Maxim Ali has provided his comments to Novaya Advokatskaya Gazeta on the proposed changes to the Civil Code on damages for infringements of intellectual property

The Russian Parliament has introduced a draft law according to which courts will have the ability to lower damages payable for infringements of exclusive intellectual property rights below the minimum figures established in the Russian Civil Code.  The proposed law relates to situations when one infringement touches upon a number of intellectual property rights; for which the right holder is entitled to compensation or damages.

At the same time, the draft law establishes a minimum limit for compensation for one infringement: 10,000 roubles. The authors of the proposed law suggest that the size of compensation should be determined by taking into account the circumstances of the case, the consequences and character of the infringement.  It is proposed that such an approach when calculating compensation will exclude situations compensation payable is manifestly unfair and disproportionate to the infringement.

Senior Associate at Maxima Legal, Maxim Ali, who specialises in intellectual property matters, commented that providing courts with more freedom to reduce compensation is justifiable, however, the current draft legislation has a number of inadequacies. The conditions for reducing compensation are rather abstract, and overall the draft law is more favourable for the person infringing intellectual property rights, when compared to the recent guidance from the Russian Constitutional Court, which is the source of the proposed changes to the Civil Code.

It is possible that in the event of a dispute, the Court will be able to reduce the compensation to the minimum level of 10,000 roubles. Accordingly a company seeking to protect its exclusive intellectual property rights might more cautiously approach issuing court proceedings.  From another side, companies who are defendants in such claims from right-holders will get an additional tool that can reduce the adverse effects of such legal disputes.

To read the full article (in Russian), please click on the following link.