Last Friday, November 1, the Ukrainian Bar Association held IP UKRAINE NOW 2024, an event dedicated to in-depth analysis of current issues in intellectual property law.

This year’s program covered a wide range of topics related to government regulation in the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights, including in the security and defense sectors, as well as pharmaceuticals. Special attention was given to the latest judicial practices in intellectual property law and the peculiarities of conducting judicial expertise of IP objects.

The event was opened by Tetiana Lysovets, UBA Vice President and Senior Partner at Sokolovskyi and Partners Law Firm, Tetiana Kharebava, Chair of the UBA Committee on Intellectual Property, Head of the legal department at Sport Labs Group, Legal advisor at Meta.ua, Tetiana Ognevyuk, Deputy Chairman of the UBA Committee on Intellectual Property, Partner at AMBASSADORS, and Victoria Sopilnyak, Partner at Doubinsky & Osharova.

The first session of IP UKRAINE NOW 2024 was titled “Ukraine's recovery and IP.” The discussion was moderated by Yaroslav Ognevyuk, UBA Board Member and Managing Partner at AMBASSADORS.

Dmytro Huziy, Acting Head of the Intellectual Property and Innovation Department of the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine, raised the issue of rebuilding Ukraine through the lens of innovation and intellectual property. He shared his ministry's experience in this area and outlined future tasks, including working on subordinate laws for copyright legislation and focusing on the real economy and innovation sectors, as well as defense issues and the improvement of commercial secrecy laws.

Olena Orliuk, Director of the Ukrainian National Office for Intellectual Property and Innovations (IP Office), presented a report on “Do we need changes to move forward? Balancing public interests and intellectual property rights protection.” She emphasized that Ukraine has finally moved from formalities to creating practical tools for developing IP.

Orliuk noted that many Ukrainian businesses and startups still do not understand the importance of intellectual property. As a result, the IP office is working on popularizing this field and providing practical advice on how to handle complex cases.

The topic of presentation of Illia Kostin, UBA Board Member and representative of the Main Department of Military Justice, was “Military-Tech: the state of IP protection in defense. Patenting military inventions. Defense developments and their IP protection.”

Kostin explained that the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine had analyzed the state of IP regulation within the Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The results showed significant gaps, including a lack of IP management systems, passive state positions, and widespread misuse of office positions. He emphasized that only by addressing these issues and reforming IP protection within the Ministry of Defense can Ukraine gain technological and innovative advantages on the battlefield.

Valeria Kushnerchuk, Executive Director at Diia.City.Union, shared the successes of Ukrainian tech companies and forecasted trends that will shape the industry in the future. She highlighted that Diia.City.Union is an association of over 130 companies, including both product and service-based ones.

She also mentioned the main challenges for the Ukrainian IT industry, such as complex military booking issues, growing tax burdens, and short-term travel abroad. Despite these challenges, the IT sector continues to operate, donate, and pay taxes.

Following the first session, a charity auction took place to raise funds for purchasing special knives for the National Guard’s "Omega" Special Purpose Center.

Auction items included:

• a career consultation over lunch and a souvenir from South Africa (prehistory shark tooth) by Tetiana Kharebava;
• a strategic IP consultation over coffee by Yaroslav Ognevyuk;
• a masterclass in judicial rhetoric by Tetiana Ognevyuk;
• an office tour and art tasting by Taras Kyslyy, Partner at Arzinger;
• mine-tail fin candle holders, candles in shell casings, and a flag of Ukraine signed by the soldiers of the "Omega" Special Purpose Center by Daniel Benatov, Partner at Patent Bureau "Dr. Emil Benatov & Partners" in Ukraine.

Additionally, Oksana Sosidenko presented a flag of Ukraine signed by lawyer Olha Bihari, commander of the 241st Territorial Defense Brigade's artillery unit, as a lot for a personal brand development consultation.

The auction raised a total of UAH 81,000 (approximately USD 2,000).

The second session of IP UKRAINE NOW 2024 took the form of a Karl Popper debate. Two teams of experts — three members each — debated the motion: “At the current stage of the development, Ukraine shall stick to minimal standards for IPR enforcement.”

After voting by the audience, the "liberal" team, which supported the motion, won with 55% of the votes.

The third session was titled “IP Justice: When will we achieve efficiency?”. It was moderated by Tetiana Kudrytska, Partner at AEQUO, and Victoria Sopilnyak, Partner at Doubinsky & Osharova. The session discussed trends in judicial practices and the development of new IP practices from the EU, which could serve as valuable examples for Ukraine.

The session also addressed compensation for IP infringement and the concept of "bad faith" in legal cases, as well as key judicial cases that have shaped important legal positions.

The fourth and final session of IP UKRAINE NOW 2024 focused on intellectual property issues in IT, media, and communications. Tetiana Kharebava moderated the discussion.

During the session, a "pre-premiere" presentation of Recommendations on aspects of IP law and AI, developed by the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine and several other institutions, was given. The official release of the Recommendations is scheduled for this week.

Oleg Dubno, Legal advisor on the development of AI legal regulation at the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, discussed the expectations for AI regulation in the near future, highlighting that the Recommendations are divided into categories for developers, rights holders, and ordinary AI system users.

Olena Andrienko, Deputy Director of Legal Affairs at Publicis Groupe Ukraine, expert of the Expert Committee on Artificial Intelligence at the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, reviewed the recommendations for developers and rights holders. Dmitro Doroshenko, Head of the Creative Sectors Development Department at the Ukrainian IP Office, gave a detailed review of recommendations for users of AI systems.

The event also covered international IP and AI cases in advertising and the growing trend of "social casino" advertising, presented by Alla Smorodyna, lawyer at Baker McKenzie.

Yulia Kolchenko, private practice, provided an overview of IP protection practices in online advertising and marketing on platforms and social networks.

You can view a photo report from the event here.

UBA thanks the following for their support in organizing IP UKRAINE NOW 2024:

• General Partners: AMBASSADORS, Doubinsky & Osharova;
• Session Partners: AEQUO, Baker McKenzie, MAMUNYA IP, META;
• Socially Responsible Partners: LA Law Firm, Pakharenko and Partners.

We also express our sincere gratitude to the wine partner, Casillero del Diablo, for their contribution to the event. Your exquisite wines added elegance and a delightful atmosphere to the event, creating an unforgettable experience for all participants. We are pleased to have worked together and thank you for your support!

Tags: UBA activities, UBA events