STOLICHNAYA
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STOLI Is Back
This is my sixth post (recursive link) about the STOLI case. The defendant, Spirits International B.V., claims to own the STOLI and STOLICHNAYA trademarks as a result of privatization during the collapse of the Soviet Union and is listed as the owner of the trademark registrations. The Russian government, acting through state entity Federal Treasury… Continue reading
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Over Again for STOLI – But Just For Now
Federal Treasury Enterprise Sojuzplodoimport first sued Spirits International B.V. over the STOLICHNAYA trademark 10 years ago, in October, 2004. Two lawsuits later, FTE still hasn’t survived an examination of its standing. The case has been dismissed a second in the district court, but even the district court thinks that an appeal is warranted: “In the short… Continue reading
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STOLICHNAYA Case Still Alive, Just Barely
Oh, Federal Treasury Enterprise Sojuzplodoimport, without you I wouldn’t be so good at spelling “Stolichnaya.”* I’ve lost count of the opinions talking about who owns the STOLICHNAYA trademark and we’re now on the second lawsuit over it. It all stems from a disputed claim of ownership of the STOLICHNAYA mark in the United States. To… Continue reading
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The Court of Appeals Confirms “Registrant” Means What It Says
I’ve already written a couple of times about Federal Treasury Enterprise Sojuzplodoimport v. SPI Spirits Ltd. The plaintiff in the case, FTE, manages the STOLICHNAYA trademark on behalf of the Russian government. The first time the case went to the Court of Appeals, the appeals court reversed the trial court and held that the incontestability… Continue reading
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The STOLICHNAYA Case Ends Again
In 2004 plaintiff Federal Treasury Enterprise Sojuzplodoimport (FTE) challenged defendant Spirit International B.V.’s (“SPI”) claim of ownership of the various STOLICHNAYA trademarks. In 2006 the district court dismissed almost all claims on a motion to dismiss, holding that the incontestable status of SPI’s registration meant that FTE couldn’t challenge ownership. In 2010 the Court of… Continue reading
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An Invalid Assignment Isn’t Incontestable
I’m not even going to try to outline the convoluted competing ownership claims to the STOLICHNAYA trademark for vodka – you can read the decision for that. But the disagreement about who owned the mark led to a trademark infringement suit that plaintiff Federal Treasury Enterprises Sojuzplodoimport (FTE) brought against the record owner of the… Continue reading
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