Kaspersky Lab failed to prove the uniqueness of its name in court

The manufacturer of antivirus software, Kaspersky Lab, was unable to prove in court the uniqueness of its name and brand, Vedomosti reports . The Moscow Arbitration Court ruled that Kaspersky Labs can be many, so the company name cannot be a unique brand.

The trial began after, in September 2016, the software manufacturer filed a lawsuit against the NGO Kaspersky Lab. In her lawsuit, Evgeny Kaspersky demanded that NGOs stop using this name, as it is associated with a specific brand and manufacturer, but the court did not stand on the side of an IT company.

The court decision was based on several facts. First, an NGO works in a different area than Kaspersky Lab. The company Evgeny Kaspersky is engaged in information protection and IT-technologies, while the NGO “Kaspersky Lab” is engaged in scientific research in the field of natural and technical sciences.
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Second, the name of an NGO duplicates only a part of Kaspersky Lab, and not the entire name of an IT company as a whole. In this case, the word "laboratory" is commonly used. Also, the surname Kaspersky is quite popular, and can be associated not only with Yevgeny Kaspersky, but also with the chess player Anton Kaspersky, born in 1885.

According to the court, making a positive decision for an IT company requires evidence of conducting activities in one area (in IT) that are missing.

The NGO Kaspersky Lab is a new venture registered only in July 2016. From this point on, the NGO does not conduct any commercial activity or research. Lawyers interviewed by "Vedomosti" emphasize that the name consonant with a large company is taken by new firms in order to use the brand for its own benefit. Often, such organizations enter into contracts for the provision of services that do not provide, or manipulate the mailing list, misleading potential customers regarding their origin. Often consonant brands are used by former co-owners of large companies who want to receive dividends from the name of their formerly owned business.

In any case, the use of the phrase "Kaspersky Lab" in the name of a newly created NGO is hardly accidental. In the future, this organization may enter the market of anti-virus software and parasitize on the name of the company Evgeny Kaspersky.

However, based on the decision of the Moscow Arbitration Court, if this happens, the NGO can be forced to change its name.