What actions can you take if you find a similar name on a competitor's store sign? If the store owner did not protect his rights earlier, and a competitor was the first to register the store name as a trademark, then it is practically impossible to protect his business. Therefore, to combat unfair competition and preserve your business, you need to know how to protect it in a timely manner.
If the owner has timely registered a trademark developed for his goods and/or services, then in this case the use by another person of an identical or confusingly similar trademark is, according to Article 1484 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, a violation of the exclusive right, and the Copyright Holder has the right to demand that the competing company eliminate the violation.
In order to stop the illegal use of a trademark, the Copyright Holder must first send a claim to the violator with a copy of the Trademark Registration Certificate, which confirms that he has the exclusive right to use the mark. In some cases, if a competing company did not have information about the presence of a registration certificate for a trademark, then after receiving a complaint it can voluntarily eliminate the violation.
However, you often have to defend your rights in court. Therefore, it is important to make a claim correctly. First, the claim is sent to the legal address of the infringing company and it details everything that the Copyright Holder wants to achieve (for example, dismantling a sign indicating deadlines, written confirmation, etc.). Also, in the letter of complaint, it is important to indicate the planned actions in the event of a competitor-infringer’s failure to comply with the legal requirements of the Trademark Rightholder (for example, warn about filing a complaint with the municipality, in court).
The competing company is obliged to respond to the complaint and eliminate the violation within a certain period. If violations are not eliminated, then it is necessary to continue proceedings with the involvement of official bodies.
The further scenario of the fight depends on the degree of violation of the damage by the defendant-infringer. Complaints can be sent to the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS).
The use of these measures, individually or in combination, will help eliminate the violation and obtain compensation for the damage caused.
