Aequo have successfully represented Darnitsa, a leading Ukrainian pharmaceutical company, in a dispute against Farmak, Ukrpatent (UA PTO), and the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine.
On 10 December 2021 the Commercial Court of Kyiv City decided in favor of Darnitsa by cancelling the PTO Appellate Chamber’s decision on recognition the "Корвалол Corvalolum" trademark as well-known in Ukraine.
Darnitsa initiated proceedings back in 2017; in 2020, the Supreme Court cancelled the lower courts decisions and remanded the case for retrial.
Darnitsa appealed against the said decision of the Appellate Chamber due to its non-compliance with the laws. Prior to Darnitsa’s claim was filed with the court, Farmak has attempted to use the "Корвалол Corvalolum" trademark as the ground for invalidation of the "Корвалол-Дарниця" (Corvalol-Darnitsa) trademark. However, that case was resolved in favor of Darnitsa.
"The winning judgment in "Корвалол Corvalolum" case sets a precedent for Ukrainian jurisprudence, since nobody was able to invalidate in courts any decision of the UA PTO Appellate Chamber recognizing trademarks as well-known. We believe that the discretionary powers of the Chamber can not be exercised in arbitrariness manner or based on contradictory or irrelevant arguments (as in case on "Корвалол Corvalolum" decision by UA PTO Appellate Chamber)", - Tetiana Kudrytska, Partner at Aequo, comments.
Tetiana Kudrytska, Dmitriy Koroza and Viktoriya Semenyna have handled the matter.
About the firm
Aequo is one of Ukraine’s top law firms serving industry leaders in transactional and dispute resolution matters.
Aequo’s clients are leading Ukrainian and international companies and organizations, such as Bunge, Corteva, Darnitsa, DuPont, EBRD, EFSE, European Commission, Facebook, GlaxoSmithKline, Google, IFC, Inditex, Instagram, Kernel, Novo Nordisk, OLX, Philip Morris, Posco International, ProCredit Bank, Raiffeisen Bank, Schenker, Samsung, Sandvik, UniCredit, Vodafone Ukraine.
Aequo has been named the Most Innovative Law Firm of the Year in Ukraine by IFLR Europe Awards 2018, by 2017 The Lawyer European Awards as the Law Firm of the Year in Russia, Ukraine and the CIS region, and one of the most innovative law firms in Europe according to the FT Innovative Lawyers 2015-2021.
For additional information please contact Director of Marketing and PR Iulia Chervonookaya
by e-mail: chervonookaya@aequo.ua, or by phone +380 44 490 91 00
