Ukrainian Delegation to INTA Conference

San Diego, California, USA
14-19 May, 2005

The Coalition for Intellectual Property Rights (CIPR) organized a trip to San Diego, California, USA for the Ukrainian Delegation to participate in the 127th Annual International Trademark Association’s (INTA) Conference from 14 May 2005 to 19 May 2005. The delegation, which was accompanied by CIPR Ukraine representative Serhiy Movchan, included Victor Semenovich Moskalenko, Deputy Chairman of the Higher Commercial Court of Ukraine and the Chairman of the Court's Judicial Board for IP cases; Bogdan Yurievich Lvov, Collegium Member of the Higher Commercial Court of Ukraine for cases relating to IP violations; and, Iryna Yuryevna Kozharska, Department Director, Department of Intellectual Property Right Protection, State Department for Intellectual Property Rights (SDIP).

As part of the visit, the Ukrainian delegation’s members participated in a number of events and meetings, including:

1. INTA’s Eastern Europe Subcommittee of the External Affairs Committee meeting. The members of the Ukrainian Higher Commercial Court participated in the Subcommittee as special guests. Gordana Pavlovic of Belgium chaired the meeting. Pariticipating in the meeting as permanement members were: Michael Doubinsky (Ukraine), Nicolai von Funer (Germany), Marina Grineva (Russia), Gabriella Sasvari (Hungary), Jan Tamulewicz (USA), and Jens-Jurgen Heumann, Director of IP Issues, BASF (Germany).

   At this meeting, the judges and Subcommittee members discussed current issues in enforcing intellectual property rights, court cases relating to trademarks as well as IP disputes, and the possible creation of a special collegium within the Commercial Court to hear such disputes.

2. The Higher Commercial Court judges also visited an educational meeting of the Arbitration Center under the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). This meeting used concrete examples to explain to the judges the WIPO Arbitration Center’s procedures for hearing disputes, processes for gathering, studying and evaluating evidence as well as what governs a mediator when he is handing down a ruling.

3. The Higher Commercial Court judges also attended a mock trial on a trademark dispute. In this mock trial, the procedures for hearing a case, the rules for selecting and evaluating evidence and several techniques for questioning witnesses were shown based on a real case.

   The Higher Commercial Court judges met with the Vice President of OHIM (Office for Harmonization of the Internal Market), Mr. Alexander von Muhlendahl; Assistant Deputy Director General, Mr. Ernesto Rubio; and the Executive Director of INTA, Alan Drewsen, the President of INTA, Anna Gundelfinger. Together they discussed questions of cooperation, experience, and courtroom training.

4. During the conference, the Higher Commercial Court of the Ukraine led an interesting series of meetings with several international experts in international property rights. During the meetings were discussions on the real questions of court and legal protection of intellectual property rights, in particular well-known trademarks, appellations of origin, and continuing court expertise, among others.