MOSCOW, October 6 - RAPSI, Alyona Yegorova. A commercial court will hear on November 7 an appeal filed by Gazeta.Ru against the Federal Service for Intellectual Property, Patents and Trademarks' decision to deny the company the "gazeta.ru" trademarks, the court told the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI) on Thursday.
Gazeta.Ru is a Russian Internet publication established in 1999.
The Moscow Commercial Court upheld the watchdogs refusal to register the brand on August 10.
The service refused to register the "газета.ру," "газета.ru," and "gazeta.ru" trademarks for Gazeta.Ru in February. The watchdog decided that the proposed trademarks consisted of unprotected symbols that are not distinctive, and therefore cannot be registered.
The company disputed the service's decision in the commercial court. However, the court held in favor of the service's decisions.
The company also appealed judicial decisions on the lawsuits to register the "газета.ру," "газета.ru" trademarks. However, the appeals court has not yet examined the appeals.
According to the watchdog, the symbols submitted for registration consist of unprotected elements and are not distinctive, which prevents them from being registered as trademarks.
Additionally, the service's decision said the symbols are confusingly similar with the "Газета" trademark, earlier registered to Redaktsiya Ezhednevnoy Gazety.
