#04 April 2012

In focus – Trademarks

In a world full of huge variety for goods and services, consumers usually choose in line with their perception of brands. But prior to a brand’s “birth” there is the long and sophisticated work by people of marketing, finance, IP lawyers, etc. It is the whole circle from creating a trademark as an intellectual property asset, its operational use, value growth and defense from violations…

Expert Opinion

Trademark Registration in Ukraine: Provisional Refusals, their Avoidance and Overcoming

Oleg O. Milchenko

Provisional refusal is a decree of an examiner on the stage of qualifying examination, which contains conclusions why a certain trademark cannot be registered in accordance with conditions of granting legal protection to marks. The number of provisional refusals has increased in recent years. Such situation is caused by an increasing amount of registered trademarks, on the one hand and, on the other hand, this fact confirms that the attitude to the examination and construction of legislation clauses among examiners is moving toward international standards…

In Re

Trademarks Reproducing Names, Surnames and Portraits of Famous People

Oleksandr A. Aleksyeyenko, Yevgen O. Blok

Ukrainian intellectual property law, as well as intellectual property laws of many other countries, does not contain any absolute restrictions with regard to registration of surnames as trademarks. There are a lot of examples of trademarks bearing the surnames of their owners. Still, there have always been applicants willing to have registered trademarks reproducing the surnames of people who have already left or who are leaving their trace in the history...

Abuse of Prior Use

Olena O. Vardamatska

The decision to explore the practical application of the right of prior use of trademarks (hereinafter — prior use) in Ukraine was provoked by an expert conclusion of a patent attorney from the South of Ukraine. The expert in this area insisted that the initial holder of a trademark certificate is entitled to freely use the relevant trademark after the transfer of all its property rights to another person, such

use was justified by the initial holder’s prior use of this trademark...

Insure my Brand

Craig A. Bailey

One of the great problems for insurance companies is convincing clients to get covered for something that might happen, but is not guaranteed to. The client might get sick, might have an accident or his house might catch fire, but no-one knows for sure...

Hot Issue

Conversion of Debt Into Equity

Illya O. Tkachuk

It goes without saying that each legal system should provide effective mechanisms for conducting business, in particular, provisions relating to operation and management of companies. One such mechanism is the possibility to convert a company’s obligations into equity. This mechanism allows the company to issues shares to offset its due and payable obligations and, thus, to avoid transformation of such obligations into debt and to use available funds for other business purposes...

How To

Import of Encryption Products into Ukraine — What Importers Should Know

Tetiana G. Gryn

Starting with basics, cryptography allows conversion of readable information into a non-readable format. Cryptography uses techniques that allow converting data into readable format to a specific recipient using a key. Thus, cryptographic techniques allow users to create documents and exchange data in a secure format...

Argument

Russia’s Accession to the WTO: Impact on Ukraine

Dr. Viktor M. Dovhan

Russia will become a WTO member after 18 years of negotiations. By the autumn of 2011 Russia had received consent to join the WTO from all members of the organization except Georgia. However, in early November, Moscow and Tbilisi, through intermediary Switzerland, were able to agree on a bilateral agreement on WTO, and then signed it. On 10 November the final protocol on Russia’s accession to the WTO was adopted…

Merger Control in Ukraine. Strengths, Weaknesses and Perspectives

Nataliya V. Misnik

That is self-evident that competition is desirable, because it brings cost efficiency, low prices and prospect for innovation. Markets that are competitive tend to lead to a higher level of consumer welfare than markets that are not competitive…

Crux

Ready to Host Visitors?..

Alexander Weigelt

Almost everyone knows that Poland and Ukraine will host the UEFA EURO 2012 European Football Championship, with the first matches scheduled for June 2012. Preparations for the championship have already stimulated the construction, hospitality, and transport industries, not to mention banks, investors and law firms…

Iryna Vlasyuk

Ukraine cherishes high hopes for the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, particularly in the economic domain. Money has been invested not only in stadiums but in road construction. In the meantime, one of the most important questions is providing conditions for the safe stay of foreign tourists in Ukraine during the matches…

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