Legal mechanisms for formation and protection of the corporate image

Introduction: recognized by economists and researchers in other social sciences, the value of the corporate image (or image of a business proprietor) is almost completely negated by jurists. The necessity to protect the corporate image, which has recently appeared in practice, entails the need to study this concept based on the existing legislation. Purpose: based on interdisciplinary research, to reveal the peculiarities of the Russian legal mechanisms for creation and protection of the corporate image. Methods: the methodological framework of the research is based on a set of general scientific and specific scientific methods: dialectical, comparative legal, historical, formal-legal and linguistic ones. Results: the author has revealed some specific features of the Russian system of measures for creation and protection of the corporate image, which are not only found in traditional institutions of the intellectual property right but also reflected in public legislation. Conclusions: the term "image" is increasingly used by the legislators and courts to refer to intangible assets of companies and sole proprietors, which shows the necessity to recognize it as an independent legal concept. In modern conditions, for creation and protection of an image (including elements of reputation, corporate identity) it is possible to use different procedures for forming brand identity (primarily trade names, trademarks, commercial symbols), institutions of intellectual property, and also measures to maintain market competition based on competition law.