Our client («TWINS TEC») filed an application with the Federal Antitrust Service claiming unfair competition caused by «MIRROLLA LAB» LLC that was imitating packages of our client and put the product into the stream of commerce. Our client is a manufacturer of cosmetic products with a series of trademarks registered and also some unregistered elements. The defendant started selling the products when the similar products in similar packagings of the plaintiff had been in the market for more than 10 years. While the dispute was pending Rospatent granted two industrial designs for two of the packagings in questions used by «MIRROLLA LAB» on a license basis, which according to the defendant is proof of the lack of confusion. On October 30, 2019, the unfair competition case was terminated by the decision of the Federal Antitrust Service.
However, on March 16, 2020, Rospatent ruled in favor of our client and invalidated one of the mentioned industrial designs. On November 20, 2020, the Russian IP Court upheld that decision, which allowed the Federal Antitrust Service to reopen the case, and on March 31, 2021, the Commission of the Federal Antitrust Service of the Russian Federation considered the production and sales actions of «MIRROLLA LAB» as parasitic attitude infringing the Law «On the Competition protection». This case is one of few cases on the application of part 2 article 14.6 of the Law «On competition protection», which prohibits the imitation of unregistered trademarks of a competitor.
More details of the case through the link.