MOSCOW, September 22 (RAPSI) – Russia’s Intellectual Property Court has ruled in favor of Les Publications Conde Nast, the publisher of the French version of Vogue magazine, and Conde Nast Russia, which publishes the magazine in Russia, to stop the legal protection of the Vogue trademark of Synergy, one of the leading producers of distilled spirits in Russia, RIA Novosti reported from the trial.

The court has voided the legal protection of two Vogue trademarks that were registered by Synergy Capital until October 2014 and October 2019 under Classes 32 and 33 of the International (Nice) Classification of Goods and Services (Beers; Alcoholic beverages except beers). The court also ruled that the registration of the Vouge trademark for these goods be terminated.

The court decision became effective immediately but can be appealed within two months.

At the same time, the large US media company Advance Magazine Publishers, which owns The New Yorker, GQ, Vogue and Glamour magazines, and Conde Nast, which publishes these magazine under license in Russia, have requested that the Intellectual Property Court terminate the legal protection of two Glamour trademarks owned by Synergy.

In June, the court ruled in favor of the two companies to terminate the legal protection of the GQ brand registered by Synergy under Class 32 of the Nice Classification (Alcoholic Beverages).

Synergy is a holding company that was established in December 1998. Its main brands are vodkas Beluga, Veda, Myagkov, Belenkaya, Russian Ice and Gosudarev Zakaz, and the brandy Golden Reserve. Its net profit in 2013 under IFRS dropped 9% to 1.541 billion rubles ($40.1 million) and net revenue was down 1% to 26,378 billion rubles ($686.75 million).