As the war in Ukraine stretches into its second year, the clock is ticking on a new area of concern for lawyers and their clients: the expiration of intellectual property rights and the defense of trademarks in Russia. 

Under Russian law, trademarks can be canceled if they are not “seriously used” for three years, compared with five years for most countries. Although the outbreak of war is considered a legitimate excuse for not exercising IP rights under most legal systems, in Russia the law is unsettled, lawyers said.