Rights Of Third Parties Research Articles

Respect for Constitutional Rights of Individuals in Platform Economy

The paper dwells on the issue of respect for labor and social rights of individuals enshrined in the Constitution of the Russian Federation in sectors of the economy that are partially or completely switching to activities in an economic model based on the use of digital platforms (platform economy). The strengths and weaknesses of this method of organizing activities for workers employed in the industries under consideration are elucidated in the context of both labor and civil law relations, including workers having the status of self-employed workers. The main possible reasons for the transition of economic entities to activities within the framework of the platform economy, including with a change in the nature of legal relations, are justified through a set of objective (economic and social) and subjective (related to the education, abilities and motivation of a potential employee) reasons. Avito.ru Internet platform is monitored to find job vacancies, within which ensuring the proper implementation of сonstitutional rights of citizens is possible exclusively within the framework of labor legal relations. The analysis of the conditions of employment offered by actual employers reveals typical potential and actual violations of human rights in relation to both an employee and third parties. Based on the results of the analysis of practice, the author offers a number of measures aimed at eliminating the identified prerequisites for violating the constitutional rights of citizens. In particular, the ban on attracting persons as self-employed to perform work or provide services that pose a threat of violation of their rights or the rights of third parties in the event of this activity outside the framework of labor legal relations, as well as the possibility of recognizing civil law relations between the actual employer and an individual in the status of self-employed actual labor relations.

The concept of ‘due cause’ and its role in safeguarding fundamental rights under EU trade mark law: how should the CJEU rule in IKEA, C-298/23?

Abstract While trade mark rights themselves constitute fundamental rights within the right to property, they may also collide with the fundamental rights of third parties. The latter is particularly evident where third parties try to justify their unauthorized use of a trade mark on the basis of their own fundamental rights. The collision between the fundamental rights–protected interests of the trade mark proprietor and the third parties become all the more apparent when it comes to the protection of trade marks with a reputation. Trade marks with a reputation are particularly exposed to use by third parties due to their high level of appreciation and recognition among the public and therefore deserve a special protection. However, this special protection must not get out of hand and must be restricted wherever the fundamental rights interests of third parties outweigh those of the trade mark proprietor. As a result, a balance must be struck between the colliding fundamental rights interests. All this raises the question where such a balancing of interests could take place in the context of the European Union (EU) Trade Mark Regulation 2017/1001 (EUTMR) and Directive on the European Union Trade Mark (EUTMD). And once the ‘where’ has been resolved, a question still remains as to how an appropriate balance can be achieved or rather what criteria need to be taken into account when balancing these interests. To answer these questions, existing case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) provides only limited to no substantive guidance. It is therefore not surprising that a Belgian national court requested the CJEU to clarify precisely these questions at EU level in 2023 (IKEA, C-298/23). In this case, the main role is played by the negative condition ‘without due cause’, which arises from the EUTMR and EUTMD provisions protecting trade marks with a reputation and which stipulates that the trade mark proprietor can only enforce the special protection if the third party is unable to establish that the use of the trade mark takes place with ‘due cause’. It is therefore the task of the CJEU to clarify whether the required balance of fundamental rights interests can be achieved within the framework of the undefined legal concept of ‘due cause’ and, if so, to specify the criteria by which such a balance can be achieved. This article sets out and discusses how the CJEU should solve this task and concludes that the concept of ‘due cause’ must be interpreted broadly in order to provide a flexible counterweight to the far-reaching protection of trade marks with a reputation. Hence, the concept of ‘due cause’ can be understood as a safeguarding mechanism for the fundamental rights of third parties, whereby various criteria must be taken into account in order to achieve a fair balance with the fundamental rights–protected interests of the trade mark proprietor.

국제물품매매거래에서 CISG상 지식재산권 침해 물품 인도에 따른 매도인의 책임에 관한 연구: CISG 자문위원회의 Black Letter Rule을 중심으로

Purpose: This study explores the liability of sellers of goods that infringe Article 42 of the United Nations convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) based on the official opinion of the CISG Advisory Council. Research design, data, and methodology: The requirements for seller liability under Article 42(1) of the CISG includes the seller's awareness and geographic limitations. This study also examines the requirements for seller immunity under Article 42(2), including the buyer's expectation of awareness and investigation. Results: M ost o f t he e xisting o pinions a nd t he o fficial o pinions o f t he C ISG A dvisory Council seem to be consistent with the responsibility of the seller who delivers goods infringing on intellectual property rights. However, regarding the timing for determining the suitability of rights to the goods, there are areas where opinions are different from those of scholars who view them as a transfer of risk. Conclusions: The CISG Advisory Council's official opinion appears to be a reasonable interpretation of Article 42 taking into account its purpose, which is to protect the interest of the purchaser in the free use of goods that are not subject to third-party rights or claims, the Secretariat's commentary on the Convention's legislative history, and the existing views of scholars. Therefore, practitioners should prepare for related situations by referring to the official opinion of the CISG Advisory Council on Article 42 of the CISG.

Legal regulation of intellectual property issues within technology transfer in Ukraine

Problem setting. Technologies affect many intellectual property issues, from inventions and technology brands to the content of transfer agreements, so the harmonious coverage of such aspects and consideration of the needs of interested parties in the current legislation is an urgent problem. Analysis of recent researches and publications. The new requirements of the technology transfer ecosystem affect the widening variety of intellectual property rights that arise with the creation of today’s technologies. Legislation should be flexible to such changes. Purpose of research is a critical review of the Law of Ukraine “On State Regulation of Activities in the Field of Technology Transfer” and the development of proposals for its improvement. Article’s main body. It is established that the said Law is more focused on inventions, while copyright, industrial designs, and trademarks are considered very limited, and separate provisions generally exclude the importance of such types of intellectual property for technology transfer; the said Law contains conceptual legal inaccuracies in the distinction between assignments and license agreements. It is proposed to replace the terms “patenting” and “patent immunity”, which appear many times in the document, with the broader and more flexible terms “acquisition of intellectual property rights” and “immunity from the intellectual property rights of third parties”, respectively. Such a proposal is justified as follows. In Ukraine, patents are granted only for inventions and utility models. Industrial designs receive a certificate of registration (as in the EU), the same applies to copyright (at the owner’s request) and trademarks. In the Digital Age, copyright now serves more than just the creative industries. Industrial designs are found everywhere and not taking into account this type of intellectual property from the economic evaluation of the technology or the research of promising areas is unjustified. A technology brand can move alongside it. Patent analysis provides insight into technologies and technological capabilities, as well as new business opportunities. Obtaining trademarks for patented solutions increases the value of these technical solutions, and trademark analysis provides information on the areas in which competitors operate, promising niches and regions, promising products and services, as well as customer interaction approaches and branding strategies. It is also proposed to set out in the document the definition of the term “technology transfer agreement” in accordance with Regulation 316/2014/EU, namely to add to the already existing definition that it can also be a license agreement entered into between two undertakings for the purpose of the production of contract products by the licensee and/or its sub-contractor(s). Conclusions and prospects for development. On the basis of the justifications given in the presented article, it is proposed to make appropriate amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On State Regulation of Activities in the Field of Technology Transfer” in Articles 7, 8, 13, 14, and 23 in the direction of expanding the types of intellectual property and in Article 1 in the direction of expanding definition of the term “technology transfer agreement”.

QUYỀN CỦA NGƯỜI THỨ BA TRONG HỢP ĐỒNG VÌ LỢI ÍCH CỦA NGƯỜI THỨ BA

A contract for the benefit of third parties is a type of contract characterized by the existence of a third person who benefits and is not considered a party to the contract. Today, civil law recognizes a number of rights for third parties, which will ensure that third parties can receive benefits from the parties’ contract. However, current regulations on this issue remain unclear, leading to difficulties in applying and resolving related disputes. The article focuses on analyzing aspects of the rights of third parties in this type of contract, thereby highlighting some unclear points in current legal provisions and making recommendations to improve the law.

Legal Regulation of Cross-Border Relations in E-commerce in the context of Parallel Imports

The sale of goods on marketplaces, including foreign trade activities, is actively spreading in the modern world and provokes competition with classical (offline) trade. Marketplaces, as electronic trading platforms in a broader sense, are often interested in implementing new, stable approaches to the sale of goods, including cross-border foreign trade activities, in order to offer online buyers a wide range of goods at competitive prices. Parallel import is one of the strategies used by sellers and business owners on marketplaces to achieve this goal. Since foreign trade using parallel import tools involves, in fact, the resale on the domestic market of goods that are produced abroad and imported for sale in a particular State without the consent of the right-holder, as well as marked with the trademark of the right-holder or in which other results of intellectual activity are expressed (relevant from the point of view of the problem of exhaustion of exclusive rights, in particular, the objects of patent rights), cross-border opportunities of marketplaces seem to be the best place for the sale of goods imported by means of parallel imports. At the same time, the peculiarities of cross-border electronic commerce give rise to the latest challenges related to the proliferation of counterfeit products, violation of the intellectual rights of third parties, the requirements of the legislation of the country of sale on advertising, protection of competition, protection of consumer rights.

The best interests of the child and the right of interested third parties to parental responsibilities and rights: RC v HSC 2023 4 SA 231 (GJ)

The South African post-constitutional era gave rise to the reframing of what was previously referred to as parental authority to parental responsibilities and rights. Throughout these developments, the best interests of the child remained a constant consideration, resulting in a move away from a parent-centred approach to a child-centred approach. In line with this child-centred approach, modern South African law recognises that children have the right to family or parental care. Recognition is also given to the subsequent fundamental principle that parents and the family perform a central role in a child's care and protection. However, analogous to global trends South African family structures have transformed and are no longer typically nuclear, but are characterised by a diversity of parental, family and community-based forms of caregiving. Children accordingly find themselves being cared for by persons who are not their biological parents. In this regard the position of the "interested third party" or so-called "co-holder of parental responsibilities and rights" is gaining increasing relevance. Although the role of interested third parties is recognised in domestic law, in the Children's Act, some uncertainty about the right of these parties to obtain parental responsibilities and rights over a child prevails. One such aspect is the right of a former life-partner to obtain parental responsibilities and rights over a non-biological child upon the dissolution of a life-partner relationship. A recent High Court case, RC v SC 2022 4 SA 308 (GJ) and its appeal namely, RC v HSC 2023 4 SA 231 (GJ) to a full bench of the High Court provides valuable insight into this regard and specifically on the approach taken by the courts about an application for parental rights and responsibilities to a non-biological child by an interested third party in terms of the Children's Act.

Advance directives and mental disorders: apractice recommendation of the Commission for Ethics and Law of the German Association for Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics

Since the creation of legal requirements for advance directives by the legislator in 2009, special aspects of their application in the treatment of people with mental illnesses have been discussed. Important questions on dealing with advance directives in everyday life will be answered in apractice-oriented manner. Among other things, this document answers the question of the conditions under which apatient can refuse or consent to hospitalization and treatment in advance, and in particular how to deal with advance directives whose implementation would also affect the rights of third parties. The German Association for Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics (DGPPN) has addressed these and other questions in the present document and added practical advice on how to formulate advance directives for people with mental illnesses and how to deal with psychiatric advance directives. The DGPPN has developed an advance directive for the area of mental health and published it on its website together with detailed explanations. With the help of this advance directive, people can decide on their treatment in phases of incapacity to consent in the context of amental crisis or illness.

The Context Of Text: Harmonizing Multilingual Texts Of The WTO

Legal traditions of international institutions reflect how language shapes the interaction of individuals from various legal disciplines. Institutions like the European Union (EU), United Nations (UN) and World Trade Organization (WTO) cater to multilingualism by publishing different linguistic versions of their texts. These organizations have their own divisions to promote multilingualism – it is the General Assembly and Conference Management for the UN; the Directorate-General for Translation (DGT) in the EU; and the Language and Documentation Services Division (LDSD) for the WTO. In the context of the WTO, coordination among different language groups in drafting WTO documents appears to be lacking. In addition to creating hurdles in substantive law, issues of multilingualism at the WTO also affect the procedural aspects of the dispute. This may have implications on third-party rights, selection of panellists, and timely resolution of disputes, thereby influencing a party’s strategy in a dispute. Against this background, the authors explore the issue of multilingualism at the WTO vis-à-vis the UN and EU by adopting a comparative research methodology. The Article provides recommendations in the form of best practices for improvements at the WTO in the context of multilingualism. WTO, multilingualism, VCLT, translation, DSU, European Union, United Nations, Spanish, French, language

Comparison of CRISPR-MAD7 and CRISPR-Cas9 for Gene Disruptions in Komagataella phaffii.

CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats)-based technologies are powerful, programmable tools for site-directed genome modifications. After successful adaptation and efficient use of CRISPR-Cas9 for genome engineering in methylotrophic yeast Komagataella phaffii, a broader variety of employable endonucleases was desired to increase the experimental flexibility and to provide alternatives in case there are specific legal restrictions in industrial research due to the intellectual property rights (IPRs) of third parties. MAD7, an engineered Class 2 Type V Cas nuclease, was promoted as a royalty-free alternative for academic and industrial research and developed by Inscripta (Pleasanton, CA, USA). In this study, for the first time, CRISPR-MAD7 was used for genome editing in K. phaffii with a high gene-editing rate (up to 90%), as demonstrated for the three targeted genes coding for glycerol kinase 1 (GUT1), red fluorescence protein (DsRed), and zeocin resistance gene (Sh ble). Additionally, the genome-editing efficiencies of the CRISPR-MAD7 and CRISPR-Cas9 systems were systematically compared by targeting 259 kinase genes in K. phaffii. In this broad testing, the CRISPR-Cas9 had a higher genome-editing rate of about 65%, in comparison to the applied CRISPR-MAD7 toolbox (about 23%).

Cisg Ratification in Hong Kong – a Closer Look at Conformity of Goods Under the Cisg: Third-Party Rights, Claims and Assertions

Cisg Ratification in Hong Kong – a Closer Look at Conformity of Goods Under the Cisg: Third-Party Rights, Claims and Assertions

License agreements for the use of users’ intellectual property in the digital market

Digital platforms widely implement standard license agreements, according to which users grant them certain rights. And being today at an understandable stage of the establishment of these processes, several urgent questions arise – to what extent the content of such contracts is regulated at the national and international levels, how the provisions of regulatory documents are reflected in license agreements between users and platforms, how the standards for these documents take into account the needs of stakeholders. The purpose of the presented study is to determine the content of standard provisions of non-exclusive licenses offered by digital platforms, for certain industries, taking into account the norms of national and international legal documents and taking into account the balancing of the needs of interested parties. To achieve the purpose of this research, the method of scientific and legal analysis of normative documents, literature, and license agreements presented on digital platforms, as well as scientific methods of comparison and generalization, were used. Licenses are compared according to the following criteria: name, type of license, intellectual property objects, granted rights (separately – the right to grant sublicenses), term of validity, territory of validity, availability of royalties, possibility of revocation, guarantees of purity of works from third-party rights. The content of such a license is defined, which takes into account the interests of all parties in accordance with the laws and the technical needs and capabilities of the platforms. There are still unsettled aspects of the above, including at the international level – these issues may become the subject for further research. Although the digital platforms analyzed in the article are characterized by different functional features, content, target audience, etc., the proposals can be implemented regardless of these differences, but with the addition of provisions relevant to the specifics of the platform.

Issues of Judicial Protection of Violated Rights of Apartment Owners

To date the issue of qualifying apartments as a type of real estate has not been resolved at the legislative level; there is no resolution of the issue in terms of determining the intended (economic) purpose of these premises, taking into account the practice of using them for permanent or primary residence. This situation is due to the lack of a definition of apartments in the current legislation. The goal is to consider certain issues of judicial protection of the rights of owners of apartments that have variable intended use, related to the observance of the rights of third parties, the organization of management of buildings in which the apartments are located, with the transfer of apartments from non-residential premises to residential ones. In particular, attempts to change the current legislation in terms of determining the status of apartments are analyzed, taking into account the balance of interests of all participants, taking into account the existing negative and positive experience. The current judicial practice is examined from the point of view of protecting the violated rights of apartment owners during bankruptcy proceedings and enforcement proceedings. Positive contractual structures have been identified when purchasing apartments, taking into account minimizing the legal risks of their owners. The features and disadvantages of taxation of apartments used for permanent residence, including during their alienation, have been identified. That is, the legal institution of apartments, used for the permanent residence of citizens, was considered as a multifaceted complex phenomenon, the regulation of which is carried out by many branches of law. Methods: analysis, synthesis and comparison. The obtained conclusions are of scientific novelty and practical significance, since they contribute to the improvement of the norms of civil legislation and the development of the science of civil law.

Copyright as democracy of aspiration: Rethinking EU law’s approach to a protected “work”

Copyright has become flawed. Technical production hurdles have disappeared, so we live in a creator economy, where anyone can be an author. Legal boundaries become more important and need to be narrowed. But EU copyright law is developing in the opposite direction, encouraged by the ECJ case law. The concept of a “work”, which was supposed to protect valuable art, has become blurred; as well as works of art, copyright now protects digital traces of everyday life. This is not only a problem of legitimacy for copyright law itself, but entails risks for the fundamental rights of third parties since, in the digital age, we communicate more and more via copyright works. To mitigate these risks, the subject matter of copyright protection needs rethinking. Copyright must take its roots seriously: they lie in the literary, scientific, and artistic domain, as described by the Berne Convention.Without making aesthetic judgements, judges must determine whether someone’s work shows“a will to form”.To be accepted as a“work” and to be protected by copyright law, a subject matter does not need to be a masterpiece, but should at least aspire to be a valuable work. Copyright can thus be understood as “democracy of aspiration”. Copyright, intellectual property, concept of work, art, author’s rights, Berne Convention

Non-governmental human rights organizations and protection of rights at the European Court of Human Rights

The article clarifies the role of non-governmental human rights organizations in the protection of rights at the European Court of Human Rights, as well as the forms of such protection. The practical aspects of the participation of human rights NGOs in the protection of rights at the ECHR are analyzed, and the dual nature of the participation of such organizations at the level of the human rights court is determined. First, the organization protects its rights as a legal entity. It not only defends its rights, but also provides a practical example for other similar organizations. That is, other organizations that may face similar violations in the future can protect their rights based on, among other things. on the decision of the ECtHR. Secondly, the organization indirectly protects other civil, social, and economic human rights. Regardless of whether the organization is the applicant or participates in the proceedings as a third party, it seeks changes in the socio-political events of the country with its own position adopted by the ECtHR. In the case of Romania, the organization pushed for the country to adopt appropriate legislation for same-sex couples, equating them in rights with traditional spouses; in climate affairs, organizations should encourage national governments to take additional measures to protect the life and health of the population, etc.
 It was concluded that the participation of human rights non-governmental organizations in the ECHR has both a theoretical and a practical aspect. The theoretical aspect is the possibility of organizations to participate in the proceedings as an applicant (protecting their own rights and not the rights of third parties) or a third party, while fulfilling the conditions regarding the admissibility of the application. The practical aspect is that organizations indirectly protect human rights by influencing the socio-political events and the development of democracy and the rule of law.

Claims for the Rights of Third Parties in Good Faith Against Confiscation of Goods in Corruption Criminal Decisions

The judge has the authority to impose additional criminal decisions in criminal acts of corruption in the form of confiscation of goods belonging to third parties in good faith. Article 19 Paragraph (2) of the Anti-Corruption Law states that third parties who have good intentions can claim their rights (object) to the confiscation of goods in a corruption crime decision no later than 2 (two) months after the court decision is pronounced in a hearing open to the public. However, the Corruption Law does not clearly regulate how to submit and examine objections so that in practice there are differences in interpretation by the applicant, respondent and judge in submissions and examinations at trial, so that there is no guarantee of unity and certainty in the legal application of rights claims (objections) to confiscation of goods in the decision of criminal acts of corruption. The legal problem that arises is what are the regulations regarding the submission and examination of claims (objections) of third parties who have good intentions regarding the confiscation of goods in the decision of a criminal act of corruption? Regulations regarding the submission and examination of claims for the rights of third parties in good faith regarding the confiscation of goods in decisions regarding criminal acts of corruption, including the legal position of the parties, method and time of submission, authority to adjudicate, evidence, and legal remedies and implementation of the decision.

A Rule of Law Analysis: Botswana’s Non-Conviction-Based Confiscation and Forfeiture Regime Under the Proceeds and Instruments of Crime Act, 2014

Abstract On its inception, the non-conviction-based asset confiscation and forfeiture regime attracted both praise and criticism. Using the Rule of Law as an analytic framework, this paper evaluates the non-conviction-based asset confiscation and forfeiture regime under Botswana’s Proceeds and Instruments of Crime Act, 2014. The paper finds that whilst the regime has withstood constitutional attacks, it still retains some shortcomings. For instance, there is lack of clarity on the standards of proof, procedures and inadequate protection of third-party rights. The paper recommends reforms.

Current issues of the application of special confiscation in the field of criminal justice

The article examines the issue of the application of special confiscation in the field of criminal justice, taking into account the requirements of international treaties, the legal positions of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, and the practice of courts of criminal jurisdiction. It has been established that certain controversial issues that accompanied the establishment of the institution of special confiscation are currently resolved, in particular by the practice of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and the Supreme Court. In particular, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine verified the compliance of the criminal law institution of special confiscation with the Constitution of Ukraine and established the compliance of Articles 96-1 and 96-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine with Articles 1, 3, 8, 21, 22, 41, 58, 61, 62, 64 of the Constitution of Ukraine. In addition, the practice of the Supreme Court demarcates the legal nature of punishment in the form of confiscation of property and special confiscation as a type of criminal law, the provisions on the procedure of special confiscation based on Articles 96-1 and 96-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine in the manner specified in Article 100 CCP of Ukraine. It was established that in those cases when a person uses property that belongs to him and that was acquired legally as one of the tools for committing a crime, the issue of the gravity of the crime committed, the sanctions of the criminal law and the application of special confiscation to the property of such a person can cause significant difficulties . At the same time, there are no special rules in the General Part of the Criminal Code of Ukraine regarding compliance of special confiscation with the requirements of proportionality to the committed crime, depending on its severity. The absence of such rules may lead to a violation of the requirements of Art. 1 of Additional Protocol No 1 to the Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The risks of a possible violation in this area should be eliminated by consistent judicial practice. It was emphasized that in view of the establishment of legal grounds and the procedure for the application of special confiscation in the field of criminal justice, the issue of the application of special confiscation taking into account the principle of proportionality and the protection of the rights of third parties – bona fide purchasers of property – remain important issues today. It was concluded that in the absence of clear criteria for the proportionality of interference with the right of ownership in both substantive and procedural legislation (Article 100 of the ССР), the question of the legality of deprivation of property from the point of view of the proportionality of interference with such a right must be resolved in each specific case, and certain rules in this aspect should be provided by established national judicial practice. Key words: property, right of ownership, punishment, intervention, confiscation, special confiscation, constitutionality, criminal law measures, third party, bona fide acquirer, proportionality, case law, proportionality

Конституционно-правовые основы ограничения свободы творчества: цели и пределы

Introduction. The diversity and transformation of relations in the sphere of the realization of the right to creative activity determine the formation of a complex mechanism of legal regulation, the elements of which should be legal restrictions. Theoretical analysis. Restrictions on the freedom of creativity are quite numerous and can be of an ethical, moral and legal nature. The ground for legal restrictions on freedom of creativity is the need to protect constitutional values, and, therefore, they are imperative and obligatory in the implementation of any creative activity. The scope and limits of legal restrictions on the freedom of creativity are not the same and depend on the stage of creative activity. A set of restrictions on the freedom of creativity is necessary when the result of creative activity – the work – becomes available for public viewing and can be perceived very ambiguously. Empirical analysis. The results of creative activity – works, as well as their creative interpretation, should not violate the rights of third parties, should not create a threat to the constitutional order, morality, health and other constitutional values, which indicates the need to limit the freedom of creativity for strictly defined purposes (part 3 of Art. 55 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation). The main problem of determining the volume and limits of restrictions on the freedom of creativity is connected, firstly, with the lack of a fixed list of types of creativity, and secondly, with the variety of forms of creative activity and their constant increase. Results. The creative process does not need to be regulated, moreover, it is impossible to “drive” it into a legal framework and limit the author’s creative perception of the surrounding world. However, if its result – a work – is intended to be demonstrated to the public, its content, form, interpretation may affect the rights and interests of other persons (consumers of creativity), therefore, general constitutional restrictions on human rights are also applicable to freedom of creativity. This legal dilemma is a particular manifestation of the fundamental problem of achieving a balance between private and public and should be resolved on the basis of not their opposition, but their reasonable correlation and proportionality.

Mediation as an alternative method of resolving disputes in the opposition procedure against the trade mark application.

Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) is becoming increasingly popular as a fast, effective, relatively cheap and lightly burdensome way to resolve conflicts. The aim of this article is to discuss the institution of mediation as an alternative method for resolving conflicts and the possibility of applying it in trade mark disputes, using the example of opposition to a trade mark application before the Polish Patent Office. The article divides the grounds for opposition into infringement of the personal or economic rights of third parties and identity with or similarity to an earlier trade mark, reputed trade mark or well-known trade mark. It analyses the possibility of using mediation at the stage which the legislature indicates to the parties as the time limit for amicable settling disputes as well as the legitimacy, possibility and admissibility of mediation at other stages of opposition proceedings.