NOVEMBER 28

TRADEMARKS

Royalty vs. Rospatent

Ninth Commercial Court of Appeals

The alcoholic beverages producer seeks to recognize as illegal Rospatent's refusal to register the "Volodya i Medvedi" (Volodya and the Bears) trademark. According to Rospatent, "Volodya i Medvedi" impermissibly refers to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev. Earlier the court ruled in Royalty's favor. "Volodya i Medvedi" vodka is currently sold in Russia.

CONTRACTUAL RELATIONS

UniversStroyLux vs. Moscow Government

Ninth Commercial Court of Appeals

UniversStroyLux seeks more than $17.4 million in debt from the customer for rebuilding the Palace of Tsar Alexis Mikhailovich. Earlier the court ruled in favor of the plaintiff. The construction company is based in Moscow. Alexei Biryukov, Moscows deputy mayor brother, is the General Director.

NOVEMBER 29

CORPORATE DISPUTES

Navalny vs. Rosneft

Moscow Commercial Court

The primary hearings in the lawsuit filed by Rosneft minority shareholder Alexei Navalny. Renowned whistleblower seeks the minutes of the 2009 board meeting of Rosneft, a state-owned oil giant. The dispute is being considered anew after having passed through three instances. Navalny is a minority shareholder of several major Russian state-owned companies.

DEFAMATION

Pavlovskaya Sloboda Meat Packing Plant (Velkom) vs. TV Channel One

Moscow Commercial Court

The plaintiff demands $1.6 million from the defendant for the harm to its business reputation by TV show, in which different food product samples are compared. Velkom's products were voted among the most popular, but it was said they contained vegetable protein not mentioned on the label.

NOVEMBER 30

CONTRACTUAL RELATIONS

Ingosstrakh-Investments vs. BNP Paribas and Russian Machines

Ninth Commercial Court of Appeals

The plaintiff seeks to invalidate the warranty contract that Russian Machines signed with BNP Paribas in October 2008. The contract secured a $1.2 billion loan that the bank granted to Russian Machines' subsidiary in 2007 to purchase a 20% stake in the Canadian Magna, the world's largest auto-parts producer.
The case is being considered by the first-instance court.

TRADEMARKS

S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc. vs. Rospatent

Moscow District Federal Commercial Court

S.C. Johnson & Son demands that the patent office (Rospatent) reverse its refusal to register the "Glade" trademark for air fresheners on account of its similarity with another producer's brand. The first-instance and appeals courts ruled in Rospatent's favor. S.C. Johnson was established in 1886 in the United States. It operates in over 70 countries.

DECEMBER 1

CONTRACTUAL RELATIONS

Nordea Bank vs. Su-155 construction company

Moscow Commercial Court

The plaintiff seeks to recover $30.854 million in debt due on loan granted in June 2007. It also seeks to institute recovery proceedings against pledged assets. SU-155 has been operating in the Russian construction sector for more than 50 years. Nordea, the Scandinavian group, owns a 100% stake in the bank.

CONTRACTUAL RELATIONS

ST Development vs. Moscow Government

Moscow Commercial Court

The plaintiff seeks to recover $151.430 million in losses sustained as a result of its efforts to honor a contract to rebuild the Rossiya Hotel in Moscow, as well as a relevant investment contract.

DECEMBER 2

CONTRACTUAL RELATIONS

MiG Finance vs. Tupolev

Moscow Commercial Court

The plaintiff seeks to recover a debt worth $8.9 million due under a loan contract granted by the Russian MiG Aircraft-Building Corporation to Tupolev for works on a Tu-334 plane.

The dispute is being considered again after the case passed through three instances.