Russia's new Intellectual Property Court is now open for business, with 16 judges hearing trade secret, patent, trademark and other IP disputes.
The IP Court was officially established in 2011, and it started operation in Moscow on July 3, 2013.
The jurisdiction of the IP Court is limited: it handles cases involving disputes over the establishment and validity of IP rights as a court of first instance, and IP infringement cases as an appellate or cassation court. Civil cases on copyright protection, as well as criminal and administrative cases, are outside its jurisdiction. However, IP experts believe that it is only a matter of time before the court's jurisdiction is expanded to include more types of IP disputes.
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