Methods of Protecting the Rights to Commercial Signage: Experience of France and Ukraine

Abstract

Legal analysis of constitutional rights to objects of the intellectual property law has been developed with regard to the institutional reforms and improvements related to the main form of civil rights protection, namely judicial protection (based on Article 55 of Constitution of Ukraine), as a result of the establishment of the High Court on Intellectual Property Issues, as well as changes in the scope and content of powers of the new Supreme Court. As has been widely acknowledged, Ukraine pertains to the group of countries with a codified system of law; however, recently the possibility of broader functions for the new Supreme Court has appeared, i.e. its judicial opinions may acquire precedential character. Nowadays specialized courts for intellectual property exist in a number of countries, including Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the UK. Their functioning in these countries has positively affected the quality of the cases on intellectual property and has significantly reduced the time it takes to process them. A recommendation to consider the establishment of a special chamber to review disputes arising on the Internet as a part of the jurisdiction of the High Court on Intellectual Property Issues has been developed, as a result of the constitutional reform and creation of the High Court on Intellectual Property Issues. It is highly important due to the constant increase in the number of Internet infringements. The introduction into the national legislation of a provision that allows the right holder to claim compensation instead of damages resulting from the unlawful use of a trade name or a signage that is confusingly similar to another has been justified on the grounds that it will provide an opportunity for better protection of rights to commercial signage because it is sometimes extremely difficult to prove the size of damages. Compensation, in this type of case, acts as an alternative to damages.Article received 04.02.2019