The Constitutional Court Of The Russian Federation Has Identified A Problematic Provision Of The Civil Code Related To The Compensation For Trademark Infringement
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According to the law, the courts should have the right to reduce compensation at the request of the defendant taking into account all the circumstances relevant to the case.
The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation recognized
that the provision on the right to claim a twofold compensation
– for instance, the right to use a trademark – does not
comply with the Constitution as it does not allow the court to
reduce the amount of compensation.
According to the law, the courts should have the right to reduce
compensation at the request of the defendant taking into account
all the circumstances relevant to the case. The courts should
consider the nature of the violation and the difficult financial
situation of the defendant. According to the current legislation,
the court has the right to reduce the compensation by the amount
not exceeding its double value (i.e., it should not be less than
the value of the right to use the trademark). Following the
decision of the CC of the Russian Federation, amendments are
expected to be made to the norms of the Civil code.
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