Trademark Squatting in Russia: The Legal Routes for Foreign Rights Holders

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Practice Analysis

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By Elizaveta Razina

May 2026

INSIGHTS ARTICLES — trademark squatting russia foreign brands

Trademark squatting — the registration of a foreign brand's mark in Russia by a third party without the brand owner's consent — is a recognised commercial practice that has affected foreign rights holders across consumer goods, technology, pharmaceutical, and food and beverage sectors. The registration may be made with the intention of extracting a payment from the genuine brand owner, of preventing market entry, or of exploiting the brand's recognition for commercial purposes. Whatever the motivation, the practical effect is the same: the Russian trademark register records a right in the name of a party who has no legitimate claim to it.

The Rospatent Register and Its Vulnerabilities

Russia's trademark register, maintained by the Federal Institute of Industrial Property (Rospatent), operates a first-to-file system. A mark that has not been registered in Russia by its genuine owner can be registered by a third party, even where that mark is well-known abroad. The well-known mark exception — which provides protection for marks with a reputation in Russia even without Russian registration — exists under Article 1508 of the Civil Code, but it requires the rights holder to establish Russian recognition, which is a more demanding standard than simply establishing international brand presence.

Foreign brands that do not maintain active Russian trademark portfolios — particularly brands that operated in Russia before 2022 and withdrew following the regulatory environment changes — face elevated squatting risk. A brand that has Russian market recognition but no current Russian registration is an attractive target for a squatter who can register it and then either charge for its use or use it independently.

The Non-Use Cancellation Route

The principal remedy for a registered trademark squatter who has not used the mark commercially in Russia is a non-use cancellation action under Article 1486 of the Civil Code. Any interested party may apply to the Intellectual Property Court for the cancellation of a trademark registration that has not been used in Russia for a continuous three-year period. The application is filed directly with the IP Court, which has first-instance jurisdiction over cancellation proceedings.

The respondent in a cancellation proceeding — the registered squatter — bears the burden of demonstrating genuine use. "Genuine use" in Russia requires actual commercial use in the Russian market by the rights holder or under their licence: use on goods sold to Russian consumers, in advertising directed at the Russian market, or in services provided in Russia. Merely registering the mark and paying the renewal fees is not use.

The critical timing point: the three-year period must have elapsed before the application is filed. For a mark registered in 2023, a non-use cancellation application cannot be filed until 2026 — and then only if the squatter has not commenced use in the interim. A squatter who anticipates a cancellation risk may commence token use of the mark to defeat the application. The detection and characterisation of token use — distinguishing genuine commercial use from use designed solely to avoid cancellation — is an important part of the litigation.

The Bad-Faith Registration Route

Article 1512 of the Civil Code provides an alternative route: the invalidation of a trademark registration on the ground that the applicant acted in bad faith at the point of filing. Unlike the non-use route, there is no three-year waiting period — the application can be filed as soon as the registration is granted.

Bad faith in this context refers to the applicant's knowledge, at the time of filing, that the mark was already in use or associated with another party in whose interests the applicant had no legitimate basis to act. Evidence of bad faith typically includes: the applicant's prior commercial relationship with the genuine brand owner; the applicant's commercial activity in a sector where the brand is well-known; the timing of the application relative to commercial negotiations or a market-entry dispute; and the absence of any genuine commercial purpose for the registration other than interference with the brand owner's position.

Bad faith proceedings are heard by the Intellectual Property Court in first instance. The evidentiary standard is demanding: Russian courts require the evidence to establish that the specific applicant had specific knowledge of the genuine brand owner's rights at the point of filing, not merely that the brand was internationally well-known.

Rospatent Opposition Proceedings

Where a squatter has filed a trademark application that has not yet been registered, an opposition can be filed with Rospatent's Chamber for Patent Disputes (Палата по патентным спорам) within three months of the publication of the application. Oppositions are a faster and less costly route than court proceedings and should be considered where the squatter's application is still pending.

Grounds for opposition include: the similarity of the applied-for mark to the opposer's existing Russian registration; the similarity to a well-known mark; the existence of bad faith at the point of application; and the likelihood of consumer confusion with an existing mark on the Russian market.

Practical Approach

For a foreign brand owner who has discovered a Russian squatting registration, the first step is a mapping of the squatter's commercial activity: is the mark being used, and if so, how, in what markets, and with what commercial effect? The answer determines whether to pursue cancellation for non-use (if no genuine use exists) or bad-faith invalidation (if the squatter's conduct at the point of registration establishes bad faith regardless of subsequent use).

In parallel with the IP proceedings, the brand owner should consider TROIS registration — registering the mark with the Federal Customs Service's customs intellectual property register — to prevent the import of goods bearing the squatter's mark through the Russian border. TROIS registration can be maintained simultaneously with the cancellation proceedings.