KIEV, Oct. 21 – Ferrero Group, the world’s No. 4 confectionary producer, is in a fierce legal battle with a Russian company as it tries to protect the use of its trademark in Ukraine.

The case, involving Ferrero and Landrin of St. Petersburg, will be heard by the Supreme Economic Court on October 27 and will send a signal whether Ukraine can protect intellectual property.

“An unfavorable decision would have inevitable negative repercussions,” Francesco Paolo Fulci, the vice-president at Ferrero Group, said. “This would in fact mean that any local or foreign company could look at Ukraine as a land where famous brands can freely be misappropriated simply by parasitic copying.”