MOSCOW, April 19 - RAPSI. On Thursday the Moscow Commercial Court postponed until May 23 its hearing of perfume producer's lawsuit against the patent agency's rejection of the AVATAR trademark registration for perfumery.

The delay was requested by the third party, 20th Century Fox, who have asked for extra time to prepare their arguments.

The claim was filed by Parfumeria XXI Veka, a mass market and mid-market perfume producer, which has been in business for over 10 years.

The company asked for the patent authority to register the Avatar verbal trademark for its cosmetics, soaps and deodorants.

The patent agency maintains that the brand cannot be registered as it displays the name of the well known movie directed by James Cameron.

The service believes that the trademark registration contradicts public interests as the company aims to capitalize on the fame of another entity. The trademark is associated with 20th Century Fox, the films production company. Thus, consumers may be led to believe that Fox has partnered with the perfume company.

Parfumeria XXI Veka claimed that the decision is biased; it is only prohibited to register trademarks with names similar to renowned works without the consent of the exclusive rights' holder. If the rights have not been registered, he said, this rule does not apply.