Brand restraints: Intel and Microsoft have registered trademarks in the Russian Federation

Intel and Microsoft have registered their trademarks with Rospatent, Izvestia found out. McDonald's, which had previously submitted an application to the agency, is awaiting approval. Other major players have taken similar steps, such as three trademarks of the South Korean company LG, which manufactures electronics and household appliances. The intensification of foreign companies occurred against the background of warming relations between the Russian Federation and the United States, experts say. What are the prospects for their return to the Russian Federation and on what terms — in the Izvestia article.

When can American companies return to Russia

The largest American developers and manufacturers of electronic devices, computers and components, Intel and Microsoft, have registered trademarks in the Russian Federation, Izvestia found out after reviewing Rospatent data.

Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Korotaev

For example, Intel Corporation, headquartered in California, registered the Intel Tiber trademark in early April. According to the information indicated in the company's card, under this brand it is going to sell computers, processors, servers, software in Russia, including for 3D visualization, modeling and rendering, equipment with artificial intelligence technologies. There are more than 30 product items in total. The term of validity of the exclusive trademark right, according to the document on the Rospatent website, is until 2034.

Intel announced the suspension of its activities in the Russian Federation in April 2022. This happened after the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) under the US Department of Commerce imposed restrictions on the export of high-tech products to Russia. After the introduction of these requirements, American companies must obtain licenses from the US authorities to export BIS-controlled products to Russia, including electronics, computers, avionics, components for the aerospace industry, etc.

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Until now, the official website contains information that the company has suspended all business operations, as well as supplies to the Russian Federation. According to Intel's press release, the Intel Tiber brand was introduced in the spring of 2024. It includes a portfolio of business solutions and support services for the use of artificial intelligence, which she intends to make accessible, open and secure for enterprises around the world.

Photo: Global Look Press/Mateusz Slodkowski

Microsoft Corporation, headquartered in Washington, DC, has registered the Microsoft Places trademark in the Russian Federation. According to the company's card, it is going to sell a wide range of software in our country. The term of her exclusive copyrights is specified until 2033.

The company announced its withdrawal from the Russian Federation in the fall of 2023. According to her statement, she stopped renewing licenses to Russian companies on September 30. Since 2024, it has completed the work of eight branches and five separate divisions in 13 Russian cities, including St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Krasnodar, Nizhny Novgorod. At the same time, the company's profit for the past year, according to SPARK-Interfax, amounted to 174.1 million rubles.

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Earlier it became known that McDonald's, the largest American fast food restaurant chain, submitted an application for registration of its trademarks to Rospatent. She left Russia in 2022, selling the business for a nominal price to Alexander Govor, the manager of the chain's 25 restaurants in Siberia. At the same time, as the media wrote at the time, the deal provides for a buyback option. McDonald's restaurants from Russia have been relaunched under the new brand "Delicious, period".

Photo: Global Look Press/Kristian Tuxen Ladegaard Berg

Izvestia has sent requests to the company asking for comments on trademark registration decisions.

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Three more trademarks of the South Korean company LG Corporation have also been registered with Rospatent: Let's Go LG; LG Therma V; Smile,On! LG. According to the company's cards, its copyrights are registered until 2033. Its product range includes household appliances (vacuum cleaners, dishwashers, lawn mowers, etc.), automatic guided vehicles (delivery drones, self-driving cars), bicycles, baby strollers, dental offices, water purification devices, etc.

In the spring of 2022, LG Electronics announced that it would stop supplying its products to Russia. However, the Ministry of Industry and Trade added LG products to the list of approved parallel imports. By the beginning of 2024, all official brand stores were closed in Russia. At the same time, the revenue from sales of LG's Russian legal entity, LG Electronics Rus LLC, increased to 41 billion rubles by the end of 2024, according to SPARK—Interfax, which is 14% more than in 2023.

Photo: TASS/Kirill Kukhmar

Izvestia sent requests to the company, as well as to Rospatent, asking for comments on the registration of new trademarks.

— Of course, trademark registration by leading American companies is influenced by the warming of relations between Russia and the United States. Of course, these relations are far from ideal: no new sanctions have been announced, but there is no talk of lifting them either. Although the business itself is interested in returning, as it earned good money here," Nikolai Arefyev, first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Economic Policy, told Izvestia.

According to the MP, Russia should not let back companies that have left, as they have shown their unreliability. We need to develop our technologies, otherwise we will become dependent on imported equipment again and will not develop our own, he believes.

Photo: IZVESTIA/Andrey Erstrem

Andrei Klimov, Deputy Chairman of the International Affairs Committee of the Federation Council, admits that relations between Russia and the United States have begun to slowly change, but not in all areas.

— This trademark registration is rather done to ensure that no one uses them. They want to keep the copyright on these products, but that doesn't mean they're going to work here now," the senator explained.

Georgy Ostapkovich, Director of the HSE Center for Economic Research and Economic Analysis, considers the registration of brands by American companies to be a good sign. According to him, this means that they are not giving up hope to return to the Russian market. At the same time, in his opinion, until the sanctions against Russia are lifted, including on the supply of high-tech products, not a single company will come back. The expert also agrees with Andrey Klimov's opinion that by registering trademarks, foreign businesses are fighting counterfeit products.