One-time monetary payment and compensation as ways to enforce intellectual property rights

Анотація

The authors determine that the growing role and importance of intellectual property require an increase in the efficiency of its legal enforcement. The enforcement of the rights and legitimate interests of intellectual property rights holders is carried out through an enforcement mechanism that includes a system of forms, methods, and means used by the relevant jurisdictional authorities and stakeholders to ensure proper enforcement of the rights and interests of intellectual property rights holders. It is noted that international legal regulation plays a vital role in the enforcement of intellectual property rights, given its national character.

The article analyses the compliance of the national legislation of Ukraine in the field of intellectual property rights enforcement with the provisions of the Acquis Communautaire and the legislation of the European Community. This is because intellectual property rights are national. Although there are international agreements governing this area, they cannot always resolve all differences. The creation of the EU as a new legal space required a revision of approaches to intellectual property regulation and the development of supranational legal instruments to ensure the effective functioning of the common market.

The article is devoted to defining the legal nature of one-time financial assistance and compensation as forms of compensation for property damage for infringement of intellectual property rights. The article emphasises the key role of ensuring fair and effective enforcement of intellectual property rights to stimulate innovation, technology development, and economic growth. The importance of knowledge and a conscious attitude to the enforcement of these rights lies in their impact on the progressive development of society. The enforcement of intellectual property rights facilitates the exchange of technology and knowledge between countries and organisations, which in turn supports scientific and technological progress on a global scale.

The main form of compensation for material damage caused to the victim is compensation for damages, which includes actual damages and lost profits. When claiming damages, the right holder must prove the existence and amount of damages, as well as their causal relationship to the infringer’s actions. Usually, when exclusive rights are infringed, damages are expressed in the form of lost profits – the amount that the right holder could have received if the infringer had entered into an agreement with him/her and used the intellectual property for a fee. Lost profits should be considered at least as much as illegally obtained profit. The application of a one- time monetary penalty instead of compensation for damages for the misuse of an intellectual property right implies that the amount of this penalty is determined by the law, taking into account the person’s fault and other essential circumstances.

It is the responsibility of the victim to prove the amount of damages suffered, which also requires proving that the exclusive right has been infringed. This method of restoring the infringed right is complex for the subject of the exclusive right, as it requires submission to the court of evidence of the losses, documents confirming their amount, and proof that the actions of a particular infringer caused the losses. The amount of compensation depends on the intent of the infringer. If the infringement was intentional, the amount of compensation may be tripled, and in the absence of intent, doubled. This means that liability for violation of rights arises even without intent.