Appellations of origin of goods
Definition
An appellation of origin of goods (AO) is protected in Russia as a designation of a country or locality that gives to a commodity its particular qualities that are exclusively or mainly caused by specific local conditions (inherent natural and/or human factors).
An important requirement for AOs is that all stages of production of the respective goods should take place in the locality with which they are associated.
Registration of rights
An AO can be registered by one or several legal or natural persons. The persons who have registered an appellation of origin enjoy an exclusive right attested by a certificate. The holders of an exclusive right can use the AO for marking their goods, but are not entitled to dispose of the right in any way. A license agreement cannot be signed for an appellation of origin of goods.
After an AO has been registered, any person producing goods on the territory of the same locality can apply for an exclusive right provided that their products correspond to conditions set in the state register.
Term of protection
An appellation of origin of goods is protected during the entire period in which the possibility to produce goods with specific properties determined by the characteristics of the corresponding locality still exists.
The exclusive right for an AO expires 10 years after the application was filed and can be extended for the next 10 years.
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Protection in Russia can be given to foreign designations that have a similar regime of protection in the respective countries.
Sojuzpatent's team has experience in registering appellations of origin and has successfully represented Russian and foreign right holders in a number of prominent court cases.
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