MOSCOW, October 10 (RAPSI) – The Intellectual Property Court has postponed a Russian Railways appeal against a court decision in favor of Apple Inc. until November 20, the court said on Friday.
Russian Railways (RZD) is appealing a ruling in its lawsuit against Apple for using the railway’s logo in Apple’s App Store without the owner’s permission.
Russian Railways sought 2 million rubles ($55,807 at the time the lawsuit was filed) in compensation from Apple.
The Moscow Commercial Court ruled against Russian Railways on March 4, saying that it lacked evidence that either Apple or the operator of the App Store, iTunes S.A.R.L., should be held liable for the alleged infringement.
Under the license agreement, the developer of each application guarantees that it will not affect the rights of third parties, including trademark rights, and that the developer shall be held liable for violations, if any.
The court also noted the responsible attitude of the defendant, who deleted the program from the store, giving the developers time to correct the logo. The program then resurfaced in App Store without the contested logo. The app itself calculates the cost of transporting goods on Russian Railways, and is being sold for 199 rubles.
The court also noted that the plaintiff had not notified Apple of the infringement before filing the lawsuit, which means that the web provider cannot be held liable for users’ actions.
A notarial review of the RZD website was held on August 7, 2012, and the lawsuit was filed on January 14, 2013.
The developer of the contested application is Alexei Sirotkin, who was summoned as a third party in the case. He did not attend the court hearings, and the plaintiff has not filed any action against him.