Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) concluded in its hearing on December 15th, 2009 that the red and white striped package of Russian mineral wool producer is confusingly similar to Paroc's package.
Paroc became aware of the counterfeit products in Russia at the beginning of year 2008. Several cease and desist letters were sent to Russian infringers to end the abusive use of Paroc's registered trade mark. To strengthen Paroc's position in the dispute the unfair competition procedure at Russian FAS was started in September 2008. The infringing products are no longer on sale in the Russian market and the negotiations to reach an agreement forbidding any abusive use of Paroc's registered trade mark still continue.
Short Facts: • Paroc's red and white striped colour was registered as an international trade mark in Russia in 2005. The Russian registration is dependent on the Finnish national colour registration applied in 2005 and registered in 2007. • Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) is an administrative competition authority in Russia.
