Established in 1992, Konnov & Sozanovsky is one of the country’s leading law firms, with offices in Ukraine and Russia and representative offices in Cyprus and Great Britain.
Konnov & Sozanovsky provides comprehensive legal assistance to national and foreign clients in the most popular business areas of law like copyright and media law, competition law, corporate law, real estate, construction and land law, litigation, intellectual property law, commercial law and contracts, securities and financial institutions, tax law.
We practice an individual approach in each case, taking into consideration the peculiarities of a client’s business and his preferences. Our practice includes provision of legal assistance in various sectors of economy such as advertising and design, agriculture, banking, energy and power, food industry, insurance, investments and equity market, light industry, media and telecommunications, pharmaceutical, privatization, publishing, real estate and construction, software, spirits industry, tobacco industry, trade and distribution, production of veterinary medications.
Konnov & Sozanovsky cooperates with large international firms and is a full member of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine (ACC), Ukrainian Bar Association (UBA), European Business Association (EBA, Ukraine), Association of European Businesses (AEB, Russia) and International Trademark Association (INTA). Our lawyers are members of the American Bar Association (ABA), International Fiscal Association (IFA), Ukrainian Bar Association (UBA), International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI), International Trademark Association (INTA), International Bar Association (IBA), Ukrainian Advocate’s Association (UAA). The firm’s lawyers hold executive positions in the committees of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine (ACC) and European Business Association (EBA).
Moreover, the firm is an exclusive member of the international legal network, First Law International (FLI), which consists of law firms in large global centers, allowing us to render superior legal assistance to clients abroad in more than 30 countries.
The firm is ranked among the top ten Ukrainian law firms according to annual surveys carried out by Yuridicheskaya Practika (The Practice of Law) in 1997–2007. The firm is also recognized in PLC Which Lawyer and Chambers Global. Konnov & Sozanovsky is the law firm of the year in the field of IP according to the Ukrainian Legal Awards 2007, 2008.
Òhe basic regulatory ground for advertising activities in Ukraine is the On Advertising Act of 3 July 1996, No.270/
In order to correspond to the basic legislative demands, an advertisement should adhere to the requirements of legality, accuracy, trustworthiness, fair competition, morality, etc.
The On Advertising Act establishes a number of restrictions for all advertising activities. Among these restrictions 1) general and 2) specific ones can be noted. General restrictions concern the inadmissibility of: advertizing forbidden goods, copyright infringements in commercials, use of state symbols in an advertisement (except for cases specified in Intellectual Property laws), advertising of goods requiring certification in the event of the absence of respective certificates/licenses or in the event that such documents are not submitted to the advertising distributor, etc. Specific restrictions emphasized in the On Advertising Act constitute the inadmissibility of hidden, comparative and unfair advertising. The On Advertising Act lists several different state bodies authorized to exercise control of adherence to advertising legislation. In practice this leads to decentralized and not always effective monitoring of advertising activities in Ukraine. Those state bodies authorized to exercise control of advertising activities are: the State Committee of Ukraine on Technical Regulation and Consumer Politics Issues; Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine; National Council for Television and Radio Broadcasting; Ministry of Finance of Ukraine and State Securities and Stock Market Commission. There is also the Advertising Issues Council, which is an advisory body. Violation of the mentioned restrictions leads to responsibility on the part of the advertiser, producer or distributor of the advertisement, depending on the norms violated.
The On Advertising Act contains general rules for different types of advertising methods. Thus depending on the material form and carriers of the messages in the advertisement, we can outline: a) internal advertising, b) external advertising, c) advertising on means of transport, d) advertising in printed matter, e) advertising on television and radio.
An external advertisement is a type of advertisement which is placed on special temporary and stationary installations, located at an open location and on outer surfaces of buildings, constructions, on elements of street equipment, above streets and roads. The use of this method of advertising requires receipt of special permission from respective local authorities rendered in accordance with local normative acts issued in compliance with standard state documents, such as the Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine On Affirmation of Model Rules of External Advertisement Placement of 29 December 2003, No.2067, Order of Permissions Rendering for Placement, Building, Reconstruction and Functioning of Service Objects on Lands of Road Management and Permissions and Concordance for External Advertising Lengthwise Motor Roads of Public Use (affirmed by Order of the State Motor Roads Service Office of 29 September 2005, No.414).
As a rule, placement of internal advertisement, such as commercials on transport, in printed matter and on television and radio, does not require receiving of special permissions. However, there are certain peculiarities for each type of advertising method. For example, the content of advertisement placed on transport vehicles has to adhere to the demands of traffic rules prescribed in special transport legislation.
Special rules are prescribed for certain kinds of specialized advertisement. Thus, depending on the object of advertising certain rules are stipulated for the content of commercials and order of advertising of the following: a) tobacco and alcohol, b) medicines, c) weapons, c) securities and certain other objects.
In the process of production and placement of special advertising, the respective subjects should observe not only general and specific restrictions stipulated by the On Advertising Act but also special restrictions set for the mentioned objects.
On 18 March 2008 the Ukrainian Parliament adopted amendments to the On Advertising Act, in particular, regarding use of the method of “external advertising” for tobacco and alcohol products. As a consequence, the advertising of tobacco and alcohol will not be seen on city stands and boards or building walls from 1 January 2009. While as of 1 January 2010 the advertising of alcohol and tobacco products will be forbidden in the printed press (apart from specialized editions). These limitations are added to the existing list of restrictions on methods of advertising regarding tobacco and alcohol products — it is prohibited to advertise tobacco and alcohol on radio and television (for alcohol — only from 6 a.m. till 11 p.m.), on the first and last pages of newspapers, on the first and last pages of covers of magazines and other publications, using internal advertisement methods, advertising on transport and using methods of an advertising nature. According to the new version of the On Advertising Act popular public persons will not be allowed to draw the attention of consumers to beer and other alcoholic and tobacco products. This restriction is supposed to help reduce the influence of the advertising of unhealthy products on the public. The changes to the On Advertising Act also refer to sponsorship of alcoholic products on TV shows. Not like before, it is forbidden even to mention the name of a sponsor which is a producer of alcohol products during TV shows. However, in the view of certain analysts the new restrictive rules on the advertising of alcohol and tobacco will not lead to a fall in the profits of producers in this sphere. Restrictions on the placement of alcohol and tobacco products on external carriers and printed press will lead to a rise in the demand for nighttime TV ether from the advertisers of such goods.
The On Medicines Act of 4 April 1996, No.123/
As for the advertising of weapons, it should be noted that it can be placed only in specialized press on weapons or in places where weapons are being sold (Article 23 of On Advertising Act).
As to the advertising of securities, it is emphasized in Article 25 of the On Advertising Act that the following objects can be the subject of such advertising: securities emitted and/or already in circulation; participant of the securities market and his activities; agreements with securities and/or terms of such agreements. Only participants of the securities market set in the Securities and Stock Market Act of 23 February 2006, No.
Taking into consideration the rapid economic development of Ukrainian society and the growth of the population’s consumption capacity, it can be said that advertising activities tend to occupy the top places in the country’s business life. Taking into account the fact of grand advertising possibilities (like the staging of the