According to press reports in Russia, a Moscow Arbitration Court has rejected a suit filed by ZAO Soyuzplodimport (SPI Group) to annul the Pertsovka vodka trademark.

The state-owned company, Soyuzplodoimport, engaged in a battle with SPI over ownership of Russian vodka brands, said in a statement that the Pertsovka trademark was registered by the Soviet patent agency in 1969 to the state-owned trading company Soyuzplodoimport.

Although in 1997-1998, some trademarks were transferred to SPI, in 2001 Russia restored state control to 17 trademarks. The state-owned Soyuzplodoimport reiterated that at moment the Pertsovka trademark remains a state-owned brand.