Mariya Ortynska, trademark & patent attorney and IPStyle managing partner, was a lecturer at the Legal High School special course for FMCG & Retail attorneys.

In the class on Case law Mariya presented Ukrainian cases with an international element and spoke about the judicial protection of intellectual property rights in the European Union.

During the discussion of the IP rights protection in the EU, it was determined that Ukrainian business needs to know this in order to:

• enter the EU market safely;
• protect their rights in the EU.

Mariya spoke about the nuances of entering the EU market and TM registration in the EU from the perspective of the case law of 2020.

In particular, Mariya presented a detailed analysis of the 5-year dispute between cookie manufacturers: the owner of the TM “OREO” and the owner of the TM “Twins Cookie Sandwich”.

Mariya described in detail what is a “trademark with a reputation” and how such status affects the protection of TM rights in the EU.

Another interesting case that Mariya analyzed in the class was the case of “monopolization of dinosaurs” between the company owning the TM “DINOSAURUS” and the company that has TM “GALLESAURUS”.

The following conclusions were drawn as a result of the discussion:

• Businesses that enter the EU market must play by EU rules and know EU case law.
• Reputation is important not only in business but also in intellectual property.
• Minimal TM modification doesn’t work anymore.
• “We just got inspired by an idea” is not a strategy.