OREANDA-NEWS Kaluga Distillery (KLVZ) "Crystal" appealed to the intellectual property court to sue Disney for the trademarks "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," Vedomosti writes.

The manufacturer of spirits demands to terminate the legal protection of trademarks ahead of time due to their non-use by Disney. The last hearing on this case took place in February, the court then decided to postpone the preliminary hearing to August — by this time the foreign company must submit a response to the statement of claim and prove the use of trademarks.

The Kristall plant is located in Obninsk. He produces vodka under the flagship brands "Solovushka", Bionica, "Voronetskaya" and "Charochka", and also pours "Khortytsia" under a contract. This is not the first time the company has resorted to using the names of popular films in its products. "Crystal" has already registered the rights to the trademarks "Fantomas" and "Gladiator".

The manufacturer has applied for registration of the trademarks "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest". Their protection expires in May-June 2023. According to the lawyers, if Rospatent approves the applications, Kristall will receive exclusive rights to use these brands. Experts suggest that the company intends to produce strong drinks under them.

Russian producers of strong alcohol are actively increasing the production of alcohol against the background of the departure of Western brands. According to NielsenIQ, 36 new local whiskey brands, 20 gin brands and 13 liqueur brands appeared on the market in the first nine months of 2022. However, they will not be able to replace the retired volume of imports, according to Vadim Drobiz, director of the Center for Research on Federal and Regional Alcohol Markets. In addition, in 2023 they will face serious competition with new foreign brands.