Irates. Armenian “Ararat” defeats “Philip Morris” in court

According to “Irates” newspaper on March 22, 2017, The Moscow Arbitration Court finally issued its final decision about “Marlboro” vs “Ararat” case. The court completely rejected “PhilipMorris BrandsSarl” company’s suit against “Grand Tabak OJSC”.

This means that according to the court, there is not confusingly similar design of “Marlboro” cigarette with “Ararat” cigarette design. This in turn means that outlets can freely sell “Ararat” cigarettes in Russia. This is another victory for Armenian manufacturing.

According to newspaper, the claimant of “PhilipMorris BrandsSarl” that the trademark of “Ararat” cigarettes misleads consumers because it is confusingly similar to the “Marlboro” trademark is baseless.

Ararat cigarette packs visual element is stylish image of the sacred mountain and the semantic structure of lexical word “Ararat”.

The court also noted that according to federal Law article 19. “Rights and Obligations of Citizens in the Protection of Health from the Effects of Tobacco Smoke and the Consequences of Tobacco Product Consumption’’ the purchaser cannot see the cigarette’s pack and therefore the cigarette box image. Cigarettes should be elected exclusively by the list, which is presented by the shop.

“GrandTobacco” company lawyer Nikolay Hakobyan believes that “PhilipMorris BrandsSarl” tries to put artificial obstacles in order to prohibit the circulation of the Armenian cigarette in Russian market.

According to Hakobyan, the reason is that, as “PhilipMorris BrandsSarl” representative noted, “Ararat” cigarettes sales are high, than “Marlboro’s”.

“PhilipMorris BrandsSarl” sought to present it as a loss for the company. Thus, this sentence once again proved that the manufacturer has the right to have its place under conditions of fair competition in the Russian market.