We are talking about the names S-AWC and Xpander, TASS reports. Applications for registration were submitted by the Japanese corporation in April 2024, but they received approval from the Federal Service for Intellectual Property only in March 2025.
Rights to the names S-AWC and Xpander will be valid in Russia until April 4, 2035.
According to information from the Rospatent database, both marks are assigned to class 12 of the International Classification of Goods and Services (ICGS). This class covers vehicles themselves, as well as various spare parts and accessories.
Xpander is a compact van from the Japanese company Mitsubishi Motors, and S-AWC is a proprietary all-wheel drive system.
In April 2022, Mitsubishi Motors suspended operations at its plant in Kaluga.
It is noteworthy that, as the head of Rospatent Yuri Zubov previously explained, registration and renewal of trademarks by foreign companies in Russia is a common practice. It is aimed primarily at protecting the brand from counterfeit products: the presence of a registered mark allows the copyright holder to prevent the sale of goods under its brand without official permission.
Earlier, Russians were told about serious problems with their cars in the spring.
