On 31 October 2024 the Constitutional Court published Resolution No. 49-P on the case of checking the constitutionality of Articles 195, 196, paragraph 1 of Article 197, paragraph 1 and paragraph two of paragraph 2 of Article 200, paragraph two of Article 208 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation (hereinafter - the “Resolution”), in which it considered the application of limitation period to claims for seizure of property obtained through corrupt activities in favor of the state.

On October 29, in the first reading, the State Duma of the Russian Federation adopted Bill No. 679980-8 "On Amendments to Article 9 of the Federal Law "On Personal Data" ("Law on Personal Data") and Article 10 of the Law of the Russian Federation "On Consumer Protection" ("Law on Consumer Protection") (hereinafter - the "Bill").

Despite the fact that the issue of intellectual property rights turnover is included in the perimeter of antimonopoly regulation, until recently the Russian Antitrust Agency took rather an observant position.

The regulator's position was that the issue of patent infringement is a private legal dispute between original and generic manufacturers, which should not affect the turnover of drugs, particularly the execution of contracts based on the results of public procurement. Only in isolated cases the Russian Antitrust Agency has established the fact of patent infringement and issued a corresponding order on the inadmissibility of anti-competitive practices.

Now the reverse trend has clearly emerged.

More in our update.

On October 23, the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Russian Federation (the “FAS”) has published recommendations for preventing greenwashing in marketing communications (the “Recommendations”).

Greenwashing is described as actions involving the distribution of false or incorrect environmental statements that mislead consumers regarding the environmental characteristics of goods in order to obtain unjustified advantages.

The Recommendations provide for the concept of environmental statements, their types and requirements for them, as well as the consequences of non-compliance with the requirements for such statements.

Lidings’ Corporate and M&A practice team has successfully concluded its advisory role for the owners of Autotechinmash LLC, the largest auto dealer of Belarusian cars, in restructuring of the company’s founding team.

It has been reported in public sources that the Sub-Commission of the Government Commission for Control of Foreign Investments in the Russian Federation (the “Sub-Commission”), which issues permits for the sale of Russian assets by companies from ‘unfriendly’ countries, has decided to tighten the conditions for the exit of foreign companies from the Russian market.

On 15 October, Lidings hosted a webinar for its clients to break down the legal aspects of critical information infrastructure (CII) security, focusing on the regulation applicable to the pharmaceutical and chemical (Pharma and FMCG) and healthcare industries.

Russia and the Gulf countries continue to deepen economic cooperation, which becomes especially important against the backdrop of sanctions restrictions. The Russian-Gulf Business Forum: New Ties, New Opportunities (took place in Moscow on 24 September 2024) provided an opportunity for a comprehensive discussion of both business prospects and legal issues related to the activities of Russian companies in the region.

Highlights of the event in our report.

On 27.09.2024 the Decree of the Government the Russian Federation No. 1278 was published. This Decree amends for the Regulation on Patent and Other Fees for Legally Significant Actions.