MOSCOW, April 20 (RAPSI) – The Chamber for Patent Disputes of Russia’s Federal Service for Intellectual Property (Rospatent) has met a request of Afisha company, a structure of Rambler Group, seeking to annul legal protection of Yandex Afisha brand owned by OOO Yandex, according to the body’s materials.

The claimant is the owner of Afisha word trademark and believes Yandex Afisha brand to be confusingly similar to it. Moreover, the claimant says it owns a range of brands such as Afisha.RU, Mobilnaya Afisha and so on, what, Afisha company insists, is an additional argument in its favor.

After having examined the arguments presented by the parties, when Yandex challenged the position sustained by claimant on the basis that Yandex component of the brand prevents it to be confusingly similar with the claimant’s trademark, the Chamber ruled in the favor of Afisha company.

Russia’s Intellectual Property Court (IP Court) is yet to hear four petitions of OOO Yandex seeking early cancellation of legal protection of word trademarks owned by Afisha company; the Federal Service for Intellectual Property is to be a third party in the dispute.