MOSCOW, July 13 - RAPSI. The Moscow Commercial Court will hear on August 3 the consolidated case into the Ukrainian Nemiroff's lawsuit against Nemiroff Vodka Rus to prohibit the company from using its brand name, the court told the Russian Legal Information Agency on Friday. Nemiroff also seeks to invalidate Nemiroff Vodka Rus' registration.
Nemiroff first submitted two lawsuits , but the commercial court consolidated them into a single proceeding in June.The court postponed the case's consideration on Friday, so the plaintiff and Nemiroff Vodka Rus can read the additional documents submitted for the hearing.
The Ukrainian company told RAPSI that Nemiroff Vodka Rus' registration is unlawful and contradicts the shareholders' agreement, European court decisions on the use of the Nemiroff trademark, and Russian law.
Therefore, the company has opted to dispute the firm's registration in court, Nemiroff shareholder Alexander Glyus told RAPSI through his official representative.
The representative added that Glyus, who has a blocking stake (25.04 percent) in Nemiroff Vodka Ltd., was not aware of the Nemiroff group's plans to grant the right to use the trademark to any outside parties. He added that the right cannot be granted without the consent of the holder of the blocking stake.
Earlier, the representative said in court that the "company was separated from the Nemiroff holding."
The Nemiroff group's shareholders are battling over its activities in Russia.
Glyus is in a dispute with the group's other shareholders, in particular Yakov Gribov, who owns a 20 percent stake. The conflict began after the parties failed to agree on the price and the terms of the company's acquisition by the Russian Standard holding company.
The parties are now suing each other in courts in Russia, Ukraine and Cyprus. Nemiroff filed several lawsuits with the Moscow Commercial Court to challenge the resolutions adopted by the Nemiroff Trade House. RAPSI has yet to obtain comments from Glyus.
Nemiroff Holdings Ltd. comprises the Nemiroff production company, which includes three distilleries in Nemiroff, Ukraine, a management company, the Alco Invest subsidiary, offices in Russia and Poland, and Nemiroff International, with its headquarters in Budapest, Hungary.