Non-use trademark cancellation: risks for foreign right holders are beginning to materialize. Part 2

Case law regarding the early termination of trademark protection due to non-use, one example of which is the recent case involving the early termination of protection for a series of trademarks held by the Swedish company Telefonaktiebolaget L. M. Ericsson[1][2][3], is continuing to build in Russia.

On 5 June 2025, the Intellectual Property Court ("IPC") upheld claims brought by the Hong Kong company Multigoods Production Limited ("Multigoods") for the early termination of legal protection for Amazon and Nokia trademarks owing to their non-use  for three years[4]:

• The IPC upheld the claim brought by Multigoods against Amazon Europe Core S.a.r.l.[5] and terminated the legal protection of seven Amazon trademarks registered in Russia[6].
• The IPC upheld the claim brought by Multigoods against Nokia Solutions & Networks[7] and terminated the legal protection of the Nokia Solutions and Networks trademark registered in Russia[8].

It should be noted that new Nokia group trademarks were registered in Russia after 2022[9]. However, it appears from the IPC’s decision that this fact per se was not seen as grounds for rejecting the claims brought by Multigoods.

The decisions in question may be appealed to the Presidium of the IPC within two months from the date of their adoption.

The situation with the Amazon and Nokia trademarks seems to confirm the predictions of the legal community – since the end of 2024 an active struggle has begun for the trademarks of foreign companies that have exited the Russian market.

It is fair to assume that some plaintiffs challenging the legal protection of unused trademarks of departed companies plan to accumulate brand rights for various kinds of products not so much for their own use as with a view to reselling them (if they can successfully challenge and register the trademarks in its own name) or securing a lucrative out-of-court settlement. 

It should be noted, for instance, that Multigoods is actively initiating disputes similar to those mentioned above. According to public information, in the period from May to November 2024 Multigoods filed a large number of other lawsuits for the early termination of trademark protection, including for a number of widely known trademarks[10].