Thursday, August 19, 2010
According
to the report, Russia saw the largest increase in trademark activity of
any major trademark-protecting country worldwide. The 46 percent jump
is stark in comparison to the two usual frontrunners, China and the
United States, which saw an increase in registrations of three and six
percent, respectively, for that same period.
Some of key observations of the report:
- Trademark
Registrations Rapidly Expanding: Despite the geographic, political and
linguistic complexity of the Russian market, trademark registrations
increased by 46 percent between 2004 and 2009; a total of 36,436
trademarks were registered in the region in 2009, signaling Russia’s
growing prominence as a viable commercial market for the world’s
manufacturers.
- Cyrillic
Alphabet Poses Challenges: Some letters that look identical to those in
the Latin alphabet are pronounced completely differently in the
Cyrillic alphabet, making it important for those filing trademarks in
Russia to register marks using both the Cyrillic spelling and its Latin
equivalent.
- Increasing
Domestic Trademarks: Prior to 1999, 40% of all Russian trademarks were
used to Russian firms. In 2008, 54% were registered by Russian firms.
The
study details the turbulent economic atmosphere in Russia since the
collapse of the Soviet Union, and also discusses the many changes in
intellectual property law. The report stresses the growing importance of
registration with the Russian Agency for Patents and Trademarks
(Rospatent). This is the primary avenue by which IP is protected under
Russian law.
The only other country to show similar growth over the same period is Brazil, with 40%.
Read the full report
SOURCE: Thomson Reuters
