MOSCOW, August 28 - RAPSI. The Ninth Commercial Court of Appeals has confirmed the ruling of the first instance which validated the decision of the Federal Service for Intellectual Property, Patents and Trademarks on the annulment of the Cristal trademark's legal protection in Russia, the court spokesperson told the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI/rapsinews.com).

Thus the court of appeals has dismissed the appeal of Champagne Louis Roederer, elite champagne manufacturer, against the Moscow Commercial Court's judgment.

During the previous trial at the Moscow Commercial Court, Champagne Louis Roederer said it was holding negotiations with Soyuzplodoimport and the patent service for an amicable settlement of the dispute. But on Tuesday it was found that the parties had failed to reach an agreement.

In March, the court dismissed Champagne Louis Roederer's lawsuit and validated the patent services decision to annul the legal protection granted to the Cristal trademark in Russia. The French company appealed the ruling.

Champagne Louis Roederer produces exclusive champagne under the Cristal brand.

The lawsuit stems from the 2008 ruling which invalidated the Cristal trademark at the request of Soyuzplodoimport, which owns the Kristal trademark registered for vodka. Soyuzplodoimport claimed that the trademarks would be seen by consumers as the transliteration of the Russian word "kristall" (En. crystal).

The expert appraisal ordered by the court concluded that the trademarks were similar in many aspects.

At the Federal Service for Intellectual Property, Patents and Trademarks, Champagne Louis Roederer argued that their goods were not similar since vodka producers have never produced and in all likelihood will never produce champagne.

The court received the appraisal results in January and resumed proceedings. Experts held that the trademarks were highly similar, while the plaintiff declared the opinion biased and not based on legal grounds, and therefore should be used for forming a legal judgment. The court, however, sided with the patent regulator.

Established in 1776, Louis Roederer is now one of the oldest wine making companies in the French province Champaign. Champagne Louis Roederer has previously told RAPSI that the Russian Empire granted it a trademark certificate in 1909.