SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH AND EXAMINATION

The Sociological Examination Laboratory of the Institute of Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences specializes in the intellectual property protection when handling cases in Rospatent, the Court of Intellectual Property Rights, the Federal Antimonopoly Service, arbitration courts and in regular courts.

Our experience includes more than 300 cases of completed examinations. Our laboratory personnel is involved in the development and examination of regulatory legal acts in the scientific, technical and innovation activities, as well as in intellectual property protection. The techniques and results of research and expert activities of the Sociological Examination Laboratory of the Institute of Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences are recognized as valid and reliable by all public authorities. Here you can find some Case Examples of our sociological research.

Rospatent, the Court of Intellectual Property Rights and other authorities base themselves upon protection of consumer rights and interests when considering applications and objections. For this reason, the results of sociological research offer a strong body of evidence in defending their position. The results of the sociological research are used as proof in proceedings and lawsuits relating to the following: - protection of trademarks and other intellectual property items against unfair competition; - illegal use of the means of identification (trademark, packaging, etc.); - web domain name disputes; - registration of a trademark or its cancellation for a confusingly similar item; - recognition of a well-known trademark status; - examination of an advertisement for compliance with the legislation; and assessment of losses of copyright owners and/or damage to a company’s goodwill to name a few. The Sociological Examination Laboratory is organizing and carrying out sociological research. On our website, you can order a sociological study and examination of trademarks. We carry out an examination for well-known status, for the confusing similarity to another trademark, for the likeness of a distinctiveness, for compliance with public interests, moral standards and legal requirements and other information; you can learn more on the following pages: “Free Services” and “Chargeable Services”.

The history of the Institute of Sociology dates back to year 1967, when the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Soviet Union Communist Party (CPSU) adopted a signed by Leonid Brezhnev decree titled "On Founding the Institute for Specific Social Research of the USSR Academy of Sciences”. The Institute was founded in 1968 by transforming the Department of Specific Sociological Research of the Institute of Philosophy of the USSR Academy of Sciences into an Institute for Specific Social Research of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Since 1985, the Centre for Public Opinion Studies was part of this Institute. In 1988, by a joint resolution of the CPSU Central Committee and the Presidium of the USSR Academy of Sciences, the Institute for Specific Social Research was transformed into the Institute of Sociology of the USSR Academy of Sciences with the objective of studying "fundamental problems of the Soviet ‘society’". By special Decree No.228 of the President of Russia dated November 21, 1991, Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) was declared supreme scientific institution of the Russian Federation. In the year 2005, the Institute of Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences was merged with the Institute of Comprehensive Social Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Comparative Political Science of the Russian Academy of Sciences into a scientific organization of the RAS, i.e. the Institute of Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences to concentrate and consolidate the scientific potential in order to address the fundamental problems of the social sciences. According to the Federal Act of the Russian Federation "On the Russian Academy of Sciences..." dated September 27, 2013, the objective of the RAS activity is to offer expert scientific support to the state bodies and organizations, whereas the top priority tasks include scientific and advisory services to them and provision of the expert evaluation functions. Nowadays, the Institute is a biggest Russian sociological organization (among the staff of the Institute are an RAS Academician, an RAS Correspondent, more than 60 Doctors of Sciences and over 100 Doctors of Philosophy). As the leading sociological institution in the country, for many years the Institute has been engaged in the following areas: theory, history and methodology; methods and techniques of sociological research; studies of social structure; sociology of labour and organizations; sociology of towns and villages; research in the area of social forecasting and social planning of social and political life; sociology of individuals, mass communications and public opinion; social demography, sociological analysis of regional businesses and regional elites; challenges of civil society development; protesting activities; environmental movements; issues of social cohesion, and of social, political and inter-ethnic tolerance and strife. We had established scientific relations with sociologists and demographers from other countries such as France, Germany, the United States and Finland. The Sociological Examination Laboratory was set up as a scientific unit of the Federal State-funded Scientific Institution of the Institute of Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. See more about our scientific activities on the following pages: “Publications” and “Other Lines of Activities”.