The Novosibirsk OFAS was convicted by "D2 Insurance" in violation of competition in the promotion of CASCO

The FAS Russia Office for the Novosibirsk Region recognized the insurance company CJSC D2 Insurance violating the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition”. The Commission of the Department established that the company in promoting its insurance services CASCO used the program “Similar to the degree of mixing with trademarks”, the copyright holder of which is another insurer - OJSC Alfrakhovanie.

The FAS Russia Office for the Novosibirsk Region recognized the insurance company D2 Insurance CJSC to violating the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition”, Taiga.info was told on July 20 in the department.

The UFAS Commission found that the company in the promotion of its insurance services CASCO used the program “Similar to the degree of mixing with trademarks”, the copyright holder of which is another insurer - OJSC AlfaStrakhovka, explained by Taiga.info. Deputy Head of the Department Natalya Kamneva.

The advertising campaign to promote this product “D2 Insurance” launched in the fall of 2011. Alfastrakhovanie OJSC considered that the competitor illegally uses the designations “CASCO 50/50”, similar to the degree of mixing with the trademarks “Alfacco” and “fifty to fifty”.

According to Natalia Kamneva, cases when companies operating in the same market use similar trademarks to promote their products and services are often found. However, in the region’s insurance market this case is the first, Kamneva noted.

Based on the results of the consideration of the case at the UFAS “D2 Insurance”, an order was issued on the prevention of violations of the Law “On Competition”. The case of an administrative offense has also been opened. The decision in the case will be made within two weeks. According to Natalia Kamneva, a penalty for the illegal use of intellectual property imposed on an official may be 20 thousand rubles, a revolutionary penalty of 1% to 15% revenue from the sale of the service, but not less than 100 thousand rubles on a legal entity.

“The Commission of the Novosibirsk OFAS Russia recognized the actions of CJSC“ D2 Insurance ”by an act of unfair competition. After a possible appeal by the violator of the decision in a court, we will file a lawsuit against CJSC “D2 Insurance“ On the Collection of Losses or Compensation, ”Murat Imankulov, director of the Law Department of Alfastrakhovan, commented on the decision of the Antimonopoly Department.

The company "Alfakasco 50 × 50" launched the company in the fall of 2007. This type of CASCO allowed the client to pay only half of the insurance, and when the insured event occurs, to pay the rest and get insurance.

The press service of “D2 Insurance” Taiga.info said that with the decision of the UFAS commission “hard to agree”. The combination of “CASCO 50/50”, as well as the phrase “CASCO50 × 50” are very common, both in everyday life and in the activities of insurers, according to “D2 insurance”. “This can be easily checked by referring to the results of processing the request for this phrase in the Yandex Internet Pre-Prevent system,” the company said in the request of the Taigi.info request.

In addition, the company conducted data from a comparative analysis of the conditions of insurance programs, from which it follows that there are practically no similarities in them. “That is, these products were not direct competitors to each other,” added to “D2 insurance”.

D2 insurance has not yet decided whether they would dispute the UFAS decision, noting that now the company has focused on the development of such areas as banking insurance and accidents insurance, and car insurance products are gradually reduced in the portfolio. “As for our CASCO 50/50 program, the sale of this product was terminated back in March and at the moment it is absent in the line of offers,” the Taiga.info correspondent explained.

The OFAS is not the first time considering cases about the trademark of AlfaRuzhniy. In January 2012, the department

Installed

that the insurance company North Treacle, in the implementation of CASCO services, has made a similar violation when it used the designation "50x50".

According to Maxim Sedov, General Director of the Insurance Disputes Agency, in the case of “D2 insurance”, the court will have to determine whether the use of the consumed “50/50” symbol and the words “CASCO” are “annoying coincidence” when completely different products are sold under similar slogans with obvious meaning.

Rather, the fact of registration of such a trademark is caused by questions, added Maxim Sedov. “Excessively easy registration of a trademark without a necessary verification can lead to a comical situation when a clever entrepreneur registers the name Shawarma and will demand compensation from the many thousands of the army of Fastfood manufacturers,” said Taiga.info's interlocutor.