Applying to the Antimonopoly Committee in cases of unfair competition of other market participants is very often a more effective tool than initiating a trial.
Unauthorized use of business reputation by a competitor is possible through the use of company designations (ТМ, commercial name, advertising materials, packaging of goods), copying the appearance of the goods, selling goods of another manufacturer under their own designation, creating comparative advertising not following the rules, discrediting reputation, illegal collection, disclosure, and use of trade secrets.
If the above violations or other non-competitive actions of other companies have been identified, this is a subject for applying to the Antimonopoly Committee.
Before applying, thorough preparatory work should be carried out – to properly record all the facts of violations, collect evidence in compliance with the procedures, prepare requests to experts, law enforcement agencies, etc.
The maximum fine in cases of violating of Competition Law in Ukraine is up to 5% of the annual revenue of the enterprise, as well as seizure of products and compensation for losses to the injured party.
Late 2019, the legislation on comparative advertising was introduced in Ukraine, which opened up a wide space for the use of competitors’ brands in their advertising. But the active use of comparative advertising will be a catalyst for increasing disputes between companies in the Antimonopoly Committee.
Crane IP Law Firm has extensive experience representing companies in cases of protection against unfair competition:
– General competition law advice.
– Competition compliance review (review of distribution and marketing agreements, discounting and bonus programs, competition compliance assessment for advertising, using packaging, etc.).
– Collecting evidence and preparing an appeal to the Antimonopoly Committee.
– Obtaining merger and antitrust clearances.
– Support for the consideration of the case in the antimonopoly service.
– Monitoring the actions of competitors regarding the unfair use of the reputation of your business.
– Litigation with competitors/unfair distributors.
– Pre-trial settlement of disputes.
– Advising and developing a strategy for the use of unfair competition law in various jurisdictions.
– Analysis of advertising materials for compliance with the law.
– Competition law advising and consultations.
– Obtaining permissions from the Antimonopoly Committee for M&A transactions.