Competence of the Appeals Chamber of the National Intellectual Property Office in the field of patent rights protection

The article is dedicated to the analysis of the competence of the Appellate Chamber of the National Intellectual Property Office. It is established that the Appellate Chamber is a collegial body of the National Intellectual Property Office for considering objections to decisions of the National Intellectual Property Office on the acquisition of rights to intellectual property objects, applications for recognizing rights to intellectual property objects as invalid in whole or in part, applications for recognizing a trademark as well-known in Ukraine and considering other issues within its competence in accordance with the law. It is established that for proper legal protection and defense of patent rights (and intellectual property rights in general), there must be a balance of proper legal regulation and the functioning of relevant institutions that ensure the possibility of considering applications and complaints regarding the protection of violated rights. It is established that in Ukraine in 2020, a reform of legislation in the field of industrial property took place, which significantly improved the legislative provisions on the legal regime of all objects of patent law, on the procedure for acquiring, exercising and protecting rights to them. It is proven that the activities of the Appeal Chamber of the National Intellectual Property Office are aimed specifically at strengthening the legal protection and defense of industrial property objects (including patent objects). It is proven that the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU (2014) outlined the basic principles of intellectual property rights protection, which must be applied in Ukraine in order for domestic legislation to comply with European standards. It is substantiated that the consideration of applications and objections by the Appeal Chamber of the National Intellectual Property Office takes place within the framework of private-law relations, and not within the framework of public-law relations, since intellectual property rights in general (and patent rights in particular) are of a private-law nature, and relations regarding their acquisition, exercise and protection are private-law. It is substantiated that the activities of the Appeal Chamber of the National Intellectual Property Office in protecting these rights cannot be interpreted as the activities of a public administration body, since the Appeal Chamber of the National Intellectual Property Office is part of the structure of a state organization (National Intellectual Property Office), and not a state authority. It is proved that the activities of the Appellate Chamber of the National Intellectual Property Office and its competence should be considered through the prism of private law relations, since the powers of the Appellate Chamber of the National Intellectual Property Office are aimed at considering disputes of a private law nature, as evidenced by judicial practice and legal positions of the Supreme Court. It is proved that the activities of the Appellate Chamber of the National Intellectual Property Office cannot be interpreted as the consideration and resolution of a case related to the protection of patent rights within the framework of an administrative procedure, but are a private law mechanism for protecting a violated, disputed or unrecognized right.