The owner of Zara stores explained the registration of his brands in Russia

Retailer Inditex (owns the clothing brands Zara, Bershka, Stradivarius, Pull&Bear, etc.) is constantly working to keep its trademark registration up-to-date worldwide, including markets where it has no commercial presence, such as Russia. A representative of the group told Izvestia about this on December 8.

Brands that have left Russia register trademarks. What does this mean?

There have been no updates since the official declaration on the sale of the business in the Russian Federation, submitted to the Spanish stock market regulatory authority (CNMV) on October 25, 2022, said an Inditex representative.

According to Rospatent, the company has registered the Zara Home and Zara Timeless trademarks.

The Spanish group is among the 14 foreign companies that have left the Russian market, which, according to estimates by the law firm Verba Legal, have registered new trademarks in the country. According to Russian law, the exclusive right to a mark is valid for 10 years, but their protection may be terminated prematurely if the copyright holder does not use it for three years in a row, says Anton Nefediev, an adviser to the dispute resolution and intellectual property practice at Alumni Partners. In order to "reset" trademark rights, companies register new designations similar to already registered trademarks, according to Verba Legal.

Inditex suspended operations in Russia in March 2022. The group has agreed to sell the Russian business to its Lebanese franchisee, Daher Group. After that, more than 240 Inditex stores opened locations under the names Maag, Ecru, DUB and Vilet, which are not related to Inditex brands.

For more information, see the Izvestia article:

Brand idea: Western companies register new trademarks in Russia

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