We at the Federal Patent Bureau “Zhelezno” follow the news from the world of intellectual property with interest. This week, we discussed with colleagues the case of the famous musician Andrei Shirman. For the second year, he has been trying to register the word designation “Shirman Andrey Shirman disagrees Shirman” as a trademark. Rospatent refused on May 14, 2024. Then the artist filed a lawsuit in the court for intellectual property rights. But he was not supported there either.
Why Rospatent refused registrationAndrey Shirman disagrees
The claimed designation is a surname, and in the opinion of Rospatent, it is quite common in our country. The examination classified the designation as not having distinctiveness.
– The information provided in social networks, which most quickly reflect the situation with the use of the surname Shirman, cannot indicate its exceptional rarity, – the department believes. – Information about this surname is contained in the dictionary, search queries contain links to different people with the surname “Shirman”, so we can come to the conclusion that it is quite common in Russia.
Andrey Shirman disagrees with RospatentAndrey Shirman disagrees
Andrey Shirman is a multifaceted personality. He is not only tonga business email list a famous musician, but also a restaurateur, co-owner of the Cheryomushkinsky market, blogger and owner of a news portal.
Shirman provided the department with information that search engines return multiple results when searching for “Andrey Shirman.” They contain information about the artist and his creative work, including production.
As for the prevalence of the surname,
according to the artist, when searching for “Shirman”, 4 steps for your sales script search engines provide information only about four people with the same surname. They are not connected in any way with the restaurant business, music show business or publishing activities.
– At the moment, there is not a single comparable well-known namesake of the applicant, especially known in relation to goods and services in the above-mentioned priority classes of the International Classification of Goods and Services. At least 90% of the search results are dedicated specifically to the applicant, – believes Andrey Shirman.
You can still fight for your personal brand!
What can I say as an expert in the field of intellectual property. At the moment, the decision on the application
“SHIRMAN/ШИРМАН” has been made in the Court of Intellectual Property Rights. The applicant has the opportunity
to challenge the decision in the Presidium of the IPC and fight for the registration of his mark.
The designation “SHIRMAN/ШИРМАН” had chances of registration. Indeed, this designation is perceived in
dictionaries as a surname, but at the same time, a study of the prevalence of the surname, based solely on information
from social networks, cannot be considered reliable. telegram data Moreover, as arguments in defense, one can cite current examples of registrations of other surnames that are protected elements of the trademark.
In general, one of the options for increasing the chances of registration is the registration of the designation “SHIRMAN” without transliteration into Russian. For consumers, such a designation will be perceived as a fantasy word with distinctive properties.