April 2008

In Focus – Intellectual Property
It is recognized that intellectual property rights (IPRs) temporarily transform knowledge from a public good to a private good. Up to date IP protection faces serious challenges, like from the outcomes of globalization. We often hear about IP in Internet, cybersquatting, non-traditional trademarks, etc. So, this topic is inexhaustible and our authors have made a great contribution to provide you with relevant and, hopefully, useful data…

Expert Opinion
Aleksandr A. Aleksyeyenko  Certain Aspects Concerning the Protection of Trademarks Rights in Ukraine
The importance of trademarks to different businesses is constantly growing in Ukraine. Trademarks protect the rights of the owners of a company, keeping others from using their names on similar or competing products or services. Trademarks are critically important assets and should be protected as such. In this article we will overview certain aspects of trademark protection in Ukraine…

In Re
Vadim A. Voloschenko, Brian M. Mulholland, Yaroslav I. Ganzenko  Royalties: Do any Differences exist between Ukrainian and International Practice?
The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (the TRIPS Agreement) demands WTO members ensure protection of intellectual property at the level of the major intellectual property rights conventions. This means that Ukrainian treatment of IP rights must be brought into line with international standards at all levels, i.e. from legislation to law-enforcement, administrative procedures and also the effective operation of IP rights within state IP agencies…

Markiyan M. Malskyy  Intellectual Property Rights vs. Access to Drugs or How Patents can Boost Patients
This article deals with analysis of the legal framework, which would allow or prohibit different WTO member states from taking actions regarding patent rights on vital drugs. WTO legislation has left certain possibilities open and they can be used in the event of severe epidemics and deadly illnesses, which Ukraine, as a future member, should definitely be aware of…

Tatiana Y. Timchenko  Domain Names and Trademarks
The procedures established by .UA Rules are burdensome for the registrant and fail to provide for the adequate dispute resolution procedure. Until the Rules are amended, they render registration of a .com domain name the preferable option for registrants because it gives freedom of domain name choice and a transparent dispute resolution procedure…

Case Law
Simon Levine  Scrabble-Facebook Row spells Trouble
Hard as it’s been to escape the growing popularity of Facebook, news that the rights owners of Scrabble, Hasbro and Mattel, have asked for the removal of one of its popular applications, has once again placed the social networking site in the spotlight. A letter to Facebook HQ from Hasbro and Mattel’s lawyers called for the removal of the application on the basis of an alleged breach of copyright. The letter was a statement of intent from two companies keen to protect their intellectual property and once again highlighted the challenges that the digital sphere, and technology in general, presents to brands…

Hot Issue
Maria Y. Maslova  Kiev has a New Prime
Since the end of 2007, Ukraine has had its own interbank index of the Ukrainian hryvnia (UAH) monetary market called KievPrime, which is calculated in a similar fashion as the well-known London floating rate LIBOR. The rate has every chance of becoming the new benchmark for the Ukrainian financial market and to increase the influence of the largest banks on the financial sector…

Argument
Olga G. Belyakova, Yaroslav A. Petrov  General Trends of Sports Law Regulations and Broadcasting of Sports Events in Ukraine
The fact that Ukraine and Poland will host the EURO-2012 football championships has revealed an urgent necessity to develop and reform numerous spheres in these countries. This is very important for Ukraine since it will bring foreign investment into our country. During the EURO-2012 football championship broadcasting and advertising will play the special role due to the fact that both national and foreign TV/radio stations will interact during their coverage of this event. Taking this into consideration, special attention should be paid to the reform of sports events broadcasting…

Business Strategy
Anna N. Kostuchenko  The Peculiarities of the Services Market
This article is about the peculiarities of the services market, which makes their providers take special measures to promote them. It also provides some advice to reach common marketing objectives and gives the main aspects for organizing such work…

Global Legal Update
Willie Liu  Trademark Squatting in China
The key to protecting a trademark in China is actually very simple: register it in China! Trademarks are often the most valuable assets of an enterprise, so protecting and enforcing the trademark rights of foreign businesses in China is critical to the success of your industry, as it is the primary legal care for your business in China. In order to expect protection, foreign clients must register their trademarks in China and prudent enterprises do this before officially going in…

Aizhan Yessergepova  Trademark Protection in Kazakhstan
According to the On Trademarks Act of 26 July 1999, No. 456-I the trademark serves to differentiate goods and services of legal entities. Thus, according to Article 4 of this Act, legal protection is granted to a trademark on the basis of its registration with the authorized body or by virtue of international agreements with the participation of the Republic of Kazakhstan. It would seem that having registered a trademark and being a monopolist as to the goods and services with a protected trademark, its owner would not have to worry about anything…

Hans Bagner, Olga Zelepukina, Julia Lannerheim  Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Awards in Sweden
By and large Swedish courts enforce foreign arbitral awards in a consistent and reliable manner. This is hardly surprising, given that the Swedish Arbitration Act contains certain provisions that closely resemble the articles in the Convention. Both legal instruments facilitate the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards except in a handful of specific instances, including when decisions rendered are contrary to public policy or when significant procedural errors have occurred during the arbitration. Swedish courts interpret these exceptions narrowly, and consequently, only rarely refuse to enforce foreign arbitral awards…

Venue
Alena A. Chernyavskaya  Yuridicheskaya Practika celebrates Birthday
It is well-known fact that a lot of people associate the first birds singing with the beginning of spring, while many lawyers associate this time with celebrating the birthday of Yuridicheskaya Practika. This year was no exception, so on 12-14 March Yuridicheskaya Practika celebrated its 13 birthday. This provided an opportunity to breathe new life into the world of legal market and to acquire the necessary circles of friends, as well as catch up on the latest news from the legal world…

UJBL Legal Strike
Every year the Ukrainian Journal of Business Law within the framework of the Days of Yuridicheskaya Practika, continues a wonderful tradition – to bring together famous lawyers for a bowling tournament on the Cup of The Ukrainian Journal of Business Law…

Alena A. Chernyavskaya  Observing New Horizons
The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Ukraine gathered together businessmen from Cyprus and Ukraine for a seminar called “Cyprus – an international business and professional center”. The central part of the event was dedicated to acquainting people with the investment potential of Ukraine, its industry, trade possibilities and meeting with business representatives from Ukraine…

Legal Vision
What Methods of Personnel Motivation exist in your Company?