By KYIV. May 16 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The law on the protection of the interests of individuals in the area of intellectual property during martial law, adopted after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, needs to be amended, it has fulfilled its task and is now hindering the work of business, Adviser at Baker McKenzie’s Kyiv office Oleksiy Stoliarenko believes.
The lawyer said that after the start of the full-scale war on February 24, 2022 and the threat of the capture of Kyiv by Russian troops, there were interruptions in the work of the National Intellectual Property Authority, the ability of copyright holder companies and their representatives in Ukraine to submit any documents to the Intellectual Property Authority for extending the validity of intellectual property rights, filing new applications, objections, and others.
In response to the current situation, already on March 21, 2022, the Intellectual Property Authority published an official statement on the procedure for working during martial law, where it indicated that all the necessary documents can be submitted electronically simply by e-mail, and also announced the possibility of extending the deadlines for submitting the necessary documents to term of martial law for Ukrainian copyright holders.
“This position was justified from the point of view of the capabilities of the Intellectual Property Authority, but it did not solve the problem faced by a large number of foreign right holders who could lose the legal protection of their intellectual property. Therefore, the professional community welcomed the adoption of the law, which suspended all deadlines for applicants, right holders and third parties to exercise their rights under intellectual property law,” he told Interfax-Ukraine.
Stoliarenko said “the law was adopted as a temporary measure designed to ensure and protect intellectual property rights that could be lost by copyright holders after the declaration of martial law in Ukraine.”
“He filmed a lot of issues related to missing deadlines, related to the physical impossibility of submitting the necessary documents to the Intellectual Property Authority. From this point of view, this law has achieved its goal and was a fully justified state for 2022,” he said.
Stoliarenko said “now, when the functioning of both the Intellectual Property Authority and the representatives of the right holders is almost completely restored, the suspension of terms established by this law is no longer so necessary.”
“Moreover, the suspension of terms is already beginning to interfere with right holders, since it has also actually suspended the terms for carrying out registration actions in relation to intellectual property objects and issuing relevant titles of protection. Therefore, there is already a need to amend this law and unblock the operation of the Intellectual Property Authority,” the lawyer said.
As reported, the law on protecting the interests of persons in intellectual property during the martial law imposed due to Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine was adopted in March 2022. The document extends the validity of all intellectual property rights without exception until the day following the day of termination or cancellation of martial law.
However, experts believe that the provisions established by this law have led to problems in the pharmaceutical market, the inability to bring to the market and launch the manufacture of new medicines.
