Court Rejects Cartier's Bid to Block Sunlight's Bracelets
The company also requested the recovery of 20 million rubles for infringement of exclusive design rights and an additional 5 million for trademark rights infringement.
Consensus
- The Ninth Arbitration Appellate Court refused to consider Richemont's appeal against a lower court's decision regarding Sunlight's jewelry.
- The dispute concerns the design of the Cartier Love bracelet, particularly its screw and screwdriver clasp.
- Richemont failed to provide properly authenticated documents, including extracts from the Swiss commercial register without apostilles or consular legalization.
- Richemont did not prove that rights to the design passed from Cartier International AG to Richemont International SA after corporate reorganization.
- The court did not evaluate whether Sunlight's products copied Cartier's design or infringed on intellectual property rights.
- Sunlight has been selling bracelets produced by the Moscow Chain Factory, which do not feature the screw clasp.
- The case has been ongoing since 2021.
- Cartier exited the Russian market after the start of military operations in Ukraine in 2022.
Points of divergence
- Richemont sought 25 million rubles in compensation, and the case involved claims over multiple collections including Cactus, Juste Un Clou, and Panthère, not only Love. — fontanka
- In 2022, courts refused to issue interim measures to block sales of disputed items before the trial concluded. — fontanka
- An art expert examination was conducted in 2023, but the court did not reach an evaluation of the design due to procedural issues. — fontanka
- The appellate court's decision was issued in late July 2026. — kommersant
- The Moscow Chain Factory's bracelets sold by Sunlight lack the screw clasp, which is a distinctive feature of Cartier Love. — vedomosti
- Maxim Ali, partner at Comply, stated that mere similarity of individual elements is insufficient to prove systematic copying of a product line. — vedomosti
Coverage (3 sources)
- Cartier could not prevent Sunlight from copying its design — Ведомости
- 25 million and the famous bracelet: why Cartier again failed to defeat Sunlight in court — Фонтанка
- Cartier could not prevent Sunlight from using its design — Коммерсантъ