Sayenko Kharenko has successfully defended the interests of Starlink in a dispute over the early termination of the Ukrainian trademark certificate.
According to Sayenko Kharenko, back in 2022, American company Space Exploration Technologies Corporation filed a claim with the Kyiv Commercial Court seeking early termination of certificate No. 135574 for the Starlink trademark, which had been registered in good faith and actively used in its activities by Ukrainian company Starlink since 2011. The plaintiff claimed that the said trademark had allegedly not been used by its owner for the last five years.
"After hearing the case, the court of first instance found that Starlink had used the trademark during the period mentioned above. Therefore, there were no grounds for termination of the certificate. It was also confirmed by the court that Space Exploration Technologies Corporation had no infringed rights or legitimate interest as a basis for filing this lawsuit. Disagreeing with the decision of the court of first instance, Space Exploration Technologies Corporation appealed against it," the firm reported.
After considering the parties’ arguments, "the appellate court dismissed the appeal in full, confirming the groundlessness of the plaintiff’s claims and the legitimacy of the owner’s use of the disputed trademark," Sayenko Kharenko announced.
The Sayenko Kharenko team included Partner Yaroslav Ognevyuk, Senior Associate Volodymyr Hrunskyi, Associate Khrystyna Ivanytska, and Junior Associate Igor Korohod.