The Court for Intellectual Rights did not uphold the complaint of J. J. Whitley Distillery LLC from Kingisepp against the decision of Rospatent, in the spring this year, which denied the plaintiff exclusive rights to the appellation of origin of goods (APO) “Russian vodka”. The company required this designation to sell J. J. Whitley Artisanal brand vodka.
Vera Zotova, Ph.D. and a Senior Associate in the Intellectual Property and Information Technology Practice at Nordic Star, believes that if the appearance of these drinks did not evoke thoughts of something foreign, the company could claim exclusive rights under the name “Russian vodka”.
To read the full article (in Russian)
Vera Zotova
Senior Associate, PhD in Law