Sega may lose brand protection in Russia
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The Intellectual Property Court has accepted a claim to remove legal protection from the brand and logo of Japanese video game publisher Sega. It was submitted by Pavel Baskakov, who now owns the rights to the Dendy and Mega Drive brands in the Russian Federation and produces imitations of game consoles from the 1990s. Lawyers see in the businessman’s actions certain risks for distributors of Sega games in the country, but note that the brand is protected as a trade name.
Individual entrepreneur Pavel Baskakov appealed to the Intellectual Rights Court (IPR) with a request to partially remove legal protection from a number of trademarks with the name and logo of Sega (owned by the Japanese video game company of the same name) due to their non-use. We are talking, in particular, about the abolition of protection for the categories of video games, software, game discs and arcade machines. The SIP, according to the file of arbitration cases, registered the claim on September 29, and left it without consideration on October 4, citing the lack of evidence that Sega had sent a pre-trial proposal.
Pavel Baskakov founded the video game distribution company Padis in 1994, and New Game in 2003 (New Game LLC, the legal entity was liquidated in December 2022). The New Game brand operates a store of game consoles compatible with Dendy and Sega Mega Drive consoles, popular in Russia in the 1990s. Mr. Baskakov owns the Dendy, Titan, Mega Drive and Magistr trademarks in the country (the last two are in a design similar to the Sega logo), and the mentioned consoles are produced under them.
Sega stopped producing game consoles in 2001, but continues to publish video games from the Sonic the Hedgehog, Total War, Company of Heroes, Football Manager, etc. series. In August, the company closed a deal to purchase the Rovio studio, the developer of the Angry Birds games; The deal value announced in April was €706 million. The company also issues the rights to release official copies of its old game consoles; key licensees are Taiwan’s AtGames and Brazil’s Tectoy. In March 2022, Sega withdrew a number of its PC games from sale in the Russian segment of the Steam digital store, but retailers continue to sell parallel imported console games on physical media.
New Game and Sega did not respond to Kommersant’s requests; Mr. Baskakov declined to comment.
If the court sides with the entrepreneur, and he registers similar trademarks for himself, this will create risks for companies distributing Sega games in Russia, says Roman Lukyanov, managing partner of Semenov & Pevzner: “Distribution of games marked with disputed trademarks will become impossible or otherwise minimum associated with the risks of seizure, destruction, compensation or fines.”
According to the Rospatent database, Mr. Baskakov filed two applications for registration of the Sega mark (in a different style than the logo of the Japanese company) – on August 9, 2022 and September 15, 2023, both are undergoing examination.
Patent attorney and general director of the Intels intellectual property agency Pavel Gurman believes that the businessman is challenging Sega’s marks precisely to limit distribution: “He will have grounds to authorize and prohibit third parties from using them, including during distribution and offering goods for sale.”
Mr. Lukyanov notes that Rospatent will be able to refuse to register Pavel Baskakov’s trademarks – for example, on the basis of misleading consumers: “Then the practical significance of the court’s decision for him will be completely neutralized.” Another reason for refusal could be the fact that Sega is the company’s trade name: “The lack of Sega’s operating activities in Russia, if the law is interpreted literally, should not affect this.” Executive Director of Media-NN Georgy Davidyan clarified that foreign brand names are provided with legal protection on the territory of the Russian Federation by virtue of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property of 1883.
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