Rospatent reported almost 100 thousand filed applications for trademark registration since the beginning of 2023

The share of applications for registration of trademarks in Cyrillic writing in Russia since the beginning of 2023 has remained the same as in the same period last year. The number of applications for registration in general increased by more than a third, in particular due to the new opportunity to register trademarks for the self-employed and individuals. The upcoming legislative restrictions on the commercial use of Latin inscriptions do not apply to trademarks.

In the first ten months of 2023, 99.7 thousand applications for registration of trademarks with a verbal element were filed, which is 36.8% more than in the same period last year, Rospatent told Kommersant. At the same time, as the Online Patent company clarified to Kommersant, the ratio between applications for trademarks in Cyrillic and Latin alphabet has remained virtually unchanged. The share of the former from the beginning of the year, when compared with January-October 2022, increased by only 1 percentage point, to 37%. The remaining 63% include applications for all trademarks whose designation contains the Latin alphabet (including, for example, one letter).

General Director of Online Patent Alina Akinshina connects the increase in the number of applications with the ability to register trademarks by individuals and self-employed people (appeared on June 29), an increase in the turnover of marketplaces and an increase in the number of sellers on them. The fact that the distribution of applications in Latin and Cyrillic has not changed is explained, according to her, by the fact that “the preferences of the target audience do not change instantly”: “Business chooses those options that are more in demand and familiar to it.”

After the start of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, a number of Russian companies, including those that separated from international ones, switched to using brand names in Cyrillic.

This is the case, in particular, with the former assets of Henkel in the Russian Federation (LAB Industries), as well as the Ivy online cinema. Unilever also filed applications for trademarks in the Cyrillic variation, but the company called this “standard regulatory procedure.”

In parallel, the authorities are trying to limit the use of foreign languages ​​in public space. In February 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law binding when using Russian as the state language (this also applies to advertising), avoid excessive borrowing.

In October, deputies introduced a broader package of amendments, which provide for a ban on foreign words in “commercial use” – in particular, in signs and names of residential complexes. However, trademarks are not subject to the planned regulation (see “Kommersant” dated October 26). “The proposed bill does not affect the freedom to register intellectual property. Moreover, the more actively Russian companies enter new foreign markets, the more relevant will be the registration of international versions of trademarks traditionally used in the Latin alphabet,” says Stanislav Kaufman, owner of the Kaufman brand agency.

Simultaneous registration of trademarks in Cyrillic and Latin in Russia “creates the basis for access to international registration,” admits Anna Atyakshina, a patent attorney at the Patentus law firm.

Registration of trademarks in the Russian Federation only in the Latin alphabet, according to her, was typical for the early 2000s and has not been observed since then. Now, according to her, owners of trademarks in Latin register their Cyrillic versions; registration of brands in several spellings at once is typical when introducing new goods and services into circulation. Many of the trademarks that are classified as using the Latin alphabet are either signs in a mixture of alphabets or transliterations from Russian, says Vadim Dunaev, creative director of the Bureau of Names, and explains: “Entrepreneurs want their brand to look recognizable and fresh at the same time.” .

Yuri Litvinenko