Protection from Unfair Competition

About service

With consumers' attention becoming the scarcity, businesses employ innovative marketing practices to get their message delivered. In doing so, companies must ensure these practices do not harm the consumers and competitors.

 

We help our clients make sure their marketing activities while ensuring competitive advantage, do not undermine consumers' trust and attract unnecessary attention from the regulator. This usually involves making sure the marketing statements are accurate and not misleading, and that they do not induce consumer decisions based on false assumptions.

 

Appreciating the great effort our clients put in building their brands and establishing trust, we defend them against acts of unfair competition such as copying product and packaging design, ads creatives, and so on. This ensures the client brand's integrity and protects it from dilution caused by parasitic marketing.

 

We always make sure our unfair competition advice is aligned with the client's broader intellectual property strategy through the lens of ultimate business objectives. As a result, our clients leverage innovative practices to capture the consumers' attention while being protected from competitors' unfair practices and non-compliance allegations.

 

Our expertise in this area includes the following:

 

·        Protecting the clients before the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine

·        Analyzing promo materials and marketing campaigns for compliance with applicable law, obtaining recommendations of the regulator

·        Protecting intellectual property by means of legislation on the protection against unfair competition

·        Challenging the decisions of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine on unfair competition in the court

 

When a management with a reputation for brilliance tackles a business with a reputation for bad economics, it is the reputation of the business that remains intact

- Warren Buffett

A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business

- Henry Ford

Key contacts

Oleksandr Mamunya

Managing Partner, Patent and Trademark Attorney

Oleksandr Mamunya is an Attorney-at-law and a Patent and Trademark Attorney. Since 2003 Oleksandr has been practicing in the area of Intellectual Property, including patents, trademarks, trade names, designs, copyright, and related rights, domain names, as well as IP enforcement, litigation and anti-counterfeiting. His experience covers litigation and out-of-court dispute resolution, including patents, trademarks, and trade names for major Ukrainian and international companies. In addition, he handles complicated trademark and patent prosecution matters and works on complex IP assignments and licensing deals, and manages big clients’ IP portfolios. Oleksandr works in close cooperation with the Ukrainian PTO and is involved in projects to improve mechanisms of intellectual property rights protection, and in elaborating and implementing IP reform in Ukraine. Oleksandr is a member and active participant of the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property ( AIPPI ) (since 2012), the International Trademark Association ( INTA ) (since 2008) (member of the Anticounterfeiting Committee (2022-2025), the Parallel Imports Committee (2017-2021), and the leader of the Case Law Development Working Group (2021), Ukrainian Bar Association ( UBA ) (Chair of IP Committee (since 2017), National Association of Patent Attorneys of Ukraine (admitted to practice as Patent and Trademark Attorney since 2010), European Business Association (since 2012) (Сouncillor of the Agrochemical Committee and Consumer Electronics Committee), Kyiv City Bar Association (admitted to Bar since 2005). Education Ukrainian School for Political Studies, 2016 State Institute of Intellectual Property, 2009 World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Academy, 2005 Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Law, 2004​

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Ganna Prokhorova

Partner, Attorney-at-law

Ganna Prokhorova is an attorney-at-law, mediator, and arbitrator focused on Intellectual Property, and particularly on trademarks, copyright and designs, unfair competition, and art law. Since 2005 she has been advising well-known domestic and international companies for protection of intangible assets through a combination of monitoring and filing strategies, negotiating and drafting IP assignments, licensing and franchising agreements, as well as judicial and out-of-court remedies against infringements and dilution. Ganna has a profound experience in IP court cases and domain name disputes representing famous international brand owners. She is also regularly engaged in combating counterfeits and protecting plant varieties in Ukraine. Ganna is a WIPO Domain Name Panelist under the UDRP and UA-DRP at WIPO (Geneva, Switzerland), and a URS Examiner at MFSD (Milan, Italy). Ganna is an arbitrator at the Court of Arbitration for Art (CAfA) (Hague, the Netherlands). In addition, she has for a long time been in the leadership of several international and domestic organizations and associations, such as the International Trademark Association ( INTA ) since 2015 (member of the Copyright Committee, the Chair of International & Legislative Subcommittee of the Copyright Committee, 2022-2023 and the Leader of “Works Made for Hire: Review of Legislation and Practice” Task Force covering 60+ countries, 2020-2023, member of the Bulletin Committee – Features, 2018-2019, member of the Anticounterfeiting Committee, 2016-2017), the European Community Trade Mark Association ( ECTA ) (member of the Anti-Counterfeiting Committee, 2019-2022), the Pharmaceutical Trade Marks Group (member since 2016), the Ukrainian National Bar Association ( UNBA ) (member of the IP Committee Board since 2019), the Ukrainian Bar Association ( UBA ) (member since 2006). Ganna is passionate about IP. Her emphatic, dynamic and flexible approach to handling matters, together with the ability to manage and foresee different issues in advance, and the solid network of relations with IP professionals worldwide, are the values appreciated by clients. Education Sotheby’s Institute of Art, 2018 State Institute of Intellectual Property, IP Law, 2016 The Hague Academy of International Law, 2015 World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Academy, 2007 Kyiv National Economic University named after Vadym Hetman (KNEU), Commercial Law, 2006

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Dmytro Stefanovych

Senior Associate, Attorney-at-law

Dmytro specializes in IP enforcement and litigation, with a focus on trademarks and domain names. Dmytro regularly represents clients before customs authorities, handles anti-counterfeiting matters and has considerable experience in trademark prosecution and IP portfolio management. His areas of expertise also include advertising law personal data protection, licensing and IP due diligence. Dmytro is a member of the Public Information Committee of the International Trademark Association (INTA) (2024-2025), the Intellectual Property, Technology, Media, and Telecommunications Commission of the International Association of Young Lawyers (AIJA), WIPO ADR Young (WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center) and the Ukrainian Bar Association. He is admitted to the Bar. Dmytro was actively involved in a number of landmark projects, such as: Representing a US multinational tech company in several TM non-use cancellation actions and domain name disputes. Providing a full range of anti-counterfeiting services to the largest delicatessen and coffee business in Europe. Representing a worldwide known crop health management platform in a TM invalidation action. Advising fintech company (digital bank) in the court case against the local PTO, arranging TM prosecution and portfolio management. Advising a famous US manufacturer of confectionary on the protection of IP rights at the customs border. Supporting one of the oldest universities in the English-speaking world in the TM pre-grant opposition matters in Ukraine. Managing the large copyright enforcement program for a major group of European and US software producers. Advising the leading Italian pharmaceutical company regarding promotional activity and advertising of pharmaceutical products. Education Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, International Law, 2018

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Ilona Boliubash

Of counsel

Ilona Boliubash specializes in Intellectual Property litigation with a focus on patents and trademarks, as well as advises clients on copyright, collective management of copyright and plant varieties protection. Ilona’s expertise also includes domain name disputes under the UA-DRP, GDPR compliance, data protection as well as defamation cases. Her primary focus industries are pharmaceuticals, IT and TMT. Ilona is a recipient of the Chevening Scholarship 2023-2024 and is pursuing her specialised studies of intellectual property law at King's College London as an LLM student. Ilona has a profound experience in complex trademark protection projects, including multiple court disputes regarding series of trademarks of one of the biggest Ukrainian pharmaceutical producers (e.g., invalidation of the UA PTO Appeal Chamber decision) and a successful infringement case for a famous British engine manufacturer. Ilona actively participates in developing her alma mater's moot court society. She is a member of the Unfair Competition Committee of the International Trademark Association (INTA) (2022-2023, 2024-2025), the Intellectual Property, Technology, Media, and Telecommunications Commission of the International Association of Young Lawyers (AIJA), WIPO ADR Young (WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center) and the Ukrainian Bar Association (UBA). Ilona is admitted to the Bar. Ilona Boliubash took an active part in a variety of complex projects in IP and, inter alia, in the following: A number of court disputes over the trademarks used as key trade names for the most popular medicinal products of one of the biggest Ukrainian pharmaceutical companies. The disputes included invalidation of the UA PTO Appeal Chamber decision re the competitor's TM, numerous trademark and patent invalidation cases against unfair market players, including the invalidation based on generic nature of the trademark. Collecting evidence, drafting and filing the request, and subsequent recognition of several trademarks as well-known by the UA PTO Appeal Chamber. Successful trademark infringement case for a famous British engine manufacturer which resulted in taking down the client's trademarks from the infringer's website. Ceasing the illegal use of the world-renowned client’s trademarks in the domain names under the UA-DPR proceedings. Representing the top multinational tech company in several litigation matters where early termination of the client’s TMs and invalidation of the Appeal Chamber decision on recognition of the well-known status of the TM is claimed. Representing major innovative European lifescience company in a number of patent litigation matters, including patent infringement, patent invalidation and preliminary injunction matters. Representing the world-known FMCG company before the Ukrainian customs authorities in the course of trademarks recordals in the IP objects registry, and fighting potentially counterfeiting activities. Education Harvard Law School, CopyrightX Course, 2022 Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Law, 2019 World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Academy, 2019 King's College London, IP Law LLM, 2023-2024

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