Posts Tagged: "Vladimir Putin"

What it Means that Russian Businesses Can Now Legally Steal Intellectual Property from ‘Unfriendly Countries’

Russian businesses now hold the key to pilfering, producing and profiting from western technologies. As of Monday, March 7, the Russian government has legalized intellectual property (IP) theft. With this move, businesses in Russia can now violate IP rights, as they no longer need to compensate patent holders from “unfriendly countries.” The list of “unfriendly countries” includes the United States, Canada, Australia, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, the United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan and all 27 European Union (EU) member countries. Russia has faced growing isolation from the Western world following President Vladmir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. The United States, EU member countries and others recently initiated sanctions against Russia and have enacted crippling trade limitations. Currently, Russia is sufficiently meeting its supply and demand needs for agriculture, energy and natural resources. However, Russia’s isolation and growing lack of skilled producers have led to a stark decrease in technological production and innovation.

Implications of Russia’s New Rules on Geographical Indications for Champagne and Cognac Producers

On July 2, 2021, amendments to the Federal Russian Law No. 468-FZ dated December 27, 2019 “On Viticulture and Winemaking in the Russian Federation” came into force. The amendments introduced two new important rules that change the existing legal regulation on geographical indications (GIs) and appellation of origin of goods (AOGs). According to the amendments, foreign producers of champagne should relabel their products imported to Russia to “sparkling wine”. At the same time, Russian producers now have the right to label their products as “champagne”, including the usage of a special category of “Russian champagne”. In addition, the amendments introduced a new category of alcoholic drink, namely “Russian cognac”.