Eurasian Law: Breaking News

Russia to Create Register of Intellectual Property Rights Holders

2015-03-23T14:45:00.000-04:00

A register containing information about intellectual property rights holders will be compiled in Russia. According to Alexei Volin, Deputy Minister of Communications and Media, the register will be based on the principle of digital fingerprinting, and will be used to track and protect copyrighted files online. He added that many rights holders are afraid to provide a digital fingerprint of their intellectual property for fear that it could be pirated. Volin added that the ministry believed there should be no monopoly in this industry, and that the contribution of intellectual property to the register must be voluntary. Russia's anti-piracy law sets out the grounds for limiting access to websites that illegally distribute movies and TV shows, and took effect on August 1, 2013. Amended wording of the law that will allow closing access to websites with repeated violations of copyright takes effect on May 1, 2015.

http://www.rapsinews.com/legislation_news/20150320/273365585.html

Alibaba Wins Trademark Victory in Russia's Supreme Court

2015-01-15T16:02:00.000-05:00

On Tuesday Russia's Supreme Court upheld a May 2014 decision by the IP court granting China’s Alibaba Group exclusive right to trademarks which had been challenged by BVI-registered Holmrook Ltd. The IP court initially terminated Holmrook's trademark rights because the cybersquatter had not used them for three years. Under Russian law, a lawsuit to demand the termination of trademark registration due to non-use can only be filed by "a party of interest" who plans to use this trademark. China’s Alibaba Group announced in court that it planned to expand its e-commerce operation in Russia. Russian courts are currently considering an Alibaba Group vs. Holmrook case over the alibaba.ru domain. Moscow courts of two instances have ruled in favor of the Chinese company, but the IP Court has returned the case for retrial for procedural reasons. The Moscow Commercial Court, which heard the case in December 2014, again ruled in favor of Alibaba Group and prohibited Holmrook from using the alibaba.ru domain, though that decision has yet to go into effect.

http://www.rapsinews.com/judicial_news/20150113/272936396.html

Facebook blocks Russian page supporting Navalny

2014-12-21T10:43:00.000-05:00

In a sign of new limits on Facebook’s ability to serve as a platform for political opposition movements, Russian users appear to have been blocked from accessing a page calling for a protest in support of a prominent dissident. Russian Internet regulators said Saturday that they had sent Facebook a “demand” that it block access to a page calling for a demonstration in support of Alexei Navalny, the most prominent critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The page was set up on Friday after prosecutors recommended that Navalny be sent to prison for 10 years in a criminal case that critics have said is purely politically motivated. Within hours, the page drew thousands of people who said they were planning to attend, and as of Saturday evening, the number stood at more than 12,300. But it was no longer visible to users inside Russia. “This content is currently unavailable,” the Web site told users who tried to access it from inside the country. A Facebook spokeswoman said the company was investigating the matter.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/facebook-blocks-russian-page-supporting-navalny-putins-biggest-critic/2014/12/20/a8c782b8-8877-11e4-abcf-5a3d7b3b20b8_story.html

Russian citizen executed in Pakistan

2014-12-21T10:38:00.003-05:00

Russian citizen Akhlas Akhlaq has been executed in Pakistan together with three other men, all convicted of attempting to assassinate former President Musharraf, Pakistan’s Interior Ministry confirmed to the Russian Embassy. Akhlas Akhlaq is one of five men sentenced to death in Pakistan for a failed plot to assassinate Musharraf. Akhlaq, born in the city of Volgograd to a Russian mother and a Pakistani father, was one of the men arrested following a suicide attack on Gen. Musharraf's convoy on 25 December, 2003. In the assassination attempt, two suicide bombers tried to ram explosives-laden vehicles into the president's limousine. Seventeen people died. Akhlaq denied all charges brought against him.

http://rt.com/news/216387-pakistan-execution-russian-akhlaq/

Obama signs Russia sanctions bill

2014-12-19T08:35:00.003-05:00

President Barack Obama said on Thursday he had signed into law a new Russian sanctions bill passed by Congress but did not intend to impose further sanctions against Moscow for now. "My administration will continue to work closely with allies and partners in Europe and internationally to respond to developments in Ukraine and will continue to review and calibrate our sanctions to respond to Russia's actions," Obama said in a statement. "We remain prepared to roll back sanctions should Russia take the necessary steps."

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/18/us-russia-crisis-obama-sanctions-idUSKBN0JW2HE20141218

Homes Of Alleged Militants' Families Torched In Chechnya

2014-12-11T03:49:00.003-05:00

Residents of Russia's Chechnya region say the authorities are carrying out Kremlin-backed leader Ramzan Kadyrov's orders to destroy the homes of relatives of alleged militants held responsible for attacks. Residents of the village of Yandi said that masked men arrived in more than a dozen vehicles late on December 8 and set several homes on fire. On December 6, after 14 policemen were killed in some of the deadliest fighting in the Chechen capital in years, Kadyrov announced that relatives of militants involved in killings would be evicted from Chechnya and their homes "razed down to the basement." Residents said not all the homes torched in Yandi belonged to families of militants believed to have been involved in the Grozny attack. Amnesty International said that punishing suspects' relatives is a "flagrant violation of international law" and that Russia must hold an impartial investigation.

http://www.rferl.org/content/article/26734918.html

Putin: Crimea is sacred to Russia

2014-12-05T03:36:00.000-05:00

Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused what he called “enemies of yesterday” of trying to bring a new Iron Curtain down around Russia. As it moves into recession, he blames the West. On the other hand, he gave himself high marks for annexing Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula and said his country would rise to any challenge. He delivered his annual state-of-the-nation speech in St. George Hall in the Kremlin. Putin said: “The historical reunification of Crimea and Sebastopol with Russia finally happened. This has a special importance for our people, our country, because our people live in Crimea, and the territory is strategically important. It is a sacred source of our multi-faced but unified Russian nation.” He insisted that Crimea is as important to Russians as Temple Mount in Jerusalem is to Islam and Judaism.

http://www.euronews.com/2014/12/04/putin-defies-west-over-ukraine-and-sacred-crimea/

Russia Ranks 136th on Corruption Index

2014-12-03T04:39:00.001-05:00

Russia has fallen nine places for the past year to 136th out of 175 countries in Transparency International's 2014 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), a ranking of public sector corruption, made available on Wednesday. The CPI, released annually, scores and ranks the world’s countries and territories according to the perceived corruptness of their public sectors. The CPI is a composite index based on a “combination of surveys and assessments of corruption, collected by a variety of reputable institutions,” according to an information sheet provided by Transparency International. Each country in the index is assigned both a score and a ranking. The score falls on a scale ranging from zero to 100 – zero being the worst in terms of the perception of corruption, and 100 being the best. Russia has maintained the score of 27 which it shares with with Nigeria, Lebanon, Kyrgyzstan, Iran and Cameroon.

http://rapsinews.com/anticorruption_news/20141203/272700044.html

EU blacklists 13 more individuals and 5 organizations from Donetsk

2014-12-01T03:27:00.002-05:00

The EU will introduce sanctions against 13 individuals and 5 legal entities representing self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics /DPR, LPR/, TASS reports citing a diplomatic source in Europe. A formal decision on expanding the black list will be made by the EU Council this Friday. “Names will be announced in the official gazette this Saturday November 29. The sanctions will be enforced the same day,” the source added. On November 17, foreign ministers of the EU countries instructed the European Commission and the EU foreign policy service to develop proposals by the end of the month on including leaders of the self-proclaimed republics in the black list.

http://rapsinews.com/news/20141127/272670215.html

Tymoshenko prison staff goes on trial

2014-12-01T03:26:00.000-05:00

The Dzerzhinsky District Court of Kharkov held the first hearing of a criminal case to try Kachanovskaya Prison personnel. Kachanovskaya is where former prime minister of Ukraine, Yulia Tymoshenko, served her term between 2011 and 2014, Ukrinform reports Friday. The agency reports that former chief of Kachanosvkaya Prison, Ihor Kolpashchikov, and two staff members were charged with abuse of power and fraud. Investigators allege that they drafted reports on Tymoshenko’s supposed refusal to attend a court hearing – specifically, a hearing of witnesses in the 1996 murder of businessman and member of Verkhovna Rada, Evhen Shcherban. The current indictment states that the reports were fabricated. On October 11, 2011, the Pechyorsky District Court sentenced Tymoshenko to seven years for abuse of authority in signing gas contract between Naftogaz of Ukraine and Gazprom in 2009. On December 8, 2011, the Shevchenkovsky District Court of Kiev issued an arrest warrant for Tymoshenko in relation to her activity as a chief of United Energy Systems of Ukraine. On February 22, 2014, the Ukrainian Parliament decriminalized the articles of the criminal code under which Tymoshenko was convicted and the ex-prime minister was released the same day.

http://rapsinews.com/judicial_news/20141128/272673509.html

Decision to open case against fugitive Russian judge delayed

2014-12-01T03:24:00.003-05:00

On Friday, Russia’s High Qualification Board of Judges was again unable to hear a request from Investigative Committee Chairman Alexander Bastrykin to initiate legal proceedings against Moscow Commercial Court Judge Irina Baranova, RAPSI reports from the courtroom. The qualification board postponed the hearing explaining that it needs to question Baranova first. Baranova, who is suspected of assisting corporate raiders, did not attend the board meeting. Bastrykin filed a request to prosecute Baranova in January 2014. In January, the Federal Security Service reported that Baranova left Russia on December 21, 2013, allegedly for a vacation in Miami, Florida. Investigators have no information on whether she has returned to Russia.

http://rapsinews.com/judicial_news/20141128/272674786.html

Cannibal Corpse songs banned in Russia

2014-12-01T03:23:00.002-05:00

The Oktyabrsky District Court of Ufa ruled on Friday that the translations of lyrics by Cannibal Corpse, a US metal band, be banned from distribution in Russia due to violent content, RIA Novosti reports citing Senior Aide to Prosecutor of Bashkortostan, Guzel Masagutova. The Prosecutor’s Office of Bashkortostan filed a suit with the court following complaints from Ufa residents. A suit was filed to ban the translation of the lyrics and illustrations on the band’s albums from distribution in Russia. The claimant complained that lyrics by the band Cannibal Corpse could damage the mental health of children because they contain descriptions of violence, the physical and mental abuse of people and animals, murder and suicide – all accompanied by illustrations. The Ufa court agreed with that the Prosecutor’s Office’s claim that the Cannibal Corpse lyrics available in the public domain could cause damage to minors and upheld the claim.

http://rapsinews.com/judicial_news/20141128/272676781.html

Russia threatens to sue France over Mistral warships

2014-12-01T03:21:00.002-05:00

Russia has reserved the right to sue France if it fails to deliver the two contracted Mistral-class helicopter carriers, Interfax reports on Friday, citing Russia's ambassador to the EU Vladimir Chizhov. Chizhov clarified that should a contract breach be officially reconized, Russia will take up measures stipulated in the contract, including legal recourse within arbitration chambers. Vladivostok, the first of the two Mistral-class warships built for Russia, is still docked at the Saint-Nazaire shipyard, which had to allocate additional funds to maintain it. The second Mistral-class helicopter carrier, Sevastopol, was floated-out on November 21. The French government has said the situation in Ukraine precludes the delivery of the Vladivostok helicopter carrier to Russia for the near term.

http://rapsinews.com/judicial_news/20141128/272675575.html

London's High Court blocks bid by Rosneft to halt sanctions

2014-12-01T03:20:00.002-05:00

London's High Court has dismissed an application filed by Russian oil giant Rosneft to block the move introducing criminal liability in the UK for violation of sanctions against Russian companies, RIA Novosti reported on Friday. Sanctions were imposed on Russia following a crisis in Ukraine. The United States and European Union introduced sanctions against a number of Russian energy companies, including Rosneft and LUKoil, banning US and EU firms from supporting their exploration or production activities in deep water, Arctic offshore and shale projects. The ban came into effect last September. Rosneft claims that the proposed rules are “riddled with uncertainty.” Specifically, the company alleges that the term “deep water” is not clearly defined and it’s unclear whether the word “Arctic” is meant to encompass all oil exploration within the Arctic Circle or just offshore exploration.

http://rapsinews.com/judicial_news/20141128/272677347.html

Moldova election: Pro-EU parties edge pro-Russian rivals

2014-12-01T03:17:00.001-05:00

Partial results from Moldova's parliamentary elections show that pro-EU parties have a narrow lead over those backing closer ties with Russia. With 80% of the votes counted, the three pro-Western parties have about 44%. The opposition has 40%. No party appears to be able to form a government, and tough post-election bargaining is predicted. On the eve of the vote, one pro-Russian party was banned from Sunday's poll - a move criticised by Russia. The elections have taken on a wider significance in the shadow of the bloody crisis in neighbouring Ukraine.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-30265985

Lithuania’s president: Russia is a terrorist state

2014-11-21T02:48:00.001-05:00

Aggression might spread in Europe if Russia is not stopped in Ukraine, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė said in an interview on Thursday, calling Russia a terrorist state. “Today, Ukraine is fighting for peace in the whole of Europe, for all of us. If the terrorist state that is carrying out aggression against its neighbour is not stopped, that aggression might spread in Europe and beyond,” the president told the national radio LRT. In response Russian Foreign Ministry representative Alexander Lukashevich stated on the ministry's website: “The Lithuanian president would better restrain her Komsomol member’s ardour and drop her ‘Soviet-past’ inferiority complex which apparently makes her trying to ‘outpope the pope.’”

http://en.delfi.lt/central-eastern-europe/aggression-might-spread-in-europe-if-terrorist-russia-is-not-stopped-lithuanian-president.d?id=66449150#ixzz3JgcEyXyQ

http://mid.ru/brp_4.nsf/newsline/61BACB6A656CB8E6C3257D96006BAC15

'Deoffshorization' law to earn Russia $425 million annually

2014-11-20T09:23:00.004-05:00

The implementation of the law on the 'deoffshorization' of the Russian economy is expected to bring about 20 billion rubles (some $425 million) to the budget, Interfax reports on Wednesay, citing Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Shatalov. The bill was recently approved by both houses of Russian parliament. Shatalov said the law was only the first step and that Russia planned to exchange relevant information with the countries where offshore companies are registered. This would be done within the framework of the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, which over 60 countries including Russia have signed. The deputy minister said that not all companies established in the countries with which Russia has double taxation agreements are suspected of tax avoidance. “We need to start by establishing whether a company in question receives an active or a passive income. Only companies that have a passive income and pay a lower than usual tax will have additional tax obligations to their home country,” Shatalov said.

http://www.rapsinews.com/legislation_news/20141119/272614826.html

Nephew of ex-president of Kyrgyzstan released from prison

2014-11-20T09:21:00.001-05:00

Sanjar Bakiev, the nephew of the former president of Kyrgyzstan, Kurmanbek Bakiev, has completed his prison term after being convicted of organizing mass riots, RIA Novosti reported on Wednesday, citing the Kyrgyz penal service. Sanjar Bakiev was sentenced in November 2010 to 10 years’ imprisonment for organizing riots by groups loyal to President Bakiev in the southern city of Jalal-Abad in May 2010. Former Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev © RIA Novosti Former Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev A raid of his apartment revealed a large inventory of firearms, special equipment, ammunition, computers and portable radio sets. Kyrgyzstan’s Supreme Court later cut his prison term to five years and a fine of 75,000 som (about $1,800). Kurmanbek Bakiev fled the country amid antigovernment protests in April 2010. He was sentenced in absentia to life in prison in Kyrgyzstan for his role in the uprising, which left almost 100 people dead.

http://www.rapsinews.com/judicial_news/20141120/272618412.html

Magnitsky relatives appeal against his posthumous prosecution in Supreme Court

2014-11-20T09:19:00.003-05:00

The mother of Hermitage Capital auditor Sergei Magnitsky, who died in a detention facility, appealed to the Russian Supreme Court to block the posthumous prosecution of her son, Hermitage Capital informed RAPSI on Thursday. Hermitage Capital noted that in her appeal, Natalya Magnitskaya claims that the courts of lower instance refused to find the actions of an Interior Ministry investigator illegal. “It is the court’s responsibility to verify the validity and legitimacy of the investigator’s statement. In this case the investigator’s claims were not verified by any evidence,” the appeal states. For their part, the Press Service of the Supreme Court confirmed that the court had received an appeal from Natalya Magnitskaya regarding the May 22, 2014 ruling of the Tverskoi District Court and said it is currently under consideration. Magnitsky worked for Firestone Duncan and represented Hermitage Capital which was accused of tax evasion by Russian authorities. Magnitsky was arrested on fraud charges in November 2008 and found dead in a Moscow detention center in November 2009. Last July, the Tverskoi District Court of Moscow found Magnitsky guilty of tax evasion and closed the case due to his death. According to the case materials, Magnitsky’s and Hermitage Capital director William Browder’s actions cost the Russian Federation over 500 million rubles ($10.6 mln). Browder was sentenced to nine years in prison in absentia.

http://www.rapsinews.com/judicial_news/20141120/272620097.html

Medvedev: Russia won't restrict capital flow

2014-11-20T09:18:00.000-05:00

Russia will not impose restrictions on capital flow. On the contrary, there are plans to increase foreign currency transactions, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said at a Government meeting on Thursday. “In view of the current situation in the foreign currency market, the Government, myself, my colleagues and Central Bank management have repeatedly stated that we are not going to impose any special restrictions on capital flow,” Medvedev said. He noted that today, the Government would discuss a regulation that, if approved, will increase the number of allowed foreign currency transactions. As earlier announced by President Putin, Russia has no plans to restrict capital flow as officials can control the situation with its reserves without any extra measures. Last month, the head of the Central Bank Elvira Nabiullina announced that the regulator would not restrict capital flow or private currency transactions. Medvedev also mentioned that there will no further restrictions on foreign currency sales.

http://www.rapsinews.com/news/20141120/272622122.html

Russian Justice Ministry slams ECHR for violation of notification procedure

2014-11-20T09:16:00.003-05:00

European Court for Human Righst deprived Russia of presenting its case in the ongoing Senchishak v. Finland case, says the statement posted on the Justice Ministry’s website on Thursday. The statement says that the Russian authorities were not informed about an application hearing, in violation of Article 36, thus depriving Russia from presenting its arguments in a case concerning human rights violation against its citizen. Russian Justice Ministry adds that similar incidents happened before, and the ECHR was duly noted. On Tuesday, ECHR issued a ruling in application of Marina Senchishak, 72, partially paralyzed Russian national who was declined a residence permit and deported by the Finnish authorities. According to the case rescords, Ms Senchishak arrived in Finland in December 2008 on a tourist visa to stay with her daughter. Her daughter has been living in Finland since 1988 and has become a Finnish citizen. Ms Senchishak applied for a residence permit on the basis of family ties. She alleged before both the immigration authorities and administrative courts that, paralysed on her right side since 2006 after having suffered a stroke, it was impossible for her to obtain adequate medical care in Russia and that she was therefore dependent on her daughter in Finland, her husband having died in 2007 and her other daughter having been missing – presumed dead – since 2003. The immigration authorities refused Ms Senchishak a residence permit and ordered her removal to Russia. Ms Senchishak alleged that her removal would be in violation of Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment) and Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life) because she did not have access to medical care in Russia, it being impossible for her to obtain a place in a nursing home there, and because she would be separated from her daughter, her closest living relative. ECHR has ruled that the appeal to Article 8 was unsubstantiated, and ruled that the Russian national’s rights will not be violated by deportation.

http://www.rapsinews.com/judicial_news/20141120/272622679.html

Russia’s Supreme Court dismisses appeal over Bashneft stock forfeiture

2014-11-20T09:14:00.000-05:00

Russia’s Supreme Court has turned down the appeal against the ruling ordering AFK Sistema to forfeit oil producer Bashneft’s stock, according to the statement posted on the court’s website on Thursday. The appeal was turned down without reviewing it, citing procedural violations and missing paperwork to validate the appeal . Earlier, an unnamed individual appealed the Moscow Commercial Court ruling, that ordered AFK Sistema to forfeit its accumulated stock of oil producer Bashneft to the state. The court’s statement reads that the applicant, starting in 2012, filed more than four dozen cassation appeals in economic and civil trials. They all have been returned without review. In most cases, the court based the dismissals on the applicant’s inability to prove his stake in any given case. Bashneft was privatized in 2009. It was controlled by the government of Russia’s Bashkortostan region until 2003, when a major stake was sold to companies affiliated with Ural Rakhimov, son of the former head of Bashkortostan Murtaza Rakhimov. In 2009, Russian oil-to-telecoms conglomerate AFK Sistema gained control of the company. Investigators opened a criminal case last April linked to deals with Bashneft shares in 2002 to 2009. Rakhimov and billionaire Vladimir Yevtushenkov were implicated in the sale of Bashneft stock in 2009. Rakhimov was charged in absentia with embezzlement and money laundering, put on the international wanted list. Yevtushenkov, the board chairman and largest beneficiary of AFK Sistema, stands charged with money laundering.

http://www.rapsinews.com/judicial_news/20141120/272623643.html

US: Russia Fuels War in Ukraine

2014-11-13T06:39:00.000-05:00

The US has accused Russia of undermining a ceasefire in Ukraine after reports of Russian troops and military hardware entering the country. The US called a meeting of the UN Security Council on Wednesday after Nato accused Russia of sending troops, artillery and air defence systems across the border into Ukraine. "The pattern is clear," Samantha Power, the US envoy to the UN, told the meeting. "Where Russia has made commitments it has failed to meet them." "Russia has negotiated a peace plan and then systematically undermined it at every step. It talks of peace but it keeps fuelling war." However, Russia's deputy ambassador to the UN, Alexander Pankin, said the Nato claims did "not reflect the situation on the ground". He accused Security Council members of a "foray into propaganda".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-30032564
http://www.echo.msk.ru/blog/echomsk/1436268-echo/

NATO: Russian Troops Enter Ukraine

2014-11-12T10:34:00.000-05:00

Nato officials have seen Russian military equipment and Russian combat troops entering Ukraine this week, its top commander says. "Russian tanks, Russian artillery, Russian air defence systems and Russian combat troops" were sighted, US Gen Philip Breedlove said. Russia's defence ministry denied that its troops were in eastern Ukraine to help pro-Russian separatists there. However, the rebels have admitted being helped by "volunteers" from Russia. Heavy artillery fire rocked the east Ukrainian city of Donetsk, the industrial hub held by pro-Russian separatist rebels, on Wednesday morning. It was unclear whether the fire came from besieging government forces or the rebels themselves, or both. There were also reports of fighting near the rebel-held city of Luhansk. One Ukrainian soldier was killed and another injured north of Luhansk, when rebels fired on government positions near the village of Schastya, Ukrainian security forces said.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-30025138

Ford Loses Trademark Appeal in Russian IP Court

2014-10-27T11:01:00.000-04:00

Russia’s Intellectual Property Court sided with the Federal Service for Intellectual Property, Patens and Trademarks (ROSPATENT) in refusing to recognize Ford’s trademark as a protected word in Russia. In March, ROSPATENT ruled against Ford's petition to recognize the “Ford” trademark in the form of a blue oval with “Ford” written inside as a word that has been extensively used in Russia since June 1, 2007 to identify cars, car parts and accessories. According to ROSPATENT, the materials provided by Ford were not enough to prove its claim that the word “Ford” is used extensively exactly as cited in the petition. In addition, ROSPATENT said that “different forms of the trademark with the word Ford were used to mark Ford vehicles throughout its history.”

http://www.rapsinews.com/judicial_news/20141027/272466458.html