Earlier this year the Chamber of Patent Disputes of Rospatent, the Russian Patent Office, ordered the cancellation of the WHITE STORK trade mark. White Stork, a famous brandy produced by a Moldavian company, Aroma SA, was launched in 1978 and quickly gained popularity. The trade mark WHITE STORK was subsequently owned by the state-owned agro-industrial company Moldova-Vin.

In September 2007 a company called Altair applied for cancellation of the WHITE STORK registration in Russia on the grounds of non-use for three consecutive years. The Chamber of Patent Disputes granted the application. What is significant in this instance is that the import of Moldavian spirits was prohibited by the Russian authorities for a period which ended in November 2007, which may have excused the three-year period of non-use of the mark. The issues in this case were whether the mark was in use before the period in which importation was prohibited and whether the trade mark owner could prove such use.

It is not known whether an appeal has been lodged, but there has been speculation as to the interest of the applicant for cancellation, Altair, about which very little is known.

[source: Vladimir Biriulin, Gorodissky & Partners, Moscow, writing in World Trademark Report].