A claim of improper use of a trademark

Improper use of a trademark without the consent of its owner is a common situation that manufacturers of goods and service providers often face in practice. However, not every trademark owner knows what to do in such cases to protect their legal interests, because writing claims and the general procedure for protecting intellectual property rights is a complex legal process with certain subtleties. This shows the relevance of the chosen topic for today. Therefore, in this article we will talk about the specifics of filing a claim for improper use of a trademark, taking into account the provisions of the current regulatory legal acts of Ukraine.

When should I file a trademark infringement claim?

From the analysis of the provisions of Article 16 of the Law of Ukraine “On Protection of Rights to Marks for Goods and Services”, it can be seen that the certificate for the mark of goods and services gives its owner the legal right to use this mark and other rights defined by regulatory legal acts. In addition, such a certificate gives its owner the exclusive right to prohibit other citizens from using, without his consent, both a registered sign and a designation similar to a registered sign.

If you have a similar situation, you should react to it in a timely manner and contact the violator with a claim for improper use of the trademark and compensation for the damages.

What should be understood by a claim of improper use of a trademark?

Ukrainian legislation does not contain a clear definition of the concept of a claim of improper use of a trademark. However, from the general analysis of the specific laws of Ukraine in the field of intellectual property, it can be concluded that a claim should be understood as a legal document submitted by a person or organization (trademark owner) to another party that violates the legal rights to a trade mark.

The claim must contain:

• the demand to stop the illegal use of the trademark;
• compensation for damages to the trademark owner (if any);
• efforts to settle the conflict before the court.

What should you do if you receive a trademark misuse claim?

When you receive a notification about a possible infringement of the trademark owner’s rights, you should not ignore it.

In practice, the sender, as a rule, is serious and ready to go to court to eliminate the violation of his legal rights and interests. Therefore, it is better not to count on the fact that the problem will disappear by itself, and to turn to qualified lawyers in a timely manner.

Advice! The lawyers who will be able to protect intellectual property rights are the lawyers of the legal company “Prykhodko and Partners”, as we have considerable experience in working with cases in the field of intellectual property.

However, before calling a lawyer, you should check the validity of the claim yourself. To do this, check for trademark registration on the sender of the claim. After that, read the details about the trademark itself:

• for which goods or services it is registered, that is, what it applies to;
• when it was registered;
• who is the owner of the trademark;
• search for it by the number of the trademark certificate on the UKRNOIVI website and make sure that it really exists and is valid today, because the trademark is
• registered only for 10 years.

If you want to write a claim about improper use of a trademark, contact the lawyers from the Prykhodko and Partners law firm.

We will help you draw up all the necessary procedural documents to protect your intellectual property rights, because we have thorough knowledge and practical experience in this field. Get in touch!