Russian state news agency applies to trademark name and logo of Echo of Moscow radio station, which closed under government pressure last year

The Russian state media group Rossiya Segodnya (“Russia Today,” not to be confused with the network RT) has applied to trademark the brand Echo of Moscow, according to the state news agency TASS.

Russia’s patent and trademark agency, Rospatent, shows that the application was submitted on August 2. Both the name and logo that Rossiya Segodnya is applying for are identical to the ones previously used by the independent radio station that was dissolved shortly after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Alexey Venediktov, the former editor-in-chief of the shuttered radio station, told the Telegram channel Sota that the Echo of Moscow brand “belongs to the Echo of Moscow closed joint-stock company, which exists, and 35 percent of which is controlled by minority shareholders.” Therefore, according to Sota, Rossiya Segodnya cannot trademark the brand under Russian law.