The MCCI held a conference in the online format of the «Protection of intellectual property of Russian companies, when entering German and the EU markets in general»
"The topic we have raised today is of the fundamental importance for any company, entering a new market," opening the Conference said its moderator, the Vice President of the MCCI, Mr. Suren Vardanyan. He highlighted several important directional opportunities for business - the protection of intellectual property, its capitalisation and legal support of the promotion of companies and their existence on the market in general. He stated the readiness of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry to assist entrepreneurs in solving legal issues, raised on the legislative level- right up to the development of new options for subsidies, by which measures Moscow supports high-tech companies, entering new markets. "Probably German companies also have wishes for the protection of their intellectual property, wishing, however, to be present on the Russian market. This topic is interesting for us, and we intend to pursue it... Congruence within these processes is of a paramount importance.” said Mr.Vardanyan.
A European patent attorney, the partner of “EUROMARKPAT” Mr. Sergey Slobozhanin, delivered a report on the "Features of the EU legislation in the field of intellectual property protection. Strategies for protecting inventions and designs for Russian rights’ holders when entering European markets". He introduced the audience to the types of intellectual property; explained what should be done if it is an object of technical creativity; in what cases and in what form to patent a technical solution and how to protect it in the European Union (patent for invention, patent for technical model, design patent); in what countries should it be protected; when to apply and what loops and conditions should be followed and observed.
Ms. Anna Scheuermann, a jurist and a trademark specialist at the“EUROMARKPAT”, continued with the topic. She spoke about the acceptable forms that are needed for filing an application, drawing the audience's attention to the fact that recently Russian language has been recognized as common in the EU, and designations in Cyrillic are now recognized as descriptive. The speaker told about the peculiarities of formation of the list of goods and services, about the grounds, entitling third parties to file a grievance against a trademark application, about the evidence of active use of a trademark and its competent protection (by studying the monitoring of new trademark applications and with the help of letters from EUIPO about the discovery of similar applications).
Dr. Veronika Luebke, the General Director of the exporting agency “Bridge-One-Seven”, GmbH, made a report on the topic: "Direct export to Germany or localization? When and why do we need a TM protection when exporting?” The main risks for an entrepreneur and how to minimize them?". She analyzed in detail the option when a product is produced in Russia and then shipped to independent dealers in Germany, describing the dealer's tasks and the supplier's obligations, as well as the pros and cons of this option. Using specific examples of Russian companies, the speaker clearly demonstrated the use of this option and the value of a brand. She went on to detail the option of producing a product in Russia and then shipping it to a subsidiary in Germany. The speaker described in detail the functions of the subsidiary, the obligations of a supplier, and concluded that this option is reasonable to use "in the mature phase of business development," and gave examples of its use by providing specific exampl;es. At the end of her presentation, Ms.Luebke delineated in which cases brand protection is a requirement and is necessary and in which situations it is simply desirable.
Mr. Ivan Filonenko, the General Director of the “KLV Lab”, LLC, creator of the “ThermoUp” brand, told about the way his company, operating in Moscow, was going to export under its own brand. He described the company's product, the “ThermoUp”, the infrared heater, made of glass, and described what criteria should be followed, when choosing a business plan; elaborated on a project structure, when simultaneously working in Russia and abroad; described how to design export marketing; using the example of his own company, explained how to preserve a brand, optimize processes and deal with intellectual property.
We are considering building a network to support Russian companies in the EU market," concluded Mr. Vardanyan. “Similar work is already underway in the U.S., - China and Africa are next in line”. He thanked the speakers and the audience and expressed hope to meet. again soon.
During the Conference, the speakers answered a multitude of questions from the audience.