Delovoy Peterburg has written about Maxima Legal’s landmark IP case 

Delovoy Peterburg has published the results of its annual legal ranking, in which the newspaper and market players select the most noteworthy cases and name the best legal advisers in the city. The Maxima Legal team has again been among the winners.

Professionals recognised Maxima Legal in the Intellectual Law category. The IP/IT team not only successfully defended the interests of Svetlaya Muzyka, one of the oldest and largest organizers of events in the north-west of Russia in three instances, but also helped develop a new precedent for Russian judicial practice on the impossibility of the retrospective disposal of exclusive rights.

Former Svetlaya Muzyka business partners launched a media campaign aimed at discrediting a Maxima Legal client, as well as initiating legal proceedings to prohibit the use of a jointly-developed St Petersburg craft beer festival logo.

Generally the courts very rarely recognize as proven the fact of abuse of a right by the copyright holder who claimed copyright protection. However, the IP / IT practice team, led by Maxim Ali, has succeeded in applying the rule prohibiting dishonest behaviour by the claimant, proving that the client had received consent from former partners to use the logo. In addition, Maxima Legal lawyers managed to confirm the falsification of a contract for the transfer of an exclusive right to the logo – it turned out that the document had been signed retroactively, immediately before the start of the trial.

As part of our work on the case, Maxima Legal formulated a new position for Russian practice, according to which retrospective transfer of an exclusive right is not allowed. This position was reflected in the ruling of the court of appeal and supported by the Intellectual Property Rights Court.

According to the decision of the courts of three instances, the use of Svetlaya Muzyka of the well-known logos was lawful. In addition, the successful outcome of the case made it possible to preserve the client’s business reputation and not tarnish the client’s other projects, for example, the famous STEREOLETO music festival in St Petersburg, which is attended by many top Russian and foreign performers.