MOSCOW, November 6 - RAPSI. The Ninth Commercial Court of Appeals has confirmed the refusal to prematurely terminate the legal protection of A.G. Barr p.l.c.'s trademarks in Russia,  the court spokesperson told RAPSI on Tuesday.

On October 30, the appellate instance dismissed Ufa's BusinessInvestGroup holding company's appeal against the ruling of the Moscow Commercial Court.

The BusinessInvestGroup holding company sought to void the trademark protection for the IRON BREW, IRN-BRU, Iron Brew and PHENOMENAL brand names. They claimed that the legal protection of A.G. Barr p.l.c.'s trademarks should be terminated, as they had not been used for three years, according to the plaintiff.

In August, the Moscow Commercial Court dismissed the plaintiff's claims in full. The court ruling reads that A.G. Barr p.l.c. confirmed that the brands in dispute were in use in Russia.

BusinessInvestGroup explained that it had filed an application to the Federal Service for Intellectual Property, Patents and Trademarks on the registration of the Irn-Bru trademark for non-alcohol beverages. But the commercial court stated that the company had not proven that it really was producing beverages with this name and merely submitting an application to the patent services was not enough to recognize the plaintiff as a stakeholder.

The court found that the holding abused its right when referring to the commercial court, which serves as grounds to dismiss the lawsuit.

The plaintiff has filed nearly a dozen similar lawsuits against other firms, including Heineken, Barrel Holdings, Bashspirt and Ivan Taranov Breweries (Cyprus). According to media reports, BusinessInvestGroup's owner Azamat Ibatullin has filed applications with the patent agency to register numerous well-known brands, including Analgin, Playboy, Dr. Pepper, Orbit, and Stimorol.