CIPR URGES VETO OF UKRAINE ADVERTISING LAW

Proposed Amendment Would Increase Piracy and Counterfeiting,
Hurting Consumers and Business.

KYIV, UKRAINE: Today the Coalition for Intellectual Property Rights (CIPR) urged President Leonid Kuchma to veto the "Law on Advertising," passed in the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) on July 11. In particular, CIPR opposes Article 6 of the law, introduced by MP Stephen Havrysh, which would require registered trademarks be duplicated into the Ukrainian language.

"There are more than 75,000 registered trademarks in Ukraine and to require that they be translated into Ukrainian is not only absurd, but violates Ukrainian and international intellectual property laws," CIPR's Ukraine Representative Myron Wasylyk said.

Under the existing law on "Protecting Rights of Marks for Goods and Services" a registered trademark in Ukraine can be one or several words, which cannot be recreated, imitated or translated. Registered trademarks in Ukraine are also protected under Ukraine's Civil Code and Article 6.1 of the Paris Convention on the Protection of Industrial Property, to which Ukraine is a signatory state.

"Signing the proposed Havrysh amendment into law by President Leonid Kuchma would lead to a legal collision with Ukraine's intellectual property legislation and would bring chaos to Ukraine's business community, trademark owners and advertising market," Wasylyk said.

If signed into law, the amendment would negatively impact the intellectual property rights of trademark owners by limiting the use of their legally owned trademarks and would open the door to greater piracy and counterfeits. If adopted, the law would have adverse affects for both local and international trademark owners. In reality the amendment would lead to state sanctioned piracy by allowing recreations, imitations and translation of existing marks, which in turn would increase piracy and counterfeiting that could not be controlled by Ukraine's law enforcement agencies.

Opposition to the law has also been voiced by numerous business groups and industry association including: Ukraine Trademark Association (UTA); Ukrainian Advertising Coalition (UAC); American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine (AmCham); as well as dozens of local and international companies investing and doing business in Ukraine.

"We urge Ukrainian and international businesses in Ukraine to stand united in their opposition to the draft amendment," Wasylyk said. CIPR urges all trademark owners to voice their opposition to the law within the next 48 hours. Interested parties should write His Excellency Leonid D. Kuchma, President of Ukraine, vul. Bankova 11, Kyiv, Ukraine 01220 or fax their concerns to CIPR in Ukraine, which in turn will deliver letters to the Presidential Administration in real time. CIPR fax number +380-44-464-1241.

The Coalition for Intellectual Property Rights (CIPR) is a private-public partnership dedicated to advancing intellectual property rights protection, enforcement and reform in the Baltic States, CIS countries and other nations of the former Soviet Union. Through public education, legislative action and legal reform, CIPR works with government and private sector partners to establish transparent IPR regimes that adhere to international standards. CIPR Corporate Members include: Anheuser-Busch Companies; Baker & McKenzie CIS Ltd.; Becton Dickinson; British American Tobacco; The Coca-Cola Company; Dell Computer Corporation; Diageo plc; Four Seasons Hotels Limited; Fross Zelnick Lehrman & Zissu; Gallaher Limited; Geom Ltd; Gowlings; ICN Pharmaceuticals; Intel Corporation; Kraft Foods International; Kroll Inc; Lovells; Microsoft; Morshinksa Mineral Waters; Pfizer International, Inc; Philip Morris Companies; Tiffany & Company.

For more information, contact Myron Wasylyk via e-mail or via telephone +380-44-464-1240.