Valentina Orlova speaking on the enforcement of intellectual property rights at RussiaTALK 2011

Valentina Orlova, head of Pepeliaev Group’s intellectual property practice, told the RussiaTALK 2011 investment forum about the prospects of enforcing intellectual property rights in Russia. This annual forum hosted by the Russo-British Chamber of Commerce brings together delegates from leading British and Russian companies and the public authorities.

The UK is one of Russia’s main commercial and investment partners. ‘In 2010, the UK was the largest investor in the Russian economy’, said Sergey Katyrin, head of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Over 600 British companies currently operate in Russia. The UK’s investment in Russia in 2010 was USD 40.8 billion, with its cumulative investment totalling USD 21.6 billion.

‘British businesses see significant opportunities in Russia’, said Tim Barrow, the UK Ambassador in Russia. He added that he would do his best to promote economic cooperation between the two countries. Dennis Keefe, the British Chargé d’Affaires in Russia, took up the theme of business relations between Russia and the UK. ‘Britain welcomes Russia’s accession to the WTO as this will boost trade between the two countries’, said Mr Keefe. He was confident that the WTO accession would make Russia more attractive to foreign investors, including those from the UK. ‘This marks a beginning of an era of investment in Russia, including from the UK’, said Mr Keefe. He pointed out that London would also like to see Moscow become a global financial centre and ‘would like to play a role in this’.

Instrumental in securing foreign investment is the enforcement of intellectual property rights. This was the subject of a special discussion at the forum. Valentina Orlova, head of Pepeliaev Group’s intellectual property practice, told the audience that Russia was ready to accede to WTO. According to Ms Orlova, Russian intellectual property legislation is in full conformity with global standards, including EU law, TRIPS and other international treaties on intellectual property. However, she stressed that there was a need to improve the legal protection of intellectual property and to make efforts to expand its use in the Russian economy, including by boosting research. ‘Neither Russian nor international companies always fully comply with these protective provisions of intellectual property law, which gives rise to significant legal risks’, said Ms Orlova. In her view, creating an Intellectual Property Court would facilitate the enforcement of rights to intellectual property.