There is no formal Opposition procedure in Russia i.e. trademarks are not published for opposition by third parties. However, any interested party can file a letter of observation raising objection against registration of a trademark.
Overview of the objection procedure:
- Filing the Letter of Observation: While the trademark application is pending to be examined by Rospatent (Russian Patent Office), any interested party can file a Letter of Observation informing the grounds and reasons against registration of a trademark. As of 2025, Rospatent takes around 4 to 6 months to examine a trademark application and issue an order of registration of rejection. Therefore, there is no deadline to file a letter of observation. However, given the current examination timelines, a letter of observation must be filed within 4 to 6 months of the filing date of the application to be opposed.
- Counter Statement / Evidence: Since there is no opposition procedure, a letter of observation is not informed to the applicant and hence the applicant is not required to file any counter statement. Rather, the Examinertakes into consideration the letter of observations and issues an Office Action to the applicant. The applicant is then required to respond to the Office Action within six (6) months from the notification date. It is to be noted that even though Rospatent does not report the letter of observation to the applicant, they may request Rospatent for a copy of the letter of observation.
- Hearing and Decision: There is no provision of inter party hearing. Once the response is submitted by the applicant, the Rospatent will analyse the matter and accept or reject the application and issue a decision accordingly. This decision or any other notification regarding this procedure is not issued to the party filing the letter of observations.
- Appeal: The applicant can file an administrative appeal with the Chamber of Patent Disputes of Rospatent within four months of the refusal order date.