UNBA supports the need to form the Supreme Court of Intellectual Property - Valentyn Hvozdiy

          In Ukraine, the establishment of the Supreme Court of Intellectual Property is an important process of modern judicial reform aimed at improving the functioning of the judicial system as a whole, as well as the system of protection of intellectual property rights. Improving the system of protection of intellectual property rights is part of Ukraine’s international obligations.

          This was emphasized by the Deputy Head of Ukrainian National Bar Association (hereinafter – the “UNBA”) and the Bar Council of Ukraine (hereinafter – the “BCU”) Valentyn Hvozdiy during a speech at the round table discussion "Supreme Court of Intellectual Property: the state of formation”. The event is organized by the relevant committee of UNBA.

          "Ukrainian National Bar Association actively supports the formation of the Supreme Court of Intellectual Property, because we all understand the need of immediate beginning of the work of this court. The procedure for selecting candidates for the position of judges will take place under the watchful eye of the attorney’s community. In particular, today's event, initiated by the UNBA Intellectual Property Committee, is an indicator of the importance of this issue for the bar” - said Valentyn Hvozdiy.

          He reminded that Ukraine is a party to a number of bilateral and multilateral international agreements governing the protection of intellectual property rights, including the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRAIPR) and the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU.

          "Active protection and development of intellectual property rights are especially important for Ukraine, which should be proud of its innovative achievements and inventions. All these aspects are real aims that we could achieve thanks to the large number of intellectual elites who practice in this field in Ukraine. Intellectual property rights are closely linked to creativity, innovation, economic growth, and prosperity, but these opportunities can be realized only with the appropriate judicial protection of intellectual property rights by independent courts" - said Valentin Gvozdiy.

          Ukraine already has a legislative framework related to the establishment and operation of the Supreme Court of Intellectual Property. This is the decree of the President of Ukraine № 299/217 dated September 29, 2017 "On the establishment of the Supreme Court of Intellectual Property"; a new version of the Commercial Procedure Code of Ukraine, which establishes the procedure for resolving disputes in the newly created Court of IP and the order of the State Judicial Administration of Ukraine № 929 dated 30 September 2017 "On determining the number of judges in the Supreme Court of Intellectual Property".

          In his speech, Valentyn Hvozdiy stressed the fact that the establishment of the IP Court will be perceived as a positive signal to the public about the state's respect for intellectual property. Creating a professional, transparent, and predictable system of judicial protection in the field of intellectual property rights in Ukraine will help increase business confidence in the entire judicial system of Ukraine and will be a favorable environment for investment, innovation, and creativity, which will affect economic growth and prosperity. The advantage of creating a specialized court is that it is a more competent body to consider the relevant cases and, in particular, less dependent on technical experts in decision-making.

          "A specialized court is able to be much more aware of developments in these areas of law than non-specialized courts. In addition, a higher level of special knowledge of judges can reduce dependence on technical experts when making decisions, which in turn improves the quality of proceedings and impartiality of court decisions" - said Valentyn Hvozdiy.

          At the same time, it is necessary that the procedure for selecting judges for this court to be objective, free from corruption-causing factors, and provide the high requirements for having proper knowledge in this area of ​​law. As the Intellectual Property Court is planned to be located in Kyiv, it is necessary to ensure the possibility of holding its meetings by video conference for citizens to have equal access to this court. The procedure and form of submission of electronic evidence must also be clearly defined.

          You may check the program of the round table here.