On June 10, the Coordination Center for TLD .RU/.РФ, in partnership with IP CLUB, held the ninth meeting of its Legal Committee. Participants explored embedding metadata markers in software and digital content to track unauthorized copying, as well as using parsing-derived evidence and sociological survey data as evidence in legal cases. The expanded session included committee members as well as invited experts, and was moderated by Marina Rozhkova, Chair of the Legal Committee and President of IP CLUB.
Maxim Labzin, Partner and Head of Intellectual Property Practice at INTELLECT law firm, delivered a report, ‘Tagging software and databases with unique markers to detect unauthorized copying.’ The participants considered the most common cases where unique identifiers included in databases and software clearly indicated copyright infringement.
Antonina Shishanova, an IP, IT and media lawyer, counsel at CLS law firm, reported on using data collected through parsing as evidence in courts. The key takeaway from her report was that courts increasingly accept parsing-derived evidence – but only if it was legally obtained, without violating copyright or breaking privacy laws.
Yekaterina Poponina, patent attorney for trademarks and industrial designs, in her report outlined key disputes in her field where survey findings can be used as evidence (proving that a mark is inherently distinctive, establishing confusion between competing marks, or challenging existing trademark registrations). She also highlighted common pitfalls in designing sociological surveys (such as errors in target audience selection, geographic scope, leading questions, and flawed phrasing), and provided recommendations for ensuring high-quality survey methodology.
