In August 2026, Rospatent revoked the trademark rights for 'Balerina Kapuchino' held by Russian entrepreneur Sergey Bocharov. The decision followed a challenge from the Italian company Officina Comunicazione, which argued that the character was a direct copy of its own intellectual property.
The dispute centered on an AI-generated image of a ballerina with a cappuccino cup for a head. Rospatent determined that the Russian trademark was a transliteration of the Italian firm's 'Ballerina Cappuccina' character, which debuted on TikTok in early 2025.
Officina Comunicazione successfully proved its prior rights by presenting documents for a design patent and copyright registration filed in China on June 26, 2025. Bocharov had registered his trademark in Russia on October 28, 2025, with a priority date of August 1, 2025.
The Italian company asserts that the character is an original work of art created by designer Andrea Marchesi. Legal experts suggest this ruling could set a precedent for future disputes involving AI-generated characters and internet memes in the Russian market.
