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Coca-Cola has asked Russia's intellectual services agency Rospatent to register several trademarks in the country, Vedomosti newspaper reported on Friday.
The American beverage company has operated in Russia for more than four decades and will leave the country in March 2022 due to Western sanctions related to the conflict in Ukraine.
The Atlanta-based company intends to register three brands - Coca-Cola, Fanta and Sprite - in Russia, writes Vedomosti, citing the Rospatent database. The proposal, issued in April, covers the production of soft drinks, alcoholic beverages, soda and other products.
Patent experts told Forbes that the move could allow Coca-Cola to consider returning to the Russian market in the future. Under Russian law, a trademark can be revoked if it is not used for three years. The publication noted that Coca-Cola, Sprite and Fanta have left the market in 2022, their legal protection will end next year, and the American company is looking to keep the rights to its sign.
Coca-Cola has been on the Russian market since 1980 and was introduced at the Moscow Olympics that year. In 1990, the first McDonald's restaurant was launched in the Soviet Union. Russia began to mass produce this drink in 1992 after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Before leaving in 2022, the US company operated 10 factories in Russia producing soft drinks such as Fanta, Sprite and Vespun, as well as local brands.
After the company exited, the Russian group changed its name and began producing a soft drink called Dobry Cola at the original beverage bottling plant, Coca-Cola HBC Russia.
In 2022 to 2023, the market share of the Dobry Cola brand will increase from 2.8% to 25%, as it is the most popular soft drink in the country. The market share of original Coca-Cola imported into Russia through third countries fell six times during the same period, RBK News daily reported earlier this year, citing the data from research firm Ntech.
Read more: Starbucks applies for trademark registration in Russia - Media
The American coffee chain Starbucks also applied to Rospatent to register some trademarks in Russia. Swedish multinational conglomerate IKEA says it extended its trademark rights in Russia for a decade earlier this year.
