IP News

Rado Uhren AG, a maker of prestigious chronometers and wristwatches has won a case concerning RADO trademark over Holmrook Ltd (BVI). By judgment of Moscow Arbitration court Holmrook Ltd is banned from using “rado” designation in an Internet domain name and obliged to pay a 50 thousand roubles (approx.USD 1600) retribution to Rado Uhren AG for an unfair usage of the trademark.

Rado.ru Internet domain was registered in 1999, much later than claimant’s trademark priority date (1987). The court’s decision mentioned article 10bis of Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, prohibiting “all acts of such a nature as to create confusion by any means whatever with the establishment, the goods, or the industrial or commercial activities, of a competitor”. Even though Holmrook Ltd do not compete with Rado Uhren AG in watch industry, the Court held that the domain name “rado.ru” may be confused with the trademark and that defendant had abused his rights, misleading potential Rado Uhren customers, who may surf the Internet looking for “Rado” designation and find that site, which, however, does not provide any information on watches.

An appeal to the decision may be lodged within one month to 9th Arbitration Court of Appeals.

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The line between a legitimate payment made as part of a negotiated deal and what regulators consider a bribe is a thin one. This is particularly the case with private arbitration or payments to parties like cybersquatters, who make their money from forms of extortion. Other parts of IP interactions, such as payments to accelerate filings, can also fall foul of anti-bribery rules. While the laws are relatively consistent across major jurisdictions, small differences can easily trip up international counsel. Here, local lawyers give their recommendations on how to treat deals, facilitation payments and entertainment...

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