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Foreign brands are trying to make sure their trademarks in Russia are registered and renewed to protect themselves from counterfeits. This was stated by Yury Zubov, head of Russia's intellectual property agency Rospatent, in an interview with TASS.

Zubov said that very many foreign brands representing virtually all spheres – from the automotive industry, furniture, and machinery to food products – are extending their registration.

"A trademark is registered to protect against counterfeits, so that no one sells goods under the guise of the right holder's products. The right holder, in turn, is concerned over preserving its brand reputation, even if the market, in this case the Russian market, is temporarily unavailable to it," Zubov said.

He noted, however, that whether there is a "plan to return" behind these actions is unknown.

The Rospatent chief gave a reminder that trademark protection is granted in Russia for 10 years and can be renewed every 10 years. Famous brands try to both register and renew their brands in Russia, he said.

Zubov said that the number of applications from abroad "fell seriously" in 2022, but then foreign companies began to enter the Russian market more actively and file more applications. For example, Rospatent now receives about 5,000 applications a year from Chinese manufacturers. Overall, the number of applications is growing year by year, driven by friendly countries, he estimates. "The Russian market is still of interest to foreign companies, and its investment attractiveness remains high," the agency chief said.

At the same time, he points out that while 10 years ago the ratio of applications was 60-40% in favour of Russian brands, now more than 85% of applications come from domestic companies. Thus, we can say that Russian businesses are occupying the niches vacated when the foreign companies left, Zubov summed up.