Patent Infringement

As in most jurisdictions, a Russian invention is deemed used in a product or a method if every feature listed in an independent claim (or an equivalent feature) is present in the product or is used in the method.

Unauthorized use of an invention on Russian territory represents an infringement of the patent holder’s rights.

To protect their rights, a patent holder can file a lawsuit with a local arbitration (economic) court in accordance with the defendant's address. In infringement lawsuits, forum shopping is possible when the claimant can name multiple persons as co-defendants (e.g. a manufacturer/importer, wholesalers, and retailers). In such cases, the claimant has the option to choose with which territorial court to file their action.

The local court’s decision is appealable in the same locality to the Appeal Court, whose ruling can be further appealed to the Intellectual Property Court as a cassation instance.

It is important to note that patent infringement litigation and invalidation proceedings in Russia are totally bifurcated and therefore, invalidity arguments are not considered in infringement proceedings and cannot be asserted as a defense in patent infringement cases. If an alleged or potential infringer has reasonable doubts about the validity of the patent, they should initiate an invalidation attack by filing an opposition to the Patent Office.

Sojuzpatent has broad experience in patent litigation and dispute resolution in Russia and neighboring countries. In many cases, we help our client to avoid costly litigation and to reach a favorable settlement.

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Mr. Mikhail V. Nepomnyashchikh

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