MOSCOW, October 17 - RAPSI. The Supreme Commercial Court has registered a motion by Adelia, the Bestwatch.Ru domain administrator, to reconsider a $97,000 award granted to Swiss-based Longines Watch Co., Francillon Ltd., a record compensation for trademark infringement in Russia, the court told the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI/rapsinews.com).
On September 13, the court held against a similar motion filed by Bestwatch.Ru to refer the case to the presidium for review.
The case materials state that Longines Watch filed a motion with the St. Petersburg and Leningrad Region Commercial Court to prohibit Bestwatch.ru and Adeliya, the Bestwatch.Ru domain administrator, from selling Longines Watch brand goods in Russia without obtaining the company's prior consent. The plaintiff also sought to recover 5 million rubles ($162,000) from the first defendant and 100,000 rubles ($3,200) from the second.
During the proceedings, Longines Watch justified the level of compensation sought by the number of goods sold by the defendants and the price at which the watches were sold, as well as the length of the period during which the defendants committed the violations.
The court of first instance established that the defendants' sale of watches without the plaintiff's consent violated the Swiss company's trademark rights. It partially upheld the claim, recovering three million rubles ($97,000) from the first defendant and 100,000 rubles from the other.
Longines Watch is part of the Swatch group, established in the spring of 1983. Swatch is one of the largest watch manufacturers, controlling around 25 percent of the world market.