Russian entrepreneurs massively receive claims for considerable phrases on goods from “patent trolls” from Kazan - “New tab”

Manufacturers of souvenirs, clothing and gift products throughout Russia were faced with mass claims for using popular phrases on their products. As the New tab found , one company is behind most complaints - the Kazan LLC “Gifts in bulk”, which registers with trademarks well -known expressions like “I love you”, “I need”, “there is no reason not to drink” and even the words “nothing”, “apple”, “cherries”, “beloved”, “bomb” and “Yuzhny”.

Since 2023, the company sent dozens of pre -trial claims and filed claims worth more than 30 million rubles. Entrepreneurs from Lipetsk, Moscow, Samara, Kazan and other regions were at risk. In case of refusal to pay compensation, “gifts wholesale” apply to the court, where they require up to 15 million rubles for the use of phrases that have become part of everyday speech and Internet culture.

The scheme acts as follows: ordinary words and phrases that have long become memes, jokes or elements of mass culture are recorded as trademarks in dozens of commodity classes - from dishes to furniture and paper products. After that, lawyers of “gifts wholesale” send claims to manufacturers of souvenirs, clothes and even confectioners, threatening the court. If it comes to court, defendants often prefer aminating agreements, paying tens and hundreds of thousands of rubles.

“The whole vocabulary is taken and registered. Such phrases that can then be transformed. Suppose the word “necessary” - then hundreds are born from this trademark. For example, “I am a coach, I need.” For such a trademark, it also flew to someone, ”one of the interlocutors told the publication.

Journalists found that the company already owns more than 300 trademarks. Entrepreneurs call her actions “patent trolling”, and lawyers indicate gaps in law. At the same time, Rospatent continues to register common -use expressions, which contradicts the Civil Code. The Supreme Court in 2023 has already warned: registration of a trademark should not be used solely for the sake of subsequent claims.

Nevertheless, claims from “gifts wholesale” continue to come. Dozens of businesses suffered - from engraving on glasses to inscriptions on cakes. Some entrepreneurs have already filed counterclaims and complaints to the FAS and Rospatent, demanding to cancel the registration of words that have long become part of mass speech.

After legislative changes in 2023, even individuals received the right to register trademarks, and experts fear that the number of such cases will grow.