On making amendments to some legislative acts of Ukraine regarding the humanization of responsibility for violations in the sphere of economic activity and official activity

On January 17, 2012, the Law of Ukraine № 4025-VI «On amendments to some legislative acts of Ukraine regarding the humanization of responsibility for violations in the sphere of economic activity and official activities» (hereinafter — the Law) came into effect.

The said Law, in particular, amended article 229 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (the CC of Ukraine), aimed at the humanization of responsibility for crimes related to illegal use of trademarks, trade names, qualified appellations of origin, or other willful infringement of the rights to these objects, if these actions caused damage to a substantial amount.

The new wording of article 229 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine provides for the following types of sanctions for offenses related to illegal use of trademarks, trade names, qualified appellations of origin of goods:
— a fine from one thousand to fifteen thousand of personal exemptions of citizens (the equivalent of USD 67,000 to USD 1,000,000) with the confiscation and destruction of the relevant products, as well as tools and materials that are specifically used for their manufacture;
— deprivation of the right to hold certain offices or practice certain activities for up to three years or without it.

Thus, the legislator has considerably increased the size of the fines provided for offenses related to illegal use of trademarks, trade names, qualified appellations of origin, and the previously existing types of criminal sanctions such as corrective labor and imprisonment, according to a specified type of crime were canceled.