The Federal Antimonopoly Service imposed a 100,000-RUR fine on OOO Severnaya Kazna Insurance Company for unfair competition practices on the car insurance market on August 14, 2012, the agency reports.

Now on January 26, 2012, the FAS committee declared that the defendant’s illegitimate use of the ‘50/50’ sign that was virtually indistinguishable from trademarks 368033 and 372059 (which belong to AlfaStrakhovaniye) should be seen as unfair competition. The committee came to this conclusion because such actions violate Article 14 (part 1, paragraph 4) of the Federal Competition Protection Act.

According to Article 14.33 (part 2) of the Russian Federation Administrative Offense Code, unfair competition (the launch of a product accompanied by the illegitimate use of someone’s intellectual property or equivalent means of making a product, work, or a service unique) results in an imposition of an administrative fine on legal entities (ranging between 1% and 15% of the revenues the offender has made from selling the product, work, or service, but no less than 100,000 RUR).

Under Article 14 (part 1, paragraph 4) of the Federal Competition Protection Act 135-FZ, it is illegal to engage in unfair competition through selling, exchanging, or otherwise introducing a product with the illegitimate use of someone’s intellectual property or equivalent means of making a legal entity, a product, work, or a service unique.