Last month, the Russian Supreme Court of Arbitration issued a ruling that dashed any hopes the Bestwatch.ru online retailer had for a favorable settlement with Longines Watch, a renowned Swiss watchmaker. Following the withholding of its petition to suspend an earlier legal resolution, the Russian online store will have to pay 3 million rubles, or about $92,300, in damages to Longines for a trademark infringement it committed by selling unofficially imported goods.
Reporting about the situation, the Russian Legal and Court Information Agency (RAPSI) has emphasized that the amount of damages sets a record-high. No Russian court has ever awarded an indemnification close to this amount for an offense of this kind.
In a rare instance of a Russian court prosecuting a Russian seller of ‘gray import’ goods, the court of primary jurisdiction in St. Petersburg ruled earlier this year in favor of the plaintiff, Switzerland’s Longines, convicting Bestwatch.ru and its domain hosting partner Adelia of infringing on the Swiss manufacturer’s trademark rights and awarding just over 3 million rubles in damages.
In an appeal, the judgment was reversed later on the grounds that there was no proof that “it was counterfeit articles that the defendants sold.” According to the court of appellate jurisdiction, the plaintiff also failed to provide evidence “that the defendants had purchased the goods illegally.”
The original court ruling has now been reinstated. Swatch Group Rus, the authorized importer of the Longines watches into Russia, has repeatedly claimed it never imported the items that Bestwatch.ru was selling.
Longines Watch is part of the Swatch group of companies, which was set up in 1983 and currently controls about 25% of the global watch market.
- RUSSIAN E-COMMERCE REPORT 2012 – The total volume of Russian online retail reached 310 billion rubles, a little more than $10 billion, in 2011, up 25% from the previous year. EWDN has released an in-depth study of this industry, which contains an analysis of ‘gray’ e-commerce. To receive free insights or to order the full version, please contact us at [email protected].
