Last Friday saw the closing shots in a battle that his been raging in the Dutch courts for some ten years. The warring parties were the Russian Federation on the one side and Spirits, a Dutch company owned by  Russian oligarch Yuri Shefler, on the other. Mr Shefler was accused of having illegally obtained the rights to the leading vodka brands “Stolichnaya” and ”Moskovskaya” in the turbulent years following the demise of the USSR. In July 2012 the Court of Appeal ruled that Shefler did not operate in good faith in obtaining the marks. According to the Court of Appeal and that, accordingly, Spirits did not rightfully own the brands. 
 
The decision that the Russian Federation owned the brands has now been affirmed by the Dutch Supreme Court.  This decision cannot be challenged.
 

A further twist in the tale is that Spirits has been ordered not to use the words "Russian Vodka" or "Made in Russia" on its bottles. This denomination is misleading as the product is not manufactured by Spirits in Russia.

Source: Joris van Manen (Partner, Hoyng Monegier) who acted for the Russian Federation and from further legal details may be obtained