Ukraine: UANIPIO launches Mediation Center with new opportunities for IP right holders

25 Jul 2024    1 minute read
The Ukrainian National Office of Intellectual Property and Innovations Platform Disputes Mediation UANIPIO

In brief

The Ukrainian National Office of Intellectual Property and Innovations (UANIPIO) has launched the Mediation Center ("Center") aiming to provide IP right holders with additional instruments for alternative dispute resolution in the field of IP.

The Center is a professional platform for resolving disputes through mediation in the field of IP. It provides organizational and technical support services of the mediation procedure and facilitates the organization of mediation processes in resolving IP disputes. Thus, the UANIPIO creates a platform for mediation where parties and mediators are the participants of the process. The Center provides access to the Register of Mediators, so that the parties can choose who to involve in the case. The mediators not only possess negotiation skills to resolve disputes, but also have thorough expertise in IP law, which helps to resolve the issue taking into account all the specifics of a particular industry. The Center provides an additional tool for IP rights holders to resolve disputes without litigation.

Contents

Key points

What is the difference between mediation and litigation?

Key diferences

Mediation within the Center may be initiated at the following stages:

  • Before applying to court, arbitral tribunal or international commercial arbitration
  • During the pretrial investigation, court, arbitral or arbitration proceedings
  • During the enforcement of a court decision, arbitral tribunal decision or international commercial arbitration award

When will you benefit from mediation?

Parties will benefit from mediation in the following circumstances:

  • Parties are from different countries.
  • There are multiple conflicts between the same parties.
  • Dispute involves several IP rights (e.g., EU-registered trademarks, nationally registered trademarks, registered or unregistered industrial designs, copyrights, patents).
  • Parties that were not involved in the original dispute must join the action.
  • There are obstacles to the enforcement of a court decision.
  • Confidentiality of the request, materials, discussions and results is important.
  • There is a need to use a single language during the process if the dispute involves representatives of different jurisdictions. In addition, the mediator may also address each party in their native language.
  • Parties to the dispute are interested in doing business in different areas or jurisdictions, and the parties' IP rights already coexist or may coexist.

How does the mediation work and how to initiate it?

Mediation

Recommendations

From a business standpoint, the establishment of the Center can be considered as a positive move, as the UANIPIO provides support with specialists and organizations helping parties resolve cases through mediation and negotiations. The Center will contribute to the effective resolution of IP cases at the pre-litigation stage due to the thorough knowledge of experts in the field of IP law, which is more time and cost-efficient.

If you have any questions regarding the mediation procedure, as well as the peculiarities and benefits of this process, please contact Partner Ruslan Drobyazko and Counsel Myroslava Koval-Lavok.

Ukrainian version

Contact Information
Ruslan Drobyazko
Partner
Kyiv
Read my Bio
ruslan.drobyazko@bakermckenzie.com
Myroslava Koval-Lavok
Counsel
Kyiv
Read my Bio
myroslava.koval-lavok@bakermckenzie.com

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