MINSK, 2 June (BelTA) – The trademarks of Belarusian Automobile Plant BelAZ (in Russian and English) have been granted the status of ‘well-known marks' in Russia, BelTA learned from the press service of the company.
BelAZ consistently protects its intellectual property rights and seeks to prevent the illegal use of its trademarks.
“The next step was the recognition of the verbal marks ‘BelAZ' (in Russian and English) as well-known marks in the Russian Federation with priority from 1 January 2016 in relation to goods of Class 12 (Vehicles; apparatus for locomotion by land, air or water) of the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks. The decision was made by the collegium of the Federal Service for Intellectual Property (Rospatent) of the Russian Federation. Thus, the well-known marks BelAZ were inscribed on the list of well-known marks of the Russian Federation under No. 244 and No. 245 on 5 May and 9 May,” the press service said.
As one of the world's leading producers of mining equipment, Belarusian Automobile Plant already holds a series of registered verbal marks that include the elements BelAZ, as well as two international registrations. These designations are widely used for marking a large volume of products. The company advertises its products in the Russian print media, runs an active marketing campaign, which covers a significant period of time and is designed for a wide audience.
The Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences polled 2,500 people in virtually all regions of Russia to study the recognition level of the BelAZ brand. The opinion poll revealed that more than 90% of respondents were familiar with BelAZ trademarks, 95% of those polled associate them with such goods as dump trucks, tractors, spare parts for them, 94% of respondents identified the company using BelAZ designations and 93% identified the company as the right holder of the designations. In addition, 87% of respondents considered that these trademarks were already known to them by 1 January 2016.
“Before preparing applications for the recognition of the BelAZ trademarks as well-known marks, huge and painstaking work was carried out in 2021 to collect documents that provide evidence of well-knownness over a very long period of time,” the press service noted.
As a result, the Federal Service for Intellectual Property came to the conclusion that the designations requested as well-known marks became widely known in Russia as a result of long-term and intensive use, and decided to recognize them as well-known marks from 1 January 2016. “This will significantly increase the protection of trademarks from misuse, as well as the company's image in the mining equipment market. Legal protection of these trademarks in the Russian Federation will be carried out indefinitely,” the company said.
The public joint-stock company (OAO) BelAZ is the managing company of the holding company BelAZ. BelAZ is the world's largest manufacturer of haul trucks and transport equipment for the mining industry and the civil engineering industry. BelAZ occupies about 30% of the world market of haul trucks with an extremely large carrying capacity. The company makes the world's largest haul truck with the carrying capacity of 450 tonnes.
