INTA 2014 Pre-Annual Meeting Reception organized by the Gowlings company under the auspices of the Embassy of Canada took place in Moscow on February 27.
The vital issue of determining the validity of plaintiff’s claims when filing a trademark non-use cancelation action was high on the agenda during a round table organized by the Gowlings Moscow office within the framework of the event. This issue was raised in light of the shaping practice of dealing with disputes relating to intellectual property objects by a specialized “patent” court. The crux of the matter is in the need to prove the plaintiff’s interest in filing a cancelation lawsuit in respect of a particular part of the list of goods and/or services included in the certificate of registration of the mark. In other words, the plaintiff must confirm the existence of a real production or provision of services planned for commercialization under the mark, the rights to which are registered and contested.
During the discussion the Patent Attorneys of the IPR GROUP suggested that the existing practice and related trends rather illustrates over-regulation of the legal system, which is contrary to striving for the system efficiency. Fairly acquired but not used rights, upon the expiry of the grace period provided by law, may serve as a deterrent, creating unnecessary obstacles to other economic entities. Elimination of such obstacles must be simplified by the most appropriate wording of the law: “Any person shall have the right to seek the early termination of the Certificate of Registration on the ground of non-use… “, as well as its interpretation and should not be limited to the principle of “interest”. Furthermore the particular examples from practice of dealing with such cases were discussed.
The meeting ended with a sophisticated reception in an atmosphere of Canadian hospitality.
We would like to express our thanks to the Gowlings Moscow office and the Canadian Embassy in Moscow for the excellent organization of the event.
IP Attorneys Konstantin SUVOROV (KIAP), Kirill KISTERSKY (IPR GROUP) and colleagues enjoining atmosphere of Canadian hospitality.
