Mariupol metal produced by Azovstal is the material used to build the Bridge in Genoa, the railroad network from the EU borders to the Far East, and the dam in Venice. Azovstal covers an area of 11 square kilometers. It is located on the shores of the Azov Sea and has its own port. Before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the plant had four production facilities: coke oven, blast furnace, converter and rolling mill.
In the fall of 1941, as the front line approached the city, many of the plant’s technological units were evacuated to the Urals. German troops captured Mariupol on October 8, 1941, and in September 1943, before retreating, they almost destroyed the plant. Key facilities, including coke oven batteries, blast furnaces, and open-hearth furnaces, were blown up. Production at the plant resumed in 1945, and it was actively developed and became one of the leaders in Europe in the manufacture of steel products – Azovstal’s metal was supplied to more than 90 countries. In 2006, Azovstal joined the Metinvest group of companies owned by Ukrainian businessman Rinat Akhmetov.
The construction of the steel plant began in 1930, and on August 12, 1933, blast furnace No. 1 produced the first pig iron. Thus, August 12, 1933 is considered Azovstal’s birthday and in 2023 the plant will celebrate its 90th anniversary. But in the history of the metallurgical giant, on February 24, 2022, it was mothballed for the first time. During the three months of the full-scale invasion, the Russian occupiers destroyed the plant almost completely with artillery shelling, missile attacks and multi-ton bombs.
Use of Azovstal brand without permission
Azovstal has become a symbol of the indomitable spirit of Ukrainian defenders, the plant has become known all over the world, and its name has become a full-fledged brand.
Already in 2022, a local private brewery in Noblesville, Indiana, began brewing and bottling AzovStal beer. The can features a trident and the symbols of the Azov Regiment. It is known that the proceeds from the sale were used to purchase prostheses for Ukrainian soldiers who were seriously injured during the fighting. All profits from the sale were donated to organizations providing humanitarian aid to Ukraine, including Caritas International.
In early 2023, it became known that a small state in Oceania, Niue, had issued a souvenir coin dedicated to the defenders of Mariupol. The reverse of the coin features an image created by Ukrainian artist Maksym Palenko back in mid-May 2022, when Azovstal’s defenders were surrounded at the plant in Mariupol. This is a warrior wearing metaphorical knightly armor, on which the artist depicted Azovstal, which has become a symbol of endurance. The inscription reads “Azovstal Warrior”. The obverse of the coin features the Niue coat of arms and the inscription Niue Island. The face value of the coin is $5, and its price ranges from $273 to $293. It weighs 2 ounces (about 62.2 g). The silver grade is 999. The year of issue is 2022. The coin was issued in a limited edition of 333 units.
And on the OLX classifieds website, you can buy postage stamps dedicated to the defense of the steel plant, which were printed in Liberia.
An important intellectual property question remains: did the owners of the legendary enterprise obtain permission to use the plant’s name to produce all these goods?
Rinat Akhmetov does not own the Azovstal brand
As it turned out, the owners of Metinvest Group, Rinat Akhmetov and Vadym Novynskyi, do not own the brand (trademark) for Azovstal.
The events of 2022 in Ukraine and the massive use of the Azovstal name due to the heroic defense of the plant by the Armed Forces of Ukraine forced the company to take legal steps “to protect the brand from potential commercial use” in accordance with the Law of Ukraine “On Protection of Rights to Marks for Goods and Services”. On August 15, 2022, Metinvest Holding filed two applications with the Ukrainian Intellectual Property Institute (formerly Ukrpatent and now UKRNOVTI) to register the AZOVSTAL and AZOVSTAL trademarks for goods in classes 01 and 06 and services in classes 35, 36, 39 and 42 of the Nice Classification, i.e., in the core business.
“One of the steps was to register, in addition to the graphic trademark, text trademarks in the relevant classes of Metinvest Group’s activities,” the company’s press service says.
The “graphic trademark” is the same Azovstal logo consisting of two letters “A” and “S” that has been used since Soviet times and abandoned by Metinvest (back in the late 2000s, Azovstal workers said that the plant had issued an order banning the use of the old logo). And the rights to it have indeed belonged to Azovstal since January 31, 1994. According to the UKRNOVI database, Azovstal’s old logo has registration number 3272. The last time the graphic mark was renewed in 2018 for 10 years. Metinvest’s press service calls it the “Azovstal graphic designation”. However, the open data of the Ukrainian National Intellectual Property Office does not indicate what the letters “A” and “S” on the logo stand for.
But despite the fact that the holding is the sole shareholder of the company, which became world famous in 2022, it has several competitors in the dispute over the brand. Since February 2006, the AZOVSTAL trademark has been owned by Oleg Bogatov, who was called the main cybersquatter of Ukraine in the mid-2000s. He also registered the azovstal.ua domain, which redirects to the Ukrrudprom website. Two months earlier, in June 2022, Bershad Lux, a company from Vinnytsia region, filed an application for the Azovstal trademark. It wants to produce alcoholic beverages under this name. The company’s address coincides with the location of the Bershad distillery, which was sold by the state in November 2020.
It is interesting that Metinvest Holding has a long history with Oleg Bogatov: Bogatov used to own the Metinvest trademark and the Metinvest.ua domain. As of now, the owner of this TM is Metinvest B.V. (Netherlands) listed in the UKRNOVI registry. In 2012, it was reported that Rinat Akhmetov’s SCM Group had bought several trademarks from this enterprising businessman. However, it seems that Azovstal was not included in the list. As of today, Oleg Bogatov has 30 valid Certificates of Ukraine for various trademarks, which, of course, he does not use and owns solely for the purpose of selling to real owners and service providers/producers of goods under such trademarks.
It’s better late than never
Why was Metinvest so late in settling the issue of registering trademark rights to the Azovstal name, which has existed for almost 90 years? Prior to the full-scale Russian invasion, Azovstal operated exclusively as a rolled metal producer and worked in its niche area, where business was aimed at the end consumer.
Now, “The war and everything that happened at Azovstal, no matter how brutal and audacious it may sound in the context of the tragedy, have scaled the brand and made it a symbol of legend,” says Viktor Ishkov, partner at BBDO Worldwide Ukraine, “The popularity and acquired associations have moved the brand from a niche b2b to a general cultural field of almost global scale”.
Great symbols always become part of the culture, says Viktor Ishkov. And where this symbol is not protected by rights, the culture will start exploiting and replicating it, including appropriating it for business purposes.
In addition, Metinvest has more practical motives to resolve the situation with the registration of the respective trademarks. The company’s management has repeatedly spoken about its plans to restore Azovstal after the de-occupation of Mariupol. “The Group considers it necessary to preserve the name of the plant, whose defense has become world-famous, for the descendants and the cultural code of Ukrainians. Accordingly, products under the Azovstal brand will be manufactured at the restored Azovstal,” Metinvest summarized.
It is not yet known how the issue of TM registration will be resolved, given that there are several applicants (owners) for the name, but it is likely that the owners of the steel plant (applicants) and the trademark owner (Oleg Bogatov) will most likely have to reach an agreement. This is because, if a common solution is not found amicably, lengthy litigation is not out of the question. In this case, the name “AZOVSTAL IRON & STEEL WORKS” will continue to be used by producers of souvenirs and consumer goods without observing patent and copyright rights.
It is also possible that Metinvest Group will obtain a certificate of registration for the AZOVSTAL trademark in other classes of the Nice Classification. And it will not claim the .UA domain name, which will remain with Oleg Bogatov.
A trademark can be used without registration. For example, when it coincides with a company’s business name – now this is legally called a “commercial name,” and in this case, a company or enterprise has the rights to a commercial name that does not require state registration for protection.
But we would like to emphasize once again and draw your attention to the fact that the existence of the Certificate of Ukraine for a trademark allows you to monetize it by selling goods and services under this TM in a certain territory. In addition, the Certificate gives you the right to register a domain name in the UA zone and the right to enter into various agreements on the disposal of intellectual property rights. If you are planning to register your own TM, we are happy to offer you not only advice on this matter, but also provide a comprehensive TM registration service (from filing an application to obtaining the Certificate).
