Ostankino Meat Processing Plant, one of Russia’s largest meat-processing enterprises, has, since 1999, produced and sold meat products nationwide under the Prazdnichnaya brand, alongside other market participants.

In 2023, Dymov Sausage Production registered the Prazdnichnaya trademark, after which it began seeking to restrict the use of this designation by other meat-product manufacturers. This prompted Ostankino Meat Processing Plant to file a complaint with the Federal Antimonopoly Service of Russia, which opened an unfair competition case.

EPAM Law team, working together with the client, demonstrated that the objectives pursued by Dymov Sausage Production in registering the trademark were inconsistent with the legal function of trademarks. As a result, the registration created a risk that market demand would be diverted and that bona fide market participants would suffer losses.

Following the proceedings, the Federal Antimonopoly Service of Russia found that Dymov Sausage Production’s actions violated antimonopoly legislation and issued an order requiring the company to remedy the violation.

Ostankino Meat Processing Plant was represented by an EPAM Law team led by Evgeny Bolshakov, Partner in the Competition Law Practice, with expert input from Irina Kosovskaya, Partner in the Intellectual Property Practice. The team also included Anastasia Kalistratova, Senior Associate, Alexandra Pushkina, Associate, and Anastasia Lebed, Junior Associate.