Molot filed the claim after it had been charged 380 million roubles in 2000 by the patent holders. Being reluctant to pay, and motivated to avoid similar charges in the future, Molot resolved to contest Izhmash’s right to the patent in the first place. However, on Tuesday, the Supreme Patent Chamber found the arguments put forward by Molot insufficient and rejected its claim.
Each year, millions of the various Kalashnikov assault rifles are produced throughout the world. Before 1997, neither Mikhail Kalashnikov, the inventor of the famous gun, nor his employer Izhmash Holding received any royalties for the invention.
Izhmash later obtained the patent, and yet Molot, which has been making Kalashnikov-designed rifles for many years, still refused to pay royalties to Izhmash. (It is noteworthy that the controlling share in Molot belongs to private firms, not to the state, although the Russian Conventional Weapons Agency has long since been trying to regain control over the plant.)
Molot representatives gave two reasons for contesting the patent. Firstly, they said the Kalashnikov assault rifle had been produced on the basis of the disputed design and solutions in Vyatskiye Polyany for over twenty years. Secondly, Molot officials were very much surprised to learn that the invoice had been issued not by Mr. Kalashnikov or Izhmash, but by the law firm Ruspa AG, registered in the Swiss canton of Schaffhausen.
In 1997, the Swiss firm Ruspa AG and Russian rifle-manufacturer Izhmash Holding entered into a licence agreement for the AKS-74 patent. According to Gazeta.Ru sources, the licence agreement entitled the Swiss firm to certain payments from producers of Kalashnikov assault rifles. Moreover, Ruspa’s executives are reportedly on friendly terms with the director general of Izhmash Holding Vladimir Grodetskiy, and the son of the prominent inventor, Viktor Kalashnikov.
Back in 1997, it was namely Ruspa AG that assisted the Holding in obtaining the Eurasian patent (valid in 9 CIS states). Also, the gun was officially registered as an invention in Switzerland.
As of today, 19 states are licensed to produce Kalashnikovs. China, Slovenia and Turkey pay royalties to Izhmash. It is quite likely that in the near future Izhmash will succeed in making Bulgaria and Egypt pay royalties too: at present, the Holdings’ lawyers are preparing the corresponding statements of claim.
Molot finally resigned itself to the fact that its attempt to outmaneuver the Swiss lawyers was futile. A high-placed source in Molot told Gazeta.Ru that earlier Molot had wanted to withdraw its claim, but Izhmash insisted on bringing the dispute to a conclusion. Evidently, Izhmash hoped to close the issue once and for all and to prevent similar claims in the future.
29 МАЯ 14:57
