice, it is possible to miss the limitation period, improperly record evidence, incorrectly calculate the amount of damages. Eliminate such risks to help specialists of our company, which will provide legal services in the following directions:

consulting support in the registration of rights to objects of intellectual property, in identifying violations and bringing the perpetrators to justice;
drawing up the documents needed to defend the infringed rights - claims, complaints, objections, statements of claim, etc;
assistance with the calculation and proof of the amount of loss, compensation and damages;
representation of interests in courts and other authorized bodies.

To clarify the terms of cooperation with our company and get clarification on all issues in the field of patent law, contact us for a consultation. You can do this by phone, listed on the website or via the feedback form.