Wimm-Bill-Dann has filed applications to register four cartoon characters

The classes cover a wide range of products, from pharmaceutical and veterinary products to food products of animal and plant origin, including aromas and soft drinks.

The trademarks feature four different colored characters, each representing an emotion ranging from joy to anger.

Trademarks registered by Wimm-Bill-Dann. Photo: fips.ru

The company should have no problems registering characters “if they do not duplicate images of foreign cartoons,” Olga Bondareva, founder of the Ezybrand patent office, told RB.RU. “If a character has unique characteristics and does not provoke direct associations with popular characters, it can be registered without fear of being asked about copyright infringement,” the expert explained.

According to her, Rospatent evaluates “a wide range of characteristics: from general silhouette and style to specific details, such as facial expression or use of clothing.” “For example, if two images have similar emotions, shapes and colors, but one of them is a stylized abstract image and the other is a detailed character in clothes, Rospatent will most likely recognize them as different,” Bondareva said.

Wimm-Bill-Dann was founded in 1992 in Russia. The company’s portfolio includes J7 and Lyubimy juices, Domik v Derevne, Miracle and Merry Milkman dairy products, Agusha baby food and Rodniki Rossii mineral water.

In 2002, Wimm-Bill-Dann made an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange, becoming the first Russian company in the food industry to make an initial public offering (IPO) in the United States. In February 2011, the company became part of the American PepsiCo. After this acquisition, the corporation became the largest food and beverage manufacturer in Russia, according to the brand’s website.

According to Rusprofile, JSC Wimm-Bill-Dann’s revenue in 2023 increased by 10% and amounted to 129 billion rubles, and net profit increased by 163%, reaching 8.8 billion rubles.