Maxim Ali has commented on a judgment of the Supreme Court on the rights to trademarks in insolvency matters

The Supreme Court has issued a decision that insolvency proceedings in respect of a trademark holder is not in itself a reason for a trademark not to be used for three years (and thereby causing the rights to the trademark to lapse).  The decision was made following a dispute between Heineken and the insolvent Samarasky Vodochniy Zavod in respect of the brand Volzhskaya Okhota.

Maxim Ali, Head of the IP/IT Practice at Maxima Legal, talking to Pravo.ru, explained that Supreme Court previously held the opposite view, characteristically for the Court in intellectual property matters.  According to Maxim, despite a desire to protect the rights of creditors, the new approach cannot be described as balanced, since the debtor cannot determine the actions of administrators who decide whether the trademark is used or not.

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