FAS INITIATED A CASE IN RELATION TO THE MICRO-CREDIT ORGANIZATION "‎GOSZAYM"‎

This is the second case on violation of antimonopoly legislation in relation to the company within a year

The Authority received a letter from the Bank of Russia on potential presence of signs of violation of the antimonopoly legislation by the MKK GostevoyZaym LLC. The company used letter combination "‎gov"‎ in abbreviated brand name, and the word "‎guest "‎ in full name.

According to the Authority, the use of such letter combination can be aimed at creating an association among potential clients not with the word "‎guest"‎, but with the word "‎government"‎. A common use abbreviation of the word "‎government"‎‎ is the letter combination "‎gov"‎.

Besides, the name "‎GostevoyZaym"‎ could cause a strong association among consumers with special significant activities of organization in government interest and contribute to getting unjustified advantages over competitors.

FAS Russia will consider actions of micro-credit company regarding violation of antimonopoly legislation. If found guilty, the company will face with liability
in accordance with the Law on Protection of Competition.

Earlier in July 2023, the company received a complaint from MKK Invest-EN LLC. In 2021, Goszaym registered and transferred to its subsidiary the trademark "‎Zaymograd"‎, which had been used by their competitor since 2014.

The Authority found that registration and use of a trademark that is confusingly similar to the commercial designation of another company may influence to consumer’s choice and form an erroneous opinion about the financial service provider.

Such actions have signs of violation the Law on Protection of Competition.**

FAS Russia initiated an antimonopoly case in relation to MKK Goszaym LLC. Currently, in accordance with the established procedure, the case is under consideration of the Joint Commission of the FAS Russia and the Bank of Russia.

Reference:

* Article 14.4 of the Law on Protection of Competition

** Part 3 of the Article 40 of the Law on Protection of Competition