Doing business in Russia: certification, licencing and forms of intellectual property

1. Those which do not require a permit
2. Those which require either a state license or membership in a self−regulatory organization (SRO)

Performing these activities without the appropriate license will lead to severe punishments, including closure of the business and criminal sanctions against the General Director and company management

Product certification and declaration

The import and sale of certain products in Russia require authorization documents such as certificates, declarations of compliance with technical requirements, etc.

The list of products that require certification is established by law and corresponds to the uniform rules of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). For example, all medicines and biologically active supplements are subject to mandatory state registration.

In order to reduce counterfeit and contraband products in Russia, systems for marking and tracing goods have been introduced over the recent years. Both measures are designed to track the movement of goods from the moment of import onto the territory of the Russian Federation to the moment of sale to the end consumer and guarantee its authenticity. They apply to different categories of products.

Marking requires the assignment of a specific code to each single good, registration in a special system and specific technical equipment at the seller. The traceability system controls goods by lots and does not require the use of additional equipment. The list of goods to be marked currently includes alcohol, cigarettes, medicines, shoes and clothing, perfumes and others. Traceability requirements apply among others to refrigeration equipment, washing machines and baby carriages. In the future, the government plans to extend the marking and traceability systems to all products.

Intellectual property

Intellectual property matters are regulated by the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

In Russia, the rights to scientific works, works of art and literature, software and databases, trademarks, company names, inventions, industrial prototypes, and other intellectual property are subject to recognition and protection. Legislation provides not only for primary registration, but also for subsequent registration when items categorized as intellectual property are the subject of various transactions such as license agreements, exclusive rights agreements, and/ or transfer of rights.

Registration of a trademark gives its owner exclusive rights to:

• use the trademark
• prohibit its use by other entities
• manage the trademark: allow usage, pledge the trademark, contribute it to share capital, etc.

Russia is a participant in the Madrid Trademark Registration System. For this reason, there are two ways to file an application for trademark registration in Russia:

The article was prepared by experts from Bellerage, a member of the Russian-Asian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs