MOSCOW, April 18 - RAPSI, Fyodor Shatsyllo. The Moscow Commercial Court has upheld the patent watchdog's decision to deny the Zatecky Gus trademark registration to the Baltika Brewery.

The court has held against Baltika's action to reverse the decision.

Baltika, which has been producing the Zatecky Gus beer since 2009, sought to register the trademark for beer produced from hop planted in the Czech town of Zatec.
Rospatent refused to register the trademark, arguing that the reference to the Czech town may mislead people as to the beer's country of origin.

The brewery challenged the patent regulator's decision with the Patent Disputes Chamber, pointing out that given the average educational level few consumers have sufficient knowledge of geography or brewery for a clear association with the Czech town.

Nevertheless, the chamber held against the company.

Baltika contested the refusal with the Moscow Commercial Court, filing an appeal on January 12. The company asked the patent agency to register two trademarks -- the first was the expression "Zatecky Gus" and the second was the label of the Baltika-produced beer of the same name.

Baltika runs 11 breweries in Russia and one in Azerbaijan. It owns over 40 brands and exports products to 70 countries. The brewery accounts for about 70 percent of Russia's beer exports.