Maxim Ali has commented for DP on the dispute between two publishing houses

Court for Intellectual Property Rights has accepted a lawsuit EMA publishing house accusing Russkiy Scanword company of unfair competition. According to the case materials, EMA is trying to challenge the competitor’s registration of the rights to the “Krupnaya Kletka” (“Large Blocks”) brand in 2017. If Russkiy Scanword loses the rights to the disputed trademark, the company might face proceedings before the Federal Antimonopoly Service and might have to pat a fine of up to RUB 500,000.

“What is the root of the controversy? There are a lot of crossword puzzless on the market for elderly people with poor eyesight. The words”Krupnie Bukvi” (“Large Letters”), “Bolshaya Kletka” (“Big Blocks”) and etc are often found in the title. It is likely that EMA also considered the phrase “Krupnaya Kletka” (“Large Blocks”) in a fictitious meaning,” Maxim Ali, Partner, Head of IP/IT practice at Maxima Legal, explained to Delovoy Peterburg newspaper.

The expert noted that in order to win, EMA would have to convince the court what it was not only Russkiy Scanword had used the phrase “Krupnaya Kletka” (“Large Blocks”) in its editions at the time the brand was registered. According to Maxim Ali, it would also be appropriate to present to the court the results of a social survey of the target audience, how it perceived “Krupnaya Kletka” (“Large Blocks”) – as a brand or as a product characteristic?

On the other hand Maxim underlined that the defendant also had something to oppose to his opponent. Russkiy Scanword may try to prove during the trial that it was he who initially promoted the designation “Krupnaya Kletka” (“Large Blocks”) and associated it with its products. Information on advertising campaigns, marketing investments or at least an overview of competing products at the date of filing for the trademark in 2016 may help, Maxim Ali clarified.

To read the full article (in Russian) please see Delovoy Peterburg newspaper`s  website>>>