Offer of an interested person

Being an owner of a Russian trademark, we have received a letter titled “The offer of an interested person.” What does this mean, and what should we do?

Offer of an interested person is the obligatory pretrial communication sent before filing a nonuse cancellation action.

If you receive such a letter, it means that its author prepares to initiate a cancellation proceeding against your mark. Under Russian law, they must demand that you officially renounce your right to the mark or transfer the mark to them. Filing the corresponding lawsuit is possible within 30 days of the expiration of a two month-period after the dispatch of the letter.

Whether you would cooperate depends on your position regarding the effective use of the trademark in question.

• If you have used the mark at least some time during the last three years (for all the goods it is registered for), you can

• ignore the letter, or
• respond with a refusal (a motivated response may discourage the adverse party from starting a costly litigation).

• If you have doubts with respect to your evidence of use in at least some classes of goods and services, you may enter the negotiations.
• Finally, if you do not use the mark and are not interested in using it, a cost-efficient way would be to comply with the offer.