IP Court: colloquial term "шмотки" may be registrable as a trademark

On May 30, 2025, in case No. SIP-88/2025, the Russian IP Court annulled Rospatent’s decision (taken upon review of an objection to refusal) and remanded the application for fresh examination, emphasizing that inadmissibility must be grounded in a systematic review of reliable sources from the average consumer’s perspective, not on subjective “obviousness” or random materials. kad.arbitr.ru

Note for readers: “шмотки” is colloquial Russian for “clothes” (roughly, “threads”)—informal but not obscene. The Court indicated that colloquial or mildly pejorative wording can appear in a mark so long as public interests are not harmed and the legal test is applied properly.

📎 Full court decision (PDF)

A cassation appeal has been filed; we are monitoring further developments.