The European Union’s 20th sanctions package against Russia entered into force on 24 April 2026. The new package emphasizes the protection of EU companies’ intellectual property rights (IP rights) against Russian countermeasures. It introduces new protective measures for EU operators, including those relating to unauthorized use of IP rights in Russia.
Russian countermeasures and the new sanctions package
In response to the EU sanctions imposed on Russia, legislation has been enacted in Russia that, in certain circumstances, allows local operators to use the IP rights of companies from “unfriendly countries” without the rights holder’s consent. This has naturally caused concern and uncertainty among European rights holders, even though the IP rights system in Russia otherwise continues to function largely as before.
The new sanctions package seeks to address this development by strengthening the protection of EU companies’ intellectual property rights in situations where Russia applies countermeasures against foreign rights holders, such as:
- seizure of intellectual property rights
- compulsory licensing, and
- decisions by Russian courts aimed at the rights of EU companies based on the countermeasures.
New protective measures
The package introduces new legal measures for EU operators, specifically allowing them to seek anti-suit injunctions and damages for infringements of intellectual property rights or coercive measures carried out by Russia or Russian entities.
The package also imposes a transaction ban on Russian companies that have used EU companies’ IP rights without consent. In addition, a new reporting obligation has been introduced, requiring EU companies to notify national authorities if their IP rights are used in Russia without their consent.
The new sanctions provisions are particularly relevant in situations where EU operators’ IP rights are exploited in Russia without the rights holder’s authorization, or where Russian entities benefit at the expense of EU operators from measures that are contrary to international law.
It remains to be seen how broadly these new protective measures will be applied in practice and how Russia will respond.