OREANDA-NEWS. January 11, 2009. Article 1487 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation establishes the so-called national principle of exhaustion, according to which trademark rights are exhausted if they are commercialized in the country by the owner of the trademark or other person acting with the owner's consent, reported the press-centre of FAS Russia.

The enforcement practice of this provision of the Civil Code is rather controversial. Executive bodies impose administrative sanctions upon economic entities that bought abroad original goods, commercialized by the assignor or with the assignor's consent, and import the goods to Russia for further distribution.

Customs authorities accuse bona fide economic entities in illegal use of trademarks, effectively leveling them to counterfeit.

The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia) believes that bona fide buyers, who supply original goods of the assignors, lawfully commercialized in other countries, to the Russian Federation, must not be restricted in their economic activity.

Revising this provision of the Civil Code will facilitate development of "civilized" competitive market.