Article title Compensation for Infringed Proprietary Rights to Intellectual Property: Issues of Theory and Practice
Authors

Candidate of Juridical Sciences. Associate professor, Associate professor of the civil law and process department Ivan Franko National University of Lviv (Lviv, Ukraine) ORCID ID: http://orcid.org/ 0000-0001-5322-249X Researcher ID: http://www.researcherid.com/rid/ V-8723-2018 yakubivskyy@gmail.com

Name of magazine Legal journal «Law of Ukraine» (Ukrainian version)
Issue 1/2019
Сторінки [256-269]
DOI 10.33498/louu-2019-01-256
Annotation

In modern conditions, protection of proprietary rights to intellectual property gains increasing relevance. Given that reinstatement of the rightholder’s property status by reimbursement of losses sustained by the rightholder involves difficulties in proving such losses and their amount, the legislation provides for an alternative way of protection, namely, the possibility to claim compensation for infringed proprietary rights to intellectual property. Although respective issues have already been in the focus of research by national scholars, they are still relevant and require further scientific development in view of the amendments made in 2018 to Article 52 of the Law of Ukraine “On Copyright and Related Rights”. The purpose of this article is to analyze the theoretical and practical issues of compensation for infringed proprietary rights to intellectual property and to develop proposals for improving the legal regulation of this legal remedy. Following the analysis of approaches to legal regulation of compensation for infringed proprietary rights to intellectual property existing in the United States and the European Union, the author comes to the conclusion about a generally positive nature of the amendments made in 2018 to Article 52 of the Law of Ukraine “On Copyright and Related Rights” which replaced the “fork” – based compensation model by the lump sum compensation model provided for in Directive 2004/48/EC. A possibility to claim compensation in a double amount of payments which would have been due if the infringer had requested authorization to use the property concerned is admissible from the position of the said Directive and is currently provided for in legislation of a number of the EU Member States. At the same time, the author notes that there is no appropriate justification for the introduced rule according to which compensation for intentional infringements may be recovered in the tripled amount of relevant payments. The author expresses the position that compensation as a way to protect proprietary rights to intellectual property should be universal for the whole domain of intellectual property and be used to protect the rights to various properties. For this purpose, it would be reasonable to provide for compensation for infringed proprietary rights to intellectual property as a lump sum instead of damages, in cl. 5, Part 2 of Article 432 of the Civil Code of Ukraine, replacing with it the term “one-time monetary penalty”. For its part, special legislation may provide for specific aspects of claiming compensation for infringed proprietary rights to certain types of property, in particular, recovery of a double amount of payments due to the rightholder.

 

Keywords protection of proprietary rights to intellectual property; indemnification of damages; compensation; lump sum
References

List of legal documents 

Legislation 
1. Directive 2004/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the enforcement of intellectual property rights. Official Journal of the European Union. 2004. L 157. P. 45 (in English). 
2. Pro avtorske pravo i sumizhni prava [On Copyright and Related Rights]: Zakon Ukrainy [the Law of Ukraine] vid 23 hrudnia 1993 r. № 3792-XII (v redaktsii zakonu vid 11 lypnia 2001 r. № 2627-III). Vidomosti Verkhovnoi Rady Ukrainy. 2001. № 43. St. 214 (in Ukrainian). 
3. Pro efektyvne upravlinnia mainovymy pravamy pravovlasnykiv u sferi avtorskoho prava i (abo) sumizhnykh prav [On Effective Management of Property Rights of Right Holders in Copyright and (or) Related Rights Scope]: Zakon Ukrainy [the Law of Ukraine] vid 15 travnia 2018 r. № 2415-VIII. Vidomosti Verkhovnoi Rady Ukrainy. 2018. № 32. St. 242 (in Ukrainian). 
4. Pro okhoronu prav na sorty roslyn [On Protection of Rights on Varieties of Plants]: Zakon Ukrainy [the Law of Ukraine] vid 15 hrudnia 1993 r. № 3116-XII (v redaktsii zakonu vid 17 sichnia 2002 r. № 2986-III). Vidomosti Verkhovnoi Rady Ukrainy. 2002. № 23. St. 163 (in Ukrainian). 
5. Pro vnesennia zmin do deiakykh zakonodavchykh aktiv shchodo vrehuliuvannia pytan avtorskoho prava i sumizhnykh prav [On Amending Certain Legislative Acts on the Settlement of Copyright and Related Rights]: proekt Zakonu Ukrainy [Draft of Law of Ukraine] № 7539 (accessed: 23.10.2018) (in Ukrainian). 
6. Tsyvilnyi kodeks Ukrainy [Civil Code of Ukraine]: Zakon Ukrainy [the Law of Ukraine] vid 16 sichnia 2003 r. № 435-IV. Vidomosti Verkhovnoi Rady Ukrainy. 2003. № 40-44. St. 356 (in Ukrainian). 
7. Uhoda pro asotsiatsiiu mizh Ukrainoiu, z odniiei storony, ta Yevropeiskym Soiuzom, Yevropeiskym spivtovarystvom z atomnoi enerhii i yikhnimy derzhavamy-chlenamy, z inshoi storony [The Association Agreement between Ukraine, of the One Part, and the European Union, the European Atomic Energy Community and Their Member States, of the Other Part], ratyfikovana iz zaiavoiu Zakonom Ukrainy [Ratified with Statement by the Law of Ukraine] vid 16 veresnia 2014 r. № 1678-VII. Vidomosti Verkhovnoi Rady Ukrainy. 2014. № 40. St. 2021 (in Ukrainian). 
8. Uhoda pro torhovelni aspekty prav intelektualnoi vlasnosti [Agreement on Trade- Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights] vid 15 rvitnia 1994 r. Ofitsiinyi visnyk Ukrainy. 2010. № 84. St. 2989 (in Ukrainian). 

Cases 
9. Judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union, Case C-367/15 Stowarzyszenie ‘Oławska Telewizja Kablowa’ v Stowarzyszenie Filmowców Polskich, 27 January 2017 (accessed: 10.09.2018) (in English). 
10. Wyrok Trybunału Konstytucyjnego Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z dnia 23 czerwca 2015 sygn. akt SK 32/14 (accessed: 22.07.2018) (in Polish). 
11. Postanova Vyshchoho hospodarskoho sudu Ukrainy [Judgment of the Higher Economic Court of Ukraine] vid 18 serpnia 2015 r., sudova sprava № 910/23835/14 (accessed: 15.06.2018) (in Ukrainian). 
12. Pro deiaki pytannia praktyky zastosuvannia hospodarskymy sudamy zakonodavstva pro zakhyst prav na ob’iekty intelektualnoi vlasnosti [On Some Issues of Economic Courts’ Practice Regarding Application of the Legislation on the Protection of Rights to Intellectual Property: ]: ohliadovyi lyst Vyshchoho hospodarskoho sudu Ukrainy [Review Letter of the High Economic Court of Ukraine] vid 28 liutoho 2017 r., № 01-06/52 (accessed: 03.08.2018) (in Ukrainian). 
13. Pro deiaki pytannia praktyky vyrishennia sporiv, pov’iazanykh iz zakhystom prav intelektualnoi vlasnosti [On Some Issues of Dispute Resolution Practice Relating to Intellectual Property Rights Protection]: postanova plenumu Vyshchoho hospodarskoho sudu Ukrainy [Decree of the Plenum of the High Economic Court of Ukraine] vid 17 zovtnia 2012 r. № 12. Visnyk hospodarskoho sudochynstva. 2012. № 6. S. 57 (in Ukrainian). 
14. Pro zastosuvannia sudamy norm zakonodavstva u spravakh pro zakhyst avtorskoho prava i sumizhnykh prav [On Application of Legislation Provisions by Courts in Cases of Copyright and Related Rights Protection]: postanova plenumu Verkhovnoho Sudu Ukrainy [Decree of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of Ukraine] vid 4 chervnia 2010 r. № 5. Visnyk Verkhovnoho Sudu Ukrainy. 2010. № 6. S. 4 (in Ukrainian). 

Bibliography 

Authored books 
15. Masterson J, International Trademarks and Copyrights: Enforcement and Management (American Bar Association 2004) (in English). 
16. Seuba X, The Global Regime for the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights (Cambridge University Press 2017) (in English). 
17. Spasibo-Fateeva I i drugie, Har’kovskaja civilisticheskaja shkola: osushhestvlenie i zashhita prava intellektual’noj sobstvennosti: monografija [Kharkov School of Civil Law: Exercise and Protection of the Intellectual Property Right: Monograph] (Pravo 2018) (in Russian). 

Edited books 
18. ‘European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights’ in Observatory update on Costs and Damages’ (OHIM 2014) (accessed: 23.07.2018) (in English). 
19. Kodinec A, ‘Teoreticheskie aspekty zashhity prav intellektual’noj sobstvennosti’ [‘Theoretical Aspects of Protection of Intellectual Property Rights’] v Majdanik R (red), Al’manah civilistiki: sbornik statej [Almanac of Civil Law: Collected Articles], vyp 5 (Alerta 2012) (in Russian). 

Journal articles 
20. Samuelson P and Hill Ph and Wheatland T, ‘Statutory Damages: A Rarity in Copyright Laws Internationally, But For How Long?’ (accessed: 20.03.2018) (in English). 
21. Koval I ‘Vyplata kompensatsii za nepravomirne vykorystannia ob’iekta intelektualnoi vlasnosti: pravova pryroda y umovy zastosuvannia’ [‘Payment of Compensation for Misuse of Intellectual Property: Legal Nature and Application Terms’’] (2015) 6 Teoriia i praktyka intelektualnoi vlasnosti 70 (in Ukrainian). 

Electronic version Download