Russian Poachers Are Targeting Brands Like Armani and Amazon (1)

From Giorgio Armani and Calvin Klein to Amazon.com and Sheraton, some of the world’s best-known brands are falling prey to trademark poachers in Russia, a risk that’s becoming more acute as the country’s economic isolation deepens.

Illustration: Hitesh Sonar for Bloomberg Businessweek

More than 300 foreign companies have found their trademarks under legal threat in Russia since the start of 2024, according to a Bloomberg Businessweek analysis of court documents. Several, including Victoria’s Secret, Ericsson, Inditex and Nokia, have already lost rights to some of their trademarks after challengers succeeded with termination claims.

The cancellation bids began pouring in ahead of the third anniversary of Russia’s February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, ...