Russian marketplaces are undergoing a fundamental shift to a strictly regulated digital system, while IP protection on marketplaces is evolving into a more structured framework.

Current State: Marketplaces are immune against infringement claims

According to the recent practice, Russian courts mainly recognize marketplaces (e.g. Ozon, Wildberries, Yandex Market) as information intermediaries, which allows  them to avoid responsibility for IP infringements.

According to Art. 1253.1 of the  Civil Code, a marketplace shall not be liable if the following conditions are met:

1.It did not know and should not have known that the content was infringing;

2.Upon  receipt of the rights holder’s written claim, it took timely and due measures to cease the infringement (e.g. removed the infringing content or blocked the seller).

The law does not explicitly define what constitutes “timely and due” measures, so the court shall consider this in each particular case depending on the circumstances.

For example, in case No. А41-52523/2024, the court ordered the marketplace Wildberries to pay 2,000,000  Rubles (approximately 25,800 USD at current rates) to JSC "Nevskaya Cosmetica" for the infringement of its trademark "Ushastyi Nyan" (Ушастый нянь). The dispute arose when counterfeit 5-liter containers of laundry gel "Ushastyi Nyan" were discovered on the platform. The official manufacturer  never produced gel in containers of that size, so it was obvious the revealed products were fake. Upon  receipt of a claim from the trademark owner, Wildberries only partially removed the infringing listings. The remaining offers were deleted only eight months later and after the lawsuit was filed. The court decided that Wildberries failed to take "timely measures" in this case, so the marketplace was brought to liability.

However, the above case is rather an exception, and marketplaces typically manage to avoid responsibility since they are merely intermediaries. At the same time, some experts believe that marketplaces should be responsible for IP infringements due to their substantial operational role, in particular they handle logistics, fulfilment and payment processes, may earn commission from sales of infringing goods.

The existing dispute resolution system suggested by marketplaces is not quite effective for IP protection. Indeed, Wildberries and Ozon provide dispute resolution interfaces, e.g. so called Digital Arbitration introduced by Wildberries. However, this mechanism provides a rather formalistic approach without evaluating complex IP nuances. Furthermore, the lack of proactive filtering allows infringing sellers re-list the same counterfeit goods under new legal entities immediately after a block. Consequently, rights holders have to seek judicial intervention, while marketplaces stay aside.

With the coming amendments to the  law, Russian marketplaces will lose their "safe harbor" status as passive intermediaries and transform into fully accountable retail operators.

Turning Point: Transition of Intermediaries to Liable Market Players

Starting October 2026, Federal Law No. 289-FZ on the Platform Economy comes into force in Russia, which targets large digital platforms and marketplaces.

Marketplaces will no longer be considered as simple bulletin boards. They will be legally classified as Intermediate Digital Platforms. Besides, large platforms will be put on a state registry. Also, they will be legally required to verify sellers identity via the state registry of legal entities, which will help them to eliminate ghost sellers who usually offer counterfeits.

It is moving toward active monitoring where platforms are expected to detect infringing content before a complaint is filed. Major marketplaces will have to run mandatory authenticity checks for every new uploaded listing through the integrated state registries. In particular, ensure that all conformity certificates or declarations are valid and compliant and that the goods are duly registered with the national tracking system 'Chestny Znak' (Honest Sign). If a product requires labeling (e.g. for shoes, clothes, electronics) and lacks a valid code, the platform will block the listing. Marketplaces will be granted the right to block seller accounts immediately if counterfeiting activity is detected without the long notice periods that are now required.

Marketplaces become jointly liable along with the seller. Rights holders are granted the right to submit cease-and-desist letters directly to the marketplace if an IP infringement is revealed. If the marketplace fails to comply, it may become financially liable (up to 10 million rubles (around 127 000 USD). The new law forces marketplaces to act faster when a rights holder reports a violation and be more attentive to such reports.

For IP owners, it becomes much easier to clean the market. It may be possible to demand the removal of listings based on lack of mandatory documentation which the platform will be required to host. If a marketplace modifies a product description and that modification leads to an IP infringement or consumer deception, the marketplace becomes liable for the damages caused.

Furthermore, major e-commerce platforms will be directly integrated with Rospatent (the Russian Federal Service for Intellectual Property) databases by April 2026 to perform real-time automated checks. When a seller creates a product listing, the system will automatically check it against registered trademarks, patents and industrial designs. It is expected that such  approach should reduce circulation of counterfeits through rapid identification and blocking of the offers that infringe intellectual property rights. If a violation is detected, the listing will be flagged or blocked immediately.

Sellers will have to ensure in advance that they have all  rights or authorizations to trademarks and designs as the system will catch discrepancies.

The goal is to create a transparent digital market and significantly reduce the number of legal disputes between rights holders and platforms.

There is also a pending legal dispute between Hobby World v. Wildberries which could establish a significant precedent. After the courts of several instances refused to bring the marketplace to liability for selling counterfeits, Hobby World escalated the matter by filing a complaint with the Constitutional Court of Russia in early 2026. They are challenging the current legal interpretation that shields marketplaces from financial responsibility for the sale of fake goods by third parties. They claim that courts ignore how deeply platforms are involved in sales.

The decision of the Constitutional Court may considerably affect future court practice even before the new law comes into force.