Yanis Yuksha,

practicing lawyer,

Candidate of Legal Sciences,
member of the expert council of the Moscow Region Chamber of Advocates, 

Professor of Plekhanov Russian University of Economics.

Yanis Alexandrovich, tell us why you need to register a trademark?

With the help of trademarks, or, as they are also called, brands or brands, business entities distinguish themselves and the results of their activities from the mass of others like themselves. Official registration guarantees legal protection of the trademark and exclusive rights to it. And this, in turn, allows you to use it in your own interests, thereby independently determining how to use the results of intellectual activity and prohibiting the use of third parties. Today, many well-known and media persons have registered their names in the form of trademarks, for example, Iosif Kobzon.
 

–What documents are required for trademark registration?

When making an application for trademark registration, it is necessary to specify full information about the applicant, including the address and OGRN, select a list of goods and services for which the designation is planned to be used, according to the International Classification of Goods and Services (for example: clothing and footwear, legal and consulting services), and attach a document confirming payment of state fees for the examination and the declared designation itself (graphic, color, letter) with a description.

– What is the registration procedure, and how long does it take?

The functions of trademark registration are assigned to the Federal Service for Intellectual Property.The terms and procedure for registration are determined by regulatory acts, including the Administrative Regulations for the Provision by the Federal Service for Intellectual Property of state services for the state Registration of a trademark, service mark, collective mark and the issuance of certificates for a trademark, service mark, collective mark, their duplicates. The registration period defined by the regulations is 18 months and 2 weeks.

Is it possible, without having a special legal education and knowledge, to go through this procedure yourself?

– Specialists in working with intellectual property objects – patent attorneys – receive this status in accordance with the procedure established by law. They are engaged in the legal protection of the results of intellectual activity and means of individualization, the protection of intellectual rights, the acquisition of exclusive rights to the results of intellectual activity and means of individualization, the disposal of such rights.
If they wish, applicants can carry out work on registration and filing an application for trademark registration independently, with the exception of foreign persons. But often, at the stage of substantive examination, applicants are faced with requests that they cannot answer themselves without having the appropriate experience and special knowledge, which makes it almost impossible to independently complete the registration procedure.

– How much does it cost to register a trademark?

The cost depends on many factors, for example, the cost of the services of the company that will be engaged in registration, and state fees. It is also necessary to take into account the costs of conducting a preliminary search on the basis of the Patent Office of the Russian Federation for the identity and similarity of the claimed designation to identify similar signs. The cost is affected by the number of classes of MCTU (types of activities) specified in the application. Without knowing all the details, it is difficult to name the final amount. Depending on the client's wishes, it may differ by an order of magnitude.

–What advantages can you get when applying for trademark registration to professionals?

Contacting professionals will save considerable time on responding to requests and in many cases will avoid the occurrence of such requests. Preliminary work of specialists to identify identical and similar designations before filing an application will allow planning further actions to protect the results of intellectual activity, in some cases to change the designations being checked, in others to resolve issues in court in advance or to conduct the necessary negotiations.