Following the singer Shaman, the Kostroma deputy decided to register the trademark “I am Russian”

• According to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, the Honorable Inventor of Russia Mikhailov owns 100% of the FEST company with revenue of 1.1 billion rubles at the end of 2023, but he submitted the application personally.

A deputy from the Kostroma region wants to obtain the right to the sign “I am Russian” for almost all types of goods and services, including alcoholic beverages, chemical compounds, toiletries and cosmetics, machinery, leather and artificial leather, and funeral services.

• On October 12, singer Yaroslav Dronov, known to the public under the pseudonym Shaman, filed two applications to register the trademark “I am Russian” (this is the name of his popular song) for labeling alcohol and cosmetics. As the singer himself explained, he is often offered an offer to sell products under this brand and some even use them without permission.
• Dronov’s desire to monopolize the phrase “I am Russian” caused mixed reactions: deputies of the State Duma condemned this initiative, and representatives of the Veterans of Russia movement asked Rospatent to refuse registration, since patriotism cannot be used as Marketing tool for marketing national identity.
• The release of vodka under this name, according to the chairman of the Committee on Family, Fatherhood, Motherhood and Childhood of the State Duma, Vitaly Milonov, will lead to a decrease in the moral values ​​and “drinking” of the population. Milonov called for Yaroslav Dronov to be banned from producing vodka under the brand name “I am Russian.”

As Olga Bondareva, founder of the Isibrand patent office, patent attorney No. 2104, told RB.RU, the existence of two identical trademarks is quite possible if they are used for different types of products. There can be no confusion between them since they do not deceive consumers. For example, a coffee shop and a cosmetology center can have the same name. However, the deputy’s request also includes class 33 (alcoholic beverages), so it will compete with Chamán’s request, the expert clarified.

Rospatent can oppose not only the singer’s application with an earlier priority in time, but also the well-known brand of Russian vodka, the protection of which is strengthened by the registration certificate of the same name as a designation of origin of products. Rospatent also does not register names and images that could offend the feelings of certain groups of the population (for national, religious or other reasons), and the widespread public response caused by the Shaman app story may tilt the review toward a negative decision. . for both applicants.

At the same time, Mikhailov will lose almost 50 thousand rubles for considering the application, because Rospatent does not return state fees in case of rejection, says the expert. The amount is due to the fact that Mikhailov decided to get a trademark for a wide range of products: the more there are, the higher the state tax. At the same time, the risk of rejection increases, since other classes of products may already have registered trademarks.

“Enterprise FEST” has already submitted applications for registration of birch sap wine “Rus Smells”, “Kostroma Vodka” and “Wine of Vladimir Mikhailov”. Rospatent registered its applications for the strong drink brands “Pekrrun” and “Perukren”.