Aleksey Darkov
Counsel
Aleksey specializes in dispute resolution and intellectual property protection. He successfully represents clients' interests in Russian courts across various categories of cases, in the antitrust service for disputes in the area of unfair competition, in the Chamber for Patent Disputes of Rospatent, as well as in arbitration courts.
Aleksey serves on the Appeal Committee of the Russian Football Union, the Commission on Legal Regulation in Healthcare at the Moscow branch of the Russian Bar Association.
He is actively engaged in conferences and webinars on intellectual property law and has authored several publications in this field.
Aleksey serves on the Appeal Committee of the Russian Football Union, the Commission on Legal Regulation in Healthcare at the Moscow branch of the Russian Bar Association.
He is actively engaged in conferences and webinars on intellectual property law and has authored several publications in this field.
Aleksey has been practicing law for over fifteen years, with extensive consulting and litigation experience in:
Developing and implementing strategies for the protection of intellectual property rights, including inventions, industrial designs, trademarks, computer programs, and other copyright-protected works;
Comprehensive due diligence of corporate intellectual property;
Structuring and executing transactions involving the creation, use, and disposal of intellectual property rights;
Handling issues of reworking, modifying, and creating derivative works, including software;
Addressing the inclusion of licensing fees in the customs valuation of goods;
Ensuring compliance with regulations for classifying works as proprietary and preparing documentation related to the intellectual property asset management in companies.
achievements
Ratings and Awards
Aleksey is highly esteemed as an expert in intellectual property (including rights protection, litigation, and consulting), as per the Law300 2022-2023, Legal500, and also the Best Lawyers 2022 rankings.
Education
2014 — Russian Academy of National Economy and Public Administration under the President of the Russian Federation, M.M. Speransky Law Faculty, postgraduate studies, specialization 12.00.03
2011 — State University of Management, Specialist degree in Jurisprudence.
2011 — State University of Management, Specialist degree in Jurisprudence.
projects
Selected project experience
Проект
ТМТ
Клиент
Описание
Represented the interests of the world's largest software developer in a deal to acquire augmented reality software from a company undergoing bankruptcy in an EU country, including negotiations with the Russian owner to clear the rights to the acquired software;
Conducted comprehensive due diligence of a number of IT companies to verify intellectual property rights in transactions on behalf of one of the largest telecommunications service providers;
Advised and facilitated pre-trial resolution of a dispute between a leading Russian software developer and an IT company on the creation and use of derivative software, preparing and facilitating the conclusion of a pre-trial settlement with provisions for licensing.
Represented Yandex LLC in a landmark case concerning the Yandex Afisha trademark across several interrelated proceedings. In the review of key case No. SIP-591/2020, a practice was established for applying paragraph 10 of Article 1483 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, which sets a prohibition on the registration of trademarks that include a previously registered trademark. The legal protection of the "Yandex Afisha" trademark was restored.
Successfully represented a Russian programmer in one of the largest precedent-setting disputes over software rights infringement and compensation recovery against a former employer, one of the largest international software developers.
Conducted comprehensive due diligence of a number of IT companies to verify intellectual property rights in transactions on behalf of one of the largest telecommunications service providers;
Advised and facilitated pre-trial resolution of a dispute between a leading Russian software developer and an IT company on the creation and use of derivative software, preparing and facilitating the conclusion of a pre-trial settlement with provisions for licensing.
Represented Yandex LLC in a landmark case concerning the Yandex Afisha trademark across several interrelated proceedings. In the review of key case No. SIP-591/2020, a practice was established for applying paragraph 10 of Article 1483 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, which sets a prohibition on the registration of trademarks that include a previously registered trademark. The legal protection of the "Yandex Afisha" trademark was restored.
Successfully represented a Russian programmer in one of the largest precedent-setting disputes over software rights infringement and compensation recovery against a former employer, one of the largest international software developers.
Проект
Healthcare and lifescience
Клиент
Описание
Advised and defended the interests of a major international pharmaceutical conglomerate in developing strategies and successfully implementing the protection of exclusive rights to inventions in connection with the market launch of generic drugs before the expiration of patent terms;
Developed and successfully implemented a strategy for protecting the original drug on behalf of a large Italian pharmaceutical conglomerate through litigation related to the registration and market launch of a generic drug;
Successfully defended the interests of a pharmaceutical conglomerate in a defamation case following a complaint to the antitrust service, related to sending letters to distributors of a generic drug manufacturer about patent rights infringement.
Developed and successfully implemented a strategy for protecting the original drug on behalf of a large Italian pharmaceutical conglomerate through litigation related to the registration and market launch of a generic drug;
Successfully defended the interests of a pharmaceutical conglomerate in a defamation case following a complaint to the antitrust service, related to sending letters to distributors of a generic drug manufacturer about patent rights infringement.
Проект
Retail and FMCG
Клиент
Описание
Representation of one of the world's largest furniture and home goods retail chains in a precedent-setting case challenging the Russian customs' decision to include franchise agreement royalty payments in the customs value of imported goods.
Representation of Turokovo LLC in the precedent-setting case No. SIP-735/2018, where the Presidium of the Intellectual Property Court upheld the applicant's position in the cassation appeal that Rospatent has no authority to unilaterally change the status of an unprotected element of a trademark when considering an objection to the granting of legal protection to the trademark.
Representation of Turokovo LLC in the precedent-setting case No. SIP-735/2018, where the Presidium of the Intellectual Property Court upheld the applicant's position in the cassation appeal that Rospatent has no authority to unilaterally change the status of an unprotected element of a trademark when considering an objection to the granting of legal protection to the trademark.