Protecting a trademark in Russia runs on first-to-file — whoever registers first generally wins — and the environment for foreign rights holders has shifted since 2022. Securing your marks before someone else does, and enforcing them, is the practical question.
Registering through Rospatent promptly — first-to-file means delay is the risk, as someone can register your mark ahead of you.
Entering the mark on the customs IP register to stop counterfeit goods, and enforcing against infringement through the Russian system.
Russia remains a “first-to-file” jurisdiction with a functioning intellectual-property system — but the environment for foreign rights holders has changed since 2022. Registration and enforcement still work, and Russian courts still protect registered rights; at the same time, parallel imports have been legalised for many goods and a compulsory-licensing mechanism now applies to patent holders from “unfriendly” countries. This guide sets out what foreign companies can and should do to protect their brands and technology in Russia in 2026.
Intellectual property is governed by Part IV of the Civil Code. The registry and examining authority is Rospatent (Роспатент), which registers trademarks, patents, utility models, industrial designs and other rights. Russia is a member of the main international IP treaties — the Paris Convention, the Madrid Protocol (trademarks), the PCT (patents) and the Hague Agreement (designs).
The most important practical point: Russia is first-to-file. Rights generally belong to whoever registers first, not to the first user. Foreign brands that delay registration risk finding their mark already registered by a local party — sometimes in bad faith — which is expensive and slow to unwind.
A foreign company can protect a trademark in Russia by either route:
National filing at Rospatent: direct application, examined for absolute and relative grounds. A foreign applicant must act through a Russian patent attorney. Examination typically takes several months to around a year; the registration lasts 10 years and is renewable.
Madrid Protocol: an international registration designating Russia, filed through the applicant's home office and WIPO. Efficient for multi-country portfolios; Rospatent then examines the Russian designation on national grounds.
Classes: Russia uses the Nice Classification. File for the classes you actually use and realistically plan to use — and consider defensive coverage of your core brand.
A registered trademark that is not used for three consecutive years is vulnerable to cancellation for non-use — relevant both to maintaining your own marks and to clearing squatted marks blocking your entry.
Patents (inventions), utility models and industrial designs are registered at Rospatent, via a national filing or the PCT/Hague routes. A Russian patent attorney is required for foreign applicants.
Pick your situation — we'll tell you where you stand:
Copyright arises automatically without registration (Russia is a Berne Convention member); software can additionally be registered at Rospatent for evidential benefit.
Know-how and trade secrets are protected under the Commercial Secret Law (98-FZ) — but only if a formal trade-secret regime (classification, access controls, registers, NDAs) is properly put in place.
Two changes specifically affect foreign rights holders and should shape strategy:
Compulsory licensing of patents: Government Decree No. 299 allows the use of an invention, utility model or industrial design without the patent holder's consent “in case of extreme necessity”, with compensation to holders from “unfriendly” countries set at 0% of revenue in some measures. This is a real risk for patent-dependent businesses from unfriendly jurisdictions.
Parallel imports: since 2022 Russia applies international exhaustion to an approved list of goods — genuine branded goods can be imported without the trademark owner's consent for the Russian market. This limits a brand owner's control over distribution, though it does not legalise counterfeits. See our guide to parallel imports.
Trademarks themselves have not been subjected to compulsory licensing, and trademark registration and enforcement against counterfeits continue to function normally — the compulsory-licensing risk is a patent issue.
Russia has a developed IP-enforcement system:
The Intellectual Property Court (Суд по интеллектуальным правам) is a specialised court hearing IP disputes and appeals from Rospatent decisions — a relatively expert and predictable forum.
The Customs IP Register (ТРОИС): recording your trademark lets customs detain suspected infringing (counterfeit) goods at the border and notify you. Note that, post-2022, customs cannot detain genuine parallel-import goods on the approved list — the register targets counterfeits.
Civil remedies: injunctions, damages or statutory compensation (which can be claimed without proving exact loss), and destruction of counterfeit goods. Administrative and criminal liability exist for serious counterfeiting.
Register early — first-to-file means delay is the single biggest avoidable risk. File before you announce or enter the market.
Cover your core brand and key classes, and monitor the register for squatted or confusingly similar filings.
Record trademarks in the Customs IP Register to enable anti-counterfeiting action at the border.
Put a proper trade-secret regime in place for know-how — automatic protection is not enough.
If your business is patent-dependent and you are from an unfriendly jurisdiction, factor the compulsory-licensing risk into your Russian strategy and IP-holding structure.
File trademarks (national or Madrid) before market entry — Russia is first-to-file.
Clear the register for prior/squatted marks; use non-use cancellation where needed.
Record marks in the Customs IP Register against counterfeits.
Formalise trade-secret protection for know-how under 98-FZ.
Assess parallel-import and patent compulsory-licensing exposure for your specific products.
Yes — Russia is first-to-file, so rights generally belong to whoever registers first, not the first user. Trademark squatting on foreign brands does happen. The fix is to file early (national or Madrid route), and, where a mark is already squatted, to challenge it — including cancellation for non-use after three years. Filing before you announce or enter the market is the cheapest protection.
Potentially. Government Decree No. 299 allows use of patented inventions without the holder's consent in defined circumstances, with compensation to holders from “unfriendly” countries reduced — in some measures to zero. This is a genuine risk for patent-dependent businesses. Trademarks are not subject to compulsory licensing and continue to be enforceable; the exposure is specific to patents. We factor this into IP strategy and holding structure.
This covers protecting trademarks and IP in Russia — a first-to-file system where the environment for foreign rights holders has shifted since 2022. Your question is how to secure your marks, keep them from being registered out from under you, and enforce them if they're infringed.
Holding valuable marks and not registered in Russia? First-to-file means the time to act is before someone else files.
Practical support for international business in Russia.