Legal Assistance in the Field of Intellectual Property
Prompt and professional resolution of your legal matters. Protection of intellectual property rights. Intellectual property advocate in Kyiv.
Protection of Intellectual Property Rights
Intellectual property is crucial for companies, entrepreneurs, and individuals, as it provides a competitive advantage, promotes innovation, and protects unique ideas. Therefore, protecting our clients’ intellectual property rights is essential to the sustainable development of their businesses and the economy as a whole.
The Constitution of Ukraine guarantees every citizen freedom of artistic, scientific, and technical creativity. As an independent state, Ukraine consistently develops its own mechanisms to protect intellectual property rights, copyright, and moral and material interests arising from various forms of intellectual activity.
Intellectual property means legally protected rights arising from intellectual activity in the industrial, scientific, literary, and artistic fields. It is a kind of shield for the creative things you produce with your mind, such as inventions, art, music, and even business ideas.
Intellectual property means rights to the results of a person’s intellectual activity in scientific, artistic, industrial, and other fields. These rights are objects of civil-law relations in terms of every person’s right to own, use, and dispose of the results of their intellectual and creative activity. Although such results are intangible benefits, they remain with their creators and may be used by other persons only with their consent, except in cases defined by law. However, in the modern world, the fruits of intellectual property may often be used unlawfully and free of charge without the owner’s knowledge. Therefore, depending on the type of intellectual property, different requirements apply to its protection.
Traditionally, intellectual property is divided into two categories: “copyright and related rights” and “patent law” / “industrial property law.” The results of human creative activity are objects of intellectual property in both categories, a common essential feature.
Copyright
Copyright is a form of intellectual property that protects original works of authorship. These include literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works such as books, plays, music, song lyrics, paintings, sculptures, video games, films, sound recordings, and academic works. Special attention should also be given to software, including computer programs, and databases.
The institution of related rights regulates relations connected with the creation and use of the results of creative activity, such as performers’ activities, phonograms, videograms, and similar objects.
Patent Law
Patent law covers the protection of inventions, such as a product, process, or device in all fields of technology, through patents; the protection of certain commercial interests through trademark and trade-name legislation; and the protection of industrial designs.
The term “industrial property” may also refer to movable and immovable property used in industrial production. However, industrial property is primarily intellectual property and therefore includes creations of the human intellect, such as inventions, industrial designs, trademarks, and similar objects.
In addition to traditional objects protected by copyright, related rights, and industrial property rights, many other results of intellectual activity are also protected by law, including plant varieties, topographies of integrated circuits, trade secrets, manufacturing secrets, and know-how.
According to the Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) of 1967, intellectual property includes rights relating to:
- literary, artistic, and scientific works;
- performances of performing artists, phonograms, and radio and television broadcasts;
- inventions in all fields of human activity;
- scientific discoveries;
- industrial designs, trademarks, service marks, trade names, and commercial designations;
- protection against unfair competition;
- all other rights resulting from intellectual activity in the industrial, scientific, literary, and artistic fields.
Modern Ukrainian legislation protects authors and their intellectual property; however, this requires a document confirming such rights. The Advocate Bureau of Olena Busol will help you understand what intellectual property is, how to register it, and, most importantly, how to protect your intellectual property.
Objects of Intellectual Property Rights Can Be Divided into Four Groups
The first group — copyright and related rights — includes literary and artistic works, computer programs, data compilations/databases, performances, phonograms, video recordings, and broadcasts/programs of broadcasting organizations.
The second group consists of industrial property objects: inventions, utility models, industrial designs, layouts/topographies of integrated circuits, and rationalization proposals.
The third group includes plant varieties and animal breeds, which, according to their legal regime, are equated with industrial property objects. They are the results of creative activity and, if they meet the requirements of legislation, are considered objects of intellectual property.
The fourth group includes commercial/trade names, trademarks/marks for goods and services, geographical indications, and trade secrets. Strictly speaking, these objects are not the direct result of creative activity, but in the legal system they are also equated with objects of industrial property.
As for the exclusive right to an object of intellectual property such as a scientific discovery, no such exclusive right exists. A scientific discovery is considered the heritage of all humanity and may therefore be recognized as an object of intellectual property rights only conditionally. The right of authorship and the right of priority are recognized for the authors of a scientific discovery.
Are you looking for high-quality and affordable legal assistance in the areas of corruption and protection of intellectual property rights?
Legal Assistance in the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights
Our intellectual property team participates in supporting, protecting, and enforcing your intellectual property rights across various sectors, including:
- protection of copyright and related rights;
- protection of industrial property rights;
- ensuring trademark protection;
- protection against unfair use of intellectual property, including unfair competition and misleading advertising;
- protection of confidential information and trade secrets.
We provide strategic advice on all aspects of intellectual property law and have the skills to identify, protect, and use intellectual property rights at every stage of innovation.
What Constitutes Copyright Infringement?
Violations of intellectual property rights include:
- piracy — unauthorized copying of copyright-protected content, including copies of works, phonograms, videograms, and programs of broadcasting organizations, which are then sold at significantly lower prices on the “grey” market;
- plagiarism — copying and publishing another person’s work while presenting it as one’s own without reference to the author. Plagiarism may be unintentional, but it can have serious consequences;
- counterfeiting;
- alteration of information, and similar actions.
According to the Law of Ukraine “On Copyright and Related Rights”
The main type of liability for copyright infringement is civil liability, which provides for monetary compensation. In addition, administrative liability in the form of a fine and, in particularly significant cases, criminal liability may also apply.
What Is Included in an Author’s Economic Rights?
The economic rights of an author, or of another person who holds copyright, include:
- the exclusive right to use the work;
- the exclusive right to authorize or prohibit the use of the work by other persons;
- the right to receive remuneration for the use of the work by other persons.
Is Compensation for Moral Damage Possible?
In cases where any person violates copyright and/or related rights provided for in Article 50 of this Law, fails to comply with the contractual terms for the use of works and/or objects of related rights, uses works and objects of related rights by circumventing technical protection measures or by falsifying information and/or rights-management documents, creates a threat of unlawful use of copyright and/or related-rights objects, or commits other violations of personal non-property rights and economic rights of copyright and/or related-rights holders, such holders have the right, in particular, to file claims for compensation for moral/non-pecuniary damage and payment of compensation (Article 52).
What Decision May the Court Issue?
The court has the right to issue a decision or ruling, in particular, on compensation for moral/non-pecuniary damage caused by infringement of copyright and/or related rights, with determination of the amount of compensation; recovery from the infringer of copyright and/or related rights of income received as a result of the infringement; and payment of compensation determined by the court in an amount from 10 to 50,000 minimum wages instead of compensation for damages or recovery of income, and other remedies (paragraph 2 of Article 52).
The court may issue a decision to impose a fine on the infringer in the amount of 10 percent of the sum awarded by the court in favor of the plaintiff. The amount of fines is transferred to the State Budget of Ukraine in accordance with the established procedure (paragraph 3 of Article 52).
How Is the Amount of Compensation Determined?
The amount of compensation is determined by the court with reference to paragraph 42 of Resolution No. 5 of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of Ukraine dated June 4, 2010, “On the Application by Courts of Legislative Provisions in Cases Concerning the Protection of Copyright and Related Rights,” which states that, in accordance with subparagraph “г” of part one of Article 52 of Law No. 3792-XII, the Law of Ukraine “On Copyright and Related Rights,” a holder of copyright and/or related rights has the right to claim compensation instead of damages or recovery of income.
Are you looking for high-quality and affordable legal assistance in the areas of corruption and protection of intellectual property rights?
Special Laws in the Field of Intellectual Property Rights Protection
Below are some of the current laws that recognize and protect your intellectual property rights.
Law of Ukraine “On Copyright and Related Rights”
“On the Protection of Rights to Indications of Origin of Goods,”
“On the Protection of Rights to Plant Varieties,”
“On the Protection of Rights to Topographies of Integrated Circuits.”
“On the Distribution of Copies of Audiovisual Works, Phonograms, Videograms, Computer Programs,
and Databases,”
“On the Specifics of State Regulation of Business Entities’ Activities Related to the Production, Export, and Import of Discs for Laser Reading Systems,”
“On Breeding in Animal Husbandry,”
“On Scientific and Technical Information,”
“On Medicinal Products,” and others.
Order an assessment of the case prospects and development of an action strategy for the client