The Court of Appeal Considers the Case Without Notifying Its Participants Only if There Is an Exclusively Property Claim

The person filed a lawsuit against another person and the State Intellectual Property Service of Ukraine to declare the patent of Ukraine for a utility model as invalid and oblige them to take certain actions. The plaintiff is the owner of a patent of Ukraine for a utility model which was registered on February 24, 2010. In his opinion, the patent issued to the defendant in 2012 has a similar content and violates the Law of Ukraine On the Protection of Rights to Inventions and Utility Models, since it does not meet such a patentability condition as novelty.

The court of appeal considered the appeal on its merits in expedited proceedings without notification of the parties to the case, because in accordance with part 1 of Art. 369 of the Civil Procedural Code of Ukraine (the CPC), appeals against court decisions in cases with a claim value of less than one hundred amounts of the subsistence minimum for able-bodied persons are considered by the court of appeal without notifying the parties to the case.

While considering the plaintiff's cassation appeal, the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court stated that the provisions of part 1 of Art. 369 of the CPC regarding written proceedings based on the materials available in the case without notification of the parties can be applied by the courts of appeal only in the case of consideration of appeals against court decisions, if there are only claims of a property nature and the value of the claim is less than one hundred amounts of the subsistence minimum for able-bodied persons (except those that are not subject to consideration in expedited proceedings).

If there are claims of a non-property nature in the case, then the consideration of such a case in the court of appeal is carried out in a court session with notification of the participants in the case.

The court of appeal ruled that the case should be examined in expedited proceedings without the parties being notified. However, the subject of the claim is of non-property nature - to declare the patent of Ukraine for a utility model as invalid and oblige them to take certain actions. Therefore, the consideration of this case by the court of appeal should have taken place with notification (summons) of the participants in the case.

In view of the violation of the procedural guarantees of the plaintiff in order to ensure proper consideration by the court of appeal, the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court, pursuant to para. 5, part 1, Art. 411 of the CPC, overturned the judgment of the court of appeal and remanded the case for a new hearing.

The Resolution of the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court of August 10, 2022, in case No. 202/4233/16 (proceedings No. 14-222цс21)– https://reyestr.court.gov.ua/Review/105961909. 

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