On 7 July 2025, Federal Law No. 214-FL «On Amendments to Part Four of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation» was published. This law introduces the following significant changes to the provisions on the recovery of compensation for infringement of exclusive rights to intellectual property and means of individualisation equivalent thereto.
1. Clarification of the concept of counterfeit products in Part Four of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation
Currently, the law allows counterfeit goods to be withdrawn from civil circulation and destroyed (paragraph 4 of Article 1252 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). However, the concept of counterfeit products has long remained ambiguous, with other provisions of civil law providing for a narrower interpretation of this term.
Thus, paragraph 1 of Article 1515 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation defines counterfeit goods exclusively as goods with an illegally placed trademark (fakes). However, paragraph 4 of Article 1252 of the Civil Code also classifies original goods introduced into civil circulation without the consent of the right holder as counterfeit goods. The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, in its Ruling No. 8-P of 13.02.2018, supported a broad interpretation of counterfeit goods, pointing to the need for the joint application of these provisions.
The application of measures to withdraw original goods from circulation and destroy counterfeit material carriers is excessive. Therefore, the extension of this protective measure to original products should be limited, which is consistent with the legal position of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation.
Replacing the wording of the law from «no other consequences are provided for» to «nothing else is provided for» shifts the focus from regulating the consequences to the very definition of counterfeit products. This creates a legal opportunity for courts to exclude original goods from the scope of counterfeiting. At the same time, as experts note, the open nature of the new wording preserves the possibility of supporting a broad interpretation of counterfeiting, so the formation of judicial practice after the amendments come into force will be of great importance.
In connection with the clarification of the concept of counterfeit products in paragraph 4 of Article 1252 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, an amendment has been made to paragraph 2 of Article 1515 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. This amendment expressly limits the application of seizure and destruction solely to goods bearing an unlawfully affixed trademark (counterfeits). However, with respect to original goods put into circulation without the consent of the right holder (unlawful use of the trademark), this protective measure does not apply.
A similar replacement of terms («unauthorized distribution» instead of «unauthorized use») has been made in paragraph 5 of Article 1515 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, which regulates the calculation of compensation. This amendment limits the determination of the double value of counterfeit goods exclusively to the value of the counterfeit products. This method of calculation does not apply to cases involving the unauthorized distribution of original goods.
2. The new Article 1252.1 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation (on the procedure for recovering compensation for infringement of exclusive rights) has been introduced to replace the invalidated paragraph 3 of Article 1252 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation
The new Article 1252.1 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, which regulates the procedure for recovering compensation for infringement of exclusive rights, consolidates the established rules in Resolution No. 10 of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated 23.04.2019 (RP of SC No. 10) and introduces new provisions that were previously absent from the legislation.
In particular, the court now has the right to change the method of calculating compensation and recover it in a fixed amount if the method chosen by the plaintiff is not applicable in the circumstances of the case. Previously, the court did not have this option under paragraph 59 of RP of SC No. 10.
In addition, the new Article 1252.1 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation (paragraph 4) establishes the procedure for calculating compensation for infringement of exclusive rights in cases where one counterfeit product contains several objects of intellectual property:
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When calculating as a fixed amount: The amount of compensation is determined by the court within the limits of the minimum to twice the maximum amount established by the Civil Code of the Russian Federation for the violation of one exclusive right to a specific type of results of intellectual activities (RIA) or means of individualisation.
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When calculating the multiple value of counterfeit products: The amount of compensation is determined by the court in an amount exceeding the single value, but not exceeding twice the value of the counterfeit material carriers. For counterfeit works: the amount ranges from 150% to 220% of the value of the counterfeit material carriers.
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When calculating the multiple value of the right of use: The amount of compensation is determined by the court in an amount exceeding one time, but not more than two times the value of the right to use that intellectual property object (RIA or means of individualisation) from among those unlawfully used in the product, the value of the right to use which is the highest. For counterfeit works: the amount ranges from 150% to 220% of the value of the right to use the work.
In addition, paragraph 5 of Article 1252.1 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation establishes the rule that if the result of intellectual activity or a means of individualisation is used in several ways combined by a single economic purpose, such use shall be recognised as a single infringement of the exclusive right. At the same time, the updated provision emphasises that a method of use that is objectively necessary for the implementation of another method has no independent economic significance. This differs from the previous wording of paragraph 56 of RP of SC No. 10, which emphasised the combination of methods for a single purpose.
In turn, paragraph 7 of Article 1252.1 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, which limits the liability of an entrepreneur in the absence of information about the violation (did not know and could not have known), is of particular interest. This rule is an exception to the general principle of increased liability of an entrepreneur for violations arising from the assumption of entrepreneurial risks, which emphasises its special nature.
Equally significant and relevant is the provision of paragraph 8 of Article 1252.1 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, which establishes joint and several liability of persons who have committed independent violations of exclusive rights through the same material media, departing from the previous doctrine (paragraph 71 of RP of SC No. 10), which recognised joint and several liability only in the case of joint actions by infringers. This change in legislation is intended to exclude the possibility of unfair recovery by the right holder of several compensations for one infringement embodied in a specific product.
3. Other important changes in the provisions on compensation for infringement of exclusive rights
In addition to the above changes, amendments to Article 1299 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation (technical means of copyright protection) and Article 1300 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation (indication of information about the author) should also be highlighted. Thus, the new provisions establish differentiated limits on compensation for actions classified as contributing to the infringement of exclusive rights (paragraph 3 of Article 1299, paragraph 3 of Article 1300 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation):
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for deleting/changing information about the author or right holder (paragraph 3 of Article 1300 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation) – from 1,000 to 100,000 roubles;
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for using a work with deleted/altered information about the author or for removing technical protection measures – in accordance with the rules of paragraph 2 of Article 1301 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation:
- from 11,000 to 11,000,000 roubles,
- or 220% of the value of the counterfeit copies,
- or 220% of the value of the right of use;
- for the manufacture/distribution/provision of technical devices to neutralise protection measures (paragraph 3 of Article 1299 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation) – from 10,000 to 5,000,000 roubles.
Furthermore, the upper limit of lump-sum compensation for infringement of exclusive rights to copyright and related rights, as well as exclusive rights to trademarks, inventions, utility models, or industrial designs, has now been set at 10,000,000 rubles. The lower limit of compensation remains 10,000 rubles for all specified IP objects, except for patents, for which the lower limit has been increased to 50,000 roubles.
The Federal Law also proposes a new version of paragraph 2 of Article 1537 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, which establishes the procedure for recovering compensation for infringement of the right to the appellation of origin (AO) or geographical indication (GI) – exclusively in a fixed monetary amount ranging from 10,000 roubles to 5,000,000 roubles, with each right holder of the relevant AO or GI being entitled to file an independent claim for compensation within the specified limits.
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The changes under consideration shall apply exclusively to infringements committed after 04.01.2026 (the date of entry into force of the new provisions). At the same time, with regard to ongoing violations of a continuous nature, it should be assumed that the unlawful actions committed before the specified date are subject to assessment and calculation of compensation under the previously applicable rules, while actions committed after the amendments come into force will be assessed under the new rules.