Atlanta-based Coca-Cola, which relies on Coca Cola HBC to manufacture and distribute soft drinks in Russia, said in March it would suspend production in the country. Since then, the Switzerland-based bottling company, in which Coca-Cola holds a 20% stake, has consumed its remaining stock. The last focus orders were placed in March.
Coca-Cola HBC said in a statement on its website last week that it has stopped manufacturing and selling Coca-Cola-branded products in Russia and has no plans to reintroduce them. Instead, the bottling company is rebranding its Russia business, Multon Partners, and is focusing on local brands, including Dobry, Rich and Moya Semya.
The company’s complete withdrawal from Russia could be decisive in the Atlanta-based Coca-Cola legal battle in Russia to protect its brand and prevent third parties from importing and selling soft drinks from other countries.
Coca-Cola attorney Diana Chaklina of Moscow law firm Patentus told a court in Russia in May that a judge should halt shipments from importer Pivoindustria LLC because Coca-Cola is still doing business in Russia, despite the previous government statement. suspended its operations.
The importer’s lawyer, Maxim Sosov, said that Pivoindustria had already sold the soft drink, and Coca-Cola was pursuing a verdict against the importer.
“There is no judicial protection for ‘I do not use it myself and will not give it to the behavior of others,'” Sossouf wrote in June in a lawsuit in a related case.
There are indications that Moscow courts may be willing to consider a “use it or lose it” approach to trademarks and intellectual property.
The government approved a decree in March allowing Russian companies to use patents from countries deemed “unfriendly”, such as the United States and the United Kingdom, without paying the owner of the intellectual property rights.
The case against Pivoindustria is still pending.
Coca-Cola separately obtained a judge’s approval to close the case to the public after a Reuters reporter attempted to attend the case.
The Coca-Cola Company said in a statement that regardless of suspending its operations in Russia, “The Coca-Cola Company takes the protection of its intellectual property rights very seriously and protects its reputation and reputation when third parties seek to trade in the world famous company’s reputation.”
“Our activities in Russia remain suspended, and our actions support this decision,” Coca-Cola said. “Production of Coca-Cola trademarks has ceased in Russia, and we have not allowed Coca-Cola trademarks to be exported to Russia.”
