The Washington Post Quotes Josh Gerben Regarding Russia’s Potential Patent Theft

A Russian decree points to the possibility that the country will allow patent theft from anyone affiliated with countries that are “unfriendly” to Russia.

The Washington Post and Josh Gerben discussed the potential effects the patent decree could have on the way Russia and the rest of the world interacts in the future.

The patent decree and any further lifting of intellectual property protections could affect Western investment in Russia well beyond any de-escalation of the war in Ukraine, said Josh Gerben.

“It’s just another example of how [Putin] has forever changed the relationship that Russia will have with the world,” Gerben said.

Gerben said a similar decree on trademarks would pave the way for Russian companies to exploit American brand names that have halted their business in Russia. He gave a hypothetical involving McDonald’s, one of the latest global giants to suspend operation in Russia under public pressure.

Without trademark protections, Russia could “take those McDonald’s that got shut down and … just let local operators operate the restaurants and call them McDonald’s,” Gerben said.

Source: Knowles, Hannah and Pozen, Zina. https://www.washingtonpost.com. “Russia says its businesses can steal patents from anyone in ‘unfriendly’ countries.” 09 March 2022.