UKRAINE Law and Practice Contributed by: Oleksandr Mamunya, Ganna Prokhorova, Nataliia Badora and Ihor Kharytonov, Mamunya IP
2.9 Special Limitation Provisions According to the Civil Code of Ukraine, the gen- eral statute of limitations for applying to the court is three years. This term applies to all claims aris- ing out of patent infringements. The statute of limitations period commences on the day when a person learned or could have learned about the infringement of its right or about an infringer. According to the Supreme Court, commence- ment of the statute of limitations in intellectual property disputes may be related to the begin- ning of the relevant conflict or competition in the market rather than to the date of publication of information on registration of the intellectual property right(s) in question. 2.10 Mechanisms to Obtain Evidence and Information Ukrainian legislation provides several tools for obtaining evidence from an opponent or third parties in intellectual property disputes. Inquiries to Government Agencies, Individuals and Legal Entities Any person may request public information from public authorities. If the requested information is not confidential, an addressee shall provide a comprehensive response to a request within five working days. Also, any person may apply to the UA PTO with a request to provide copies of the application case file regarding any intellectual property object. There is a fee for providing the said copies. An attorney at law, being a representative of a person concerned, may also make attorney’s requests to any person in order to gather evi- dence for the trial. Responding to an attorney’s
The motion may be considered by the court ex parte within two days as from the date of its fil- ing. In some instances, a court may summon an applicant for providing additional arguments and/or evidence. In exceptional instances, a court may schedule a court hearing and sum- mon all the parties to consider such a motion. A patent owner should provide the court with sufficient evidence confirming that there are reasonable grounds to believe that infringement takes place and that measures to be applied are adequate and commensurate with the claims. A ruling on interim injunction enters into force immediately, and an appeal against such a ruling does not suspend its enforcement. 2.8 Protection for Potential Opponents If a potential defendant spots a motion for an interim injunction immediately after its filing, they may file a motion for consideration of that interim injunction in a court hearing before all the par- ties. Such a motion may increase the chances of the defendant being engaged in the interim injunction consideration process. A potential defendant may file objections against an interim injunction, which shall be considered by the court. In addition, the effective Ukrainian law envisages a mechanism for securing the rights of a per- son against whom an injunction is applied as a counter-collateral. Namely, a court may require an interim injunction’s applicant to deposit an amount to compensate potential damages that may be incurred by a defendant as a result of an interim injunction. Counter-collateral is usu- ally provided by depositing funds in the court’s deposit account in the amount determined by the court.
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