Protection of Rights on Trademark

Any infringement of rights of the owner of registered trademark including any actions and preparation for activity that requires the owner’s permission, without obtaining of the such, is considered as violation of the roight owners’ rights.

Forms of the protection of rights of the rightowner:

Non-jurisdictional – provides for the actions of natural and/or legal persons regarding the protection of the exclusive rights on trademark. Such actions are to be carried out by the persons themselves without involvement of any state authorities. These are merely legal actions such as notification of the infringer on the existence of rights infringed, with an offer of the dispute settlement by means of negotiations.

Jurisdictional – provides for the acitivity of the state authorities regarding the protection of disputed and/or violatied rights. The essence of such a form of protection is that the person whose rights have been violated, can seek protection from the specifically appointed state authorities including the courts, the Antimonopoly Committee etc.

The jurisdictional rofm of protection of rights of the trademark’s ownercan be carried out by means of the following procedures:

Civil procedure is the most commonly applied procedure for the protection of exclusive rights on trademarks. Its main purpose is rather the compensation of damages and renovation of rights than the punishment of the infringer. The wide range of protective measures specified for such a protection under the current laws, includes:

• the recognition of the exclusive right;
• the recognition of contract related to the rights on trademark, as void;
• discountinuance of violating actions, including the obliteration on the goods and/or packaging of the unlawfully exploited trademark or trademark which is similar to the diputed one to the extent of their confusion; or the defacing of such trademark;
• restitution of the situation that existed prior to the violation of rights;
• compensation of damages and other forms of the material damages’ compensation;
• compensation of moral damages;
• recognition of the decision of the state authority as unlawful.

The liability of the infringer is invoked on the grounds of suit filed by the rightowner.

Criminal procedure is the procedure that provides for the criminal liability of the infringer. However, to qualify the violation of rights on trademark as criminal offence, it is necessary that the violation fulfill such criminal offence requirements as continuity of the unlawful action and the impairment of gross or severe damages. The subjective aspect is here characterized by the intention with the direct form of guilt.

Criminal liability provides fro such forms of punishment as fine, corrective works, imprisonment, confiscation of the infringing goods.

Administrative liability is the procedure under which the person whose rights have been violated, in most of the cases files the claim in the Antimonopoly Committee. Such claim can be filed if the the exclusive rights on trademark are infringed due to the act of unfair competition. The Antimonopoly Committee therefore makes any of the following decisions:

• recognition of fact of the unfair competition;
• discontituation of the unfair competition’ activities;
• fine;
• comfiscation of goods with the unlawfully exploitated trademarks as well as unlawfully produced copies of goods of other person (legal or natural).

The decision of the Antimonopoly Committee can furthermore be litigated in the court.