Maxim Ali has assessed the prospects of the Supreme Court’s consideration of the amount of compensation for infringement of exclusive rights

Courts of three instances fined an entrepreneur for selling a device with a logo similar to Rikor Electronics trademark. The appellate court and then Court for Intellectual Property Rights awarded 180,000 rubles compensation for infringement of someone else’s exclusive rights given that the cost of the goods sold was 165 rubles. The courts pointed out that the formula for calculating the damage on the basis of twice the value of the right to use the trademark is imperative established by law. The courts also mentioned that arguments of the entrepreneur on a reduction of the payment should not dispute the amount of the fine, but the plaintiff’s declared price for the legitimate use of the trademark. The dispute will be considered by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation.

Maxim Ali, Partner and Head of IP/IT Practice at Maxima Legal, drew attention of the Pravo.ru legal edition, that in this case the Court for Intellectual Property Rights has taken the decision before the Constitutional Court allowed reducing the amount of compensation for infringement of exclusive rights. “Most likely, we are waiting for the literal application of the position of the Constitutional Court, so the ruling of the panel may well be “passable”, – suggested the expert, noting that the practice on such disputes is unfavorable for right holders: there are many exceptions that allow reducing the compensation below the lower limit.

“In a situation of widespread reduction of court expenses (and their proportional reduction upon partial denial of compensation) the protection of intellectual property rights for many companies may be simply unprofitable. Ultimately, this may seriously reduce the value of intangible assets for business”, said Maxim Ali.

To read the full article (in Russian) please see the Pravo.ru website >>>