The dispute between the network of dumplings “Lepim and Varim” and the retailer Eurospar for a number of trademarks, apparently, has been completed. On March 31, 2023, the Intellectual Property Court upheld the decision of the first instance, which found that the Eurospar store manager Spar Middle Volga unlawfully uses the Lepim-Varim brand in the name of its culinary departments and sells its products under this sign, found ” Vedomosti”.
The dispute between the parties itself began back in 2021. At first, the owner of the dumplings, Young and Beautiful Investment Company LLC, tried to resolve all contradictions with the opponent amicably, but Eurospar eventually refused to rename its departments and its own trademark (STM), said “Business Petersburg” founder of “Sculp and cook” Mikhail Fisher. His network filed a lawsuit, demanding that the defendant change the name of the culinary departments and compensation in the amount of 21 million rubles. Eurospar, in turn, registered its trademark “Lepim varim” and a dumpling painted over the text, and also filed complaints with Rospatent demanding to stop protecting the trademarks of the Young and Beautiful IC. The department rejected the complaint.
In May last year, the Arbitration Court of the Nizhny Novgorod Region partially satisfied the application of the owner of dumplings. According to this decision, Eurospar must stop using the disputed name on signs, in advertising and delivery, and also pay the plaintiff 5.2 million rubles. compensation. This decision has now been confirmed by the Intellectual Property Court. Enforcement proceedings in this case have not yet been completed, Fisher told Vedomosti. In this regard, he found it difficult to say whether Spar Middle Volga had stopped using the disputed trademarks. “This is a federal network, it is difficult to check all the stores,” the businessman added. Eurospar did not respond to a request.
Judging by the materials of the case, the retailer did not file a complaint with a higher authority – the Supreme Court, which means that the dispute between the parties can be considered completed, says one of the interviewed lawyers. The author of the telegram channel “Lawyer in a Restaurant” Alexander Korolev, however, admits that litigation between Eurospar and “Lepim i varim” may still continue for some time as part of other lawsuits.
Eurospar is a Dutch grocery retailer with one of the world’s largest franchise networks (13,623 stores in 2021). Spar Middle Volga, which develops this brand in Russia, is part of Albert Gusev’s Sweet Life group. In the ranking of the largest companies in Russia by Forbes magazine, the latter in 2022 occupied the 74th position with a total revenue of 140.8 billion rubles. Now Spar Middle Volga manages 200 supermarkets in 12 regions.
The Lepim i Varym dumpling network is owned by businessmen Artak Nesunts (75% stake) and Fischer (25%). Including franchise outlets, it has 48 restaurants in Russia and Kazakhstan.
Lawyers interviewed by Vedomosti consider the decisions of the courts regarding Eurospar to be fair. Entrepreneurs invest financial and labor resources in the development of their brand, they make it recognizable and associated by consumers with a certain quality of service or product, says Korolev. According to him, the illegal use of a trademark can lead to confusion and damage to the business of its owner. Because of such actions, the copyright holder loses buyers who leave and pay another seller, Vyacheslav Klimov, a lawyer at the Asterisk Law Office, agrees.
There are many disputes where copyright holders demand payment of compensation for the misuse of a trademark. For example, Arkady Novikov’s Cheese Factory network filed suits in this regard against the Ufa restaurateur Vladislav Lovkov, and the Brothers Karavaev culinary shop filed claims against the Two Pretzel company in connection with the use of the phrase “culinary shop”, reminds Korolev.
According to the managing partner of Zuykov and Partners Sergey Zuykov, the compensation that was awarded to the Lepim i Varim network, although not a record, is quite large. The courts justified its size based on the double cost of the rights to open a point under the Lepim and Varim brand (they are estimated at 1.5 million rubles) and the number of outlets where a violation was proven, the expert explained.