Last month the Ninth Commercial Court of Appeals upheld the April 2012 Moscow Commercial Court's ruling, which upheld Russian PTO's refusal to grant to Baltika Breweries, the largest Russian brewery, the Zatecky Gus trademark registration.
The decision is based on the fact that the trademark includes the word 'Zatecky,' an adjective derived from 'Zatec,' which is a well-known beer-producing town in the Czech Republic. The PTO therefore concluded that the trademark could mislead the consumers as to the beer's country of origin.
Baltika Breweries, based in Saint Petersburg, Russia, argued that its reputation would prevent consumers from being misled and that the average consumer lacks sufficient knowledge of geography and the brewing industry to establish the association with the Czech town.
Baltika Breweries, part of the Carlsberg Group, is the largest brewery in Eastern Europe and Russia's beer market leader with a 40-percent market share. It owns over 40 brands, exports its products to over 70 countries and contributes to 70 percent of Russia's beer exports.
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