PRESS: VIMPELCOM HIT WITH COPYRIGHT VIOLATION LAWSUIT IN ARMENIA

Prime-Tass Business News Agency
September 26, 2007 Wednesday 12:17 PM EET

Armenian computer equipment and IT solution vendor Bi Line has sued
Russian mobile operator VimpelCom for copyright violation, business
daily Kommersant reported Wednesday.

VimpelCom’s brand Beeline sounds exactly the same as the Armenian
company’s name. But VimpelCom doesn’t use its Beeline brand in Armenia,
company spokesman Artyom Minayev said, Kommersant reported.

Bi Line did not name any specific cases of the use of the Beeline
brand in Armenia.

VimpelCom acquired full control of ArmenTel, the smaller of Armenia’s
two mobile operators, in April. The operator has since provided
service under the ArmenTel brand, Minayev told the newspaper.

An arbitration court is expected to consider the copyright case on
November 7, the daily reported.