Expertise/Intellectual Property

Service

Transactions and Disputes over Accounts and Channels

Accounts, channels and pages on platforms are bought and transferred under agreements that take account of the platform's rules. Disputes concern control of and access to an account, as well as third-party pages using the company's name and materials.

We are most often instructed by:

  • Buyers and sellers of accounts and channels
  • Companies that have lost access to their account or channel
  • Companies in whose name someone else is running a page
  • Companies that have received letters of claim or complaints about their pages

The information on this website is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute a public offer.

What the Service Includes

Timing and Fees
–timing on request
from ₽fee on request

Timing and fees are indicative and are confirmed when the engagement is agreed.

01 / Overview
The company's account

In a transaction or dispute concerning an account, it is important to determine what exactly the parties are agreeing on: control of a channel, running a page, use of materials or other actions. A change of administrator, a transfer of control of a channel and a transfer of a personal user account may be governed differently and depend on how the service works, the platform's rules and the applicable law. An agreement between the parties does not in itself mean that the platform is obliged to change access or keep the page running.

Before a channel is acquired, what matters is its history, the transferring party's authority, the materials posted and existing obligations and, depending on the nature of the page, the requirements of legislation on information and on advertising. If the arrangements affect other business assets, the documents are prepared with the overall scope of the transaction in mind, as in the purchase or sale of a brand.

02 / Outcome
Service Outcome
  • Opinion on the situationA written analysis of the company's position, the risks associated with the terms of the transaction or the claims, and possible courses of action.
  • Recommended course of actionA sequence of steps, indicating the circumstances that may change it.
  • Prepared documentsContracts, agreements, letters of claim, requests to the platform and procedural documents.
  • Participation in negotiations and hearingsPresenting the company's position in correspondence, at meetings and at court hearings.
  • Account management procedureContract terms and internal documents on authority and on the steps to take when the persons responsible change.

The outcome of the service is the work performed within the scope agreed with the client.

03 / Preparation
What the position is built on

  1. Materials

    The position is built on the documents and the circumstances of the case; the following points are relevant.

    • Account or channelThe link, the platform and the name used.
    • Parties' documentsContracts, briefs, invoices and payment documents relating to the creation, running or proposed transfer of the account.
    • Materials and correspondenceSaved posts, emails and messages about control and payment.

  2. Assessment

    On the basis of the materials, the strengths and weaknesses of the position, the risks and the possible courses of action are identified.

  3. Plan

    For the chosen option, a plan is drawn up: the sequence of steps, timing and scope of work.

04 / Projects
Selected Projects
01 / 04

Acting for the buyer

Intellectual property rights in the acquisition of an equipment and digital solutions manufacturer

Challenge

The buyer was acquiring shares in a foreign company that owned a Russian manufacturer of industrial equipment and digital solutions for equipment management and monitoring, as well as shares in a Russian legal entity. The acquisition of the foreign company was governed by English law.

What was done

The comprehensive legal due diligence of the Russian business covered intellectual property rights, as well as the corporate history, business operations, contractual relationships and other matters material to the transaction. The foreign ownership structure, title to the shares being acquired and the legal aspects of the buyer's entry into the existing corporate structure were analysed separately.

The structure and documents of the transaction were agreed. The findings on the Russian and foreign parts of the structure were reflected in the terms of the transaction and the arrangements for its closing.

Preparing for franchising

Consolidation of rights to a group's accounts, websites and materials before franchising

Challenge

A group of companies was engaged in extensive marketing, but its accounts, websites and rights to the materials created were registered in the names of different entities within the group. To set up franchises later, the rights had to be brought together in the group's management company.

What was done

It was established which group entity held each asset, and the transfer of rights to the management company was documented. The rights to the group's marketing assets were put in order and consolidated in the hands of a single entity.

Trademark dispute

Non-use dispute over a trademark that blocked registration of the client's mark

Challenge

The client needed to register a trademark to brand the services of a travel agency. Registration was blocked by another company's mark: that company used it for a cosmetics brand, but the protection of the mark also extended to a number of Nice classes the client needed.

What was done

Claims for early termination of the legal protection of the mark for non-use were prepared in respect of those classes. The claims were put to the rights holder at the pre-trial stage, and the dispute was settled without going to court.

Purchase of an interest

Review of an app developer's intellectual property rights

Challenge

The buyer was acquiring an interest in a company developing a healthy lifestyle app with a weekly audience of more than 1.5 million users worldwide. Comprehensive legal due diligence of the business being acquired was a key part of the engagement.

What was done

The company's intellectual property rights were analysed, as well as its corporate history, business operations and employment relationships. The due diligence findings were taken into account in structuring the transaction and preparing the contractual documentation.

05 / Questions
Frequently Asked Questions

First, the arrangements for creating and running the account, instructions, payment documents and correspondence are examined. On that basis, the possible options for negotiations, a request to the platform and other action are assessed.

Information on the page and its posts is preserved. The nature of the use of the company's name and materials, the grounds for a request to the platform and for negotiations with the person running the page, and possible claims against that person are then assessed.

Documents and requests to the platform concerning access are prepared; where there are signs of unlawful acts, the grounds for contacting law enforcement authorities are assessed.

Transferring control of a channel does not in itself mean transferring the rights to the materials posted on it. It is established who owns the relevant rights and on what terms the materials may be used after the transaction. Where necessary, these terms are documented separately.

An hourly rate, a fixed fee or a combined model is used; in some cases part of the fee depends on the outcome achieved. The fee is determined by the time actually spent, the complexity of the matter and the overall timeframe of the project, and is agreed before work begins.

Key Contacts
Deni Murdalov Deni Murdalov Partner, PhD (Law), LL.M. Anna Tarlakovskaya Anna Tarlakovskaya Partner Andrey Nemov Andrey Nemov Partner

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Other Services in This Practice
Trademarks Protection and Disputes Brand Transactions Licence Agreements Franchising Assignment of Exclusive Rights Computer Programs and Databases Domain Name Disputes Madrid System Trade Secrets and Know-How Inventions Utility Models Industrial Designs Documents and Consultations

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