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Marat Nasimov, an intellectual property specialist at MAGENTA Legal, analyses several typical problems that rights holders face when combating counterfeiting on marketplaces. The full article is published in the journal “EZ-Jurist”.

What is the essence?

Rights holders lose the fight against counterfeiting because it is practically impossible to bring foreign sellers to real liability, and marketplace policies together with the courts do not provide effective tools to block repeat infringers. At the same time, the amounts of compensation awarded and legal costs recovered often do not even cover the expenses of the enforcement itself.

Possible solutions

1. A claim can be filed against foreign sellers who sell goods on Russian marketplaces, basing the court's jurisdiction on tort (delict) rules, since the seller commits the infringement on the territory of the Russian Federation.
2. It is necessary to introduce systems of pre‑moderation of product listings and seller account blocking as preventive measures against future infringements.
3. Judicial discretion to change the method of calculating compensation requires further clarification in court practice. In any case, the court should not change the calculation method without putting that issue for discussion at a hearing.
4. Courts should refrain from applying proportionality when awarding legal costs not only in cases where compensation is reduced, but also when a fixed‑amount compensation is recalculated.

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