Supreme Court judge takes part in bilateral meeting with the European Commission on improving legislation in the field of intellectual property rights protection

A bilateral meeting between representatives of Ukraine and the European Commission took place in the framework of the official screening of the conformity of Ukrainian legislation with EU legislation under the negotiating chapter 7 "Intellectual Property Rights". The Ukrainian delegation included Ihor Benedysiuk, Secretary of the Judicial Chamber for the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights of the Commercial Cassation Court of the Supreme Court.

During the meeting, Ihor Benedysiuk provided detailed explanations on the functioning of the system of judicial protection of intellectual property rights in Ukraine and answered numerous questions from European colleagues regarding the implementation of the provisions of EU directives into national legislation.

In particular, he highlighted the issues of securing evidence and protection of rights in court proceedings. The judge explained that Ukrainian procedural law provides for the possibility of taking interim measures at any stage of the process - both before filing a lawsuit and during the trial. Particular attention was paid to the mechanisms for protecting confidential information through closed court hearings and special procedures for obtaining banking information.

An important aspect of the discussion was the application of temporary injunctions and restrictions, in particular with regard to the distribution of counterfeit products. Ihor Benedysiuk emphasised the existence of a counter-security mechanism in Ukrainian legislation that protects the rights of the defendant against possible abuse and unfair competition.

In the context of the structure of the judicial system, he spoke about the current situation of intellectual property cases heard in parallel in civil and commercial courts and the prospects for a specialised intellectual property court (IP-Court).

Representatives of the European Commission paid special attention to the implementation of the principle of proportionality in the application of intellectual property rights protection measures and mechanisms for protecting the rights of third parties. Mr. Benedysiuk explained in detail the existing procedural mechanisms for involving persons whose rights may be violated in the case and the possibility of appealing against court decisions by such persons.

The meeting identified areas for further work to harmonise Ukrainian legislation with EU law, including clarifying terminology, detailing evidence procedures and improving mechanisms for protecting confidential information.