Russia’s Supreme Court has refused to revisit a case brought by Russian company Telemarket, which sought to recover more than 46 bn roubles ($576.8 mln) in penalties from Uzbekistan-based enterprise Inspired. The claim was related to an alleged violation of rights to the trademark Рауmе.
In its ruling, the court stated that lower courts had fully reviewed the evidence, confirmed the relevant facts, and properly interpreted the applicable legal norms before reaching a decision.
Dispute rooted in use of similar app name
Telemarket had claimed exclusive rights to the Рауmе brand in relation to a number of goods and services under the Nice Classification system. According to the company, it signed a cooperation agreement with Inspired on February 20, 2020.
Despite this agreement, Telemarket alleged that Inspired used a similar name, Рауmе, without permission in the Russian version of the App Store for a payment app, potentially misleading users due to its likeness to the protected trademark. The Russian firm calculated the damages at 46.4 bn roubles ($581.8 mln) and filed a lawsuit.
In addition to financial compensation, Telemarket asked the court to ban the use of the Рауmе name and demanded the removal of several Inspired apps — РауМе Uzbekistan, Рауme Business and Paymego — from the Russian segments of the App Store and Google Play.
Russian courts see no grounds for trademark claim
The Arbitration Court in Moscow rejected the claim on August 13, 2024, a decision that Telemarket later challenged through appeals. After these attempts were denied, the firm turned to the Supreme Court to request a review.
However, the initial ruling was upheld. According to the court, the applications in question are distributed free of charge and only act as platforms to access services, which are provided exclusively in Uzbekistan. Therefore, the trademark in dispute was not used within Russian territory, and Telemarket’s rights were not considered violated.
Even if Inspired were to offer services within Russia, the court said that the app’s branding was not confusingly similar to the trademark owned by Telemarket. It also ruled that the services offered by Inspired through the apps were not of the same type as those for which the Рауmе trademark was registered, noting differences in both function and purpose.
Agreement and app availability on Google Play
The court also dismissed Telemarket’s claim that it had never given permission for use of the name on Google Play. It found that the earlier agreement between the parties confirmed Inspired does not provide services in Russia, and this understanding applied to Google Play listings as well.
Telemarket had only contacted Google Play’s support team to request the removal of Inspired’s app in September 2018. Inspired responded that its app was only meant for use in Uzbekistan. As a result, the app remained available in the Russian segment of the platform.
Kursiv also reports that Tashkent Interdistrict Economic Court ordered Humans to repay a debt of approx. $39.5 mln to Octobank.
