Russian court orders Jizzakh battery plant to pay nearly $2.8 million in compensation

The Jizzakh battery factory has been ordered to pay a fine of nearly $2.8 million for violating intellectual property rights in Russia, Kommersant reported.

The factory has been exporting batteries under the KUCH brand to Russia for several years. Crimean businessman Artem Paliychuk appealed to the court, alleging that “Jizzakh Battery Plant” JSC and “ARS Motors” LLC operating in Rostov are illegally using the KUCH trademark belonging to him, and demanded compensation of 257.3 million rubles ($2.84 million) from the factory in Jizzakh.

Jizzakh battery plant supplied its products to “KAMAZ” JSC in Tatarstan, a manufacturer of heavy trucks under the KUCH trademark. This trade is also included in the customs data on transactions carried out from 2019 to 2022.

On April 3, 2023, this case was considered in the Crimean Arbitration Court, and a decision was made to satisfy the plaintiff's claim. The factory in Uzbekistan was dissatisfied with the decision of the first instance court and filed an appeal to the higher instance court. The company indicated that it is registered in Uzbekistan and is not subject to Russian jurisdiction. But these requirements were not satisfied by the Crimean Arbitration Court. The court noted that the offense was committed on the territory of Russia and upheld the decision to recover 257.3 million rubles from the Jizzakh battery plant.

About the Jizzakh battery plant

“Jizzakh Battery Plant” JSC was established in 2003 and has a production capacity of 800,000 batteries per year.

It is stated on the company's official website that the batteries produced are sold under the “JAZ Battery” trademark. The enterprise exports its products to Russia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan.

The plant has a dominant position in the battery market in Uzbekistan. In June 2018, a presidential decree was signed to privatize 51.78% of the state’s share in the enterprise, but the decision was canceled in July 2021. The Chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions of Uzbekistan, Kudratulla Rafikov, chairs the supervisory board of the joint-stock company.

For information, the plant made a net profit of 8.1 billion soums in 2022. This is 4 times less than the fine imposed by the Russian Arbitration Court.