Michael Weller and his Russian partner Valery Zverev, head of Interios company, are accused of involvement in the illegal supply and installation of raised floors in Moscow apartments.
"Prosecutors say that raised floors contain a detail which was patented by [two] Russian nationals in 2004; therefore, their use in Russia is illegal," the spokesman said.
Weller and Zverev are accused of deliberately violating patent rights, and may face up to five years in prison. But the defendants deny all charges, and consider them ridiculous.
Moscow's Presnensky Court earlier gave Zverev a two-year suspended term and fined Weller 400,000 rubles ($15,000), but their lawyers appealed against the sentence.
A higher court quashed the verdict and sent the case back for a retrial.
