The Power over Minds

“Changes to the On Advertising Act of Ukraine did not have a dramatic effect. The sum of fines was increased from four times to five times the sum of the cost of distribution, which are imposed on distributors of advertisers guilty of violation of the order of distribution and placement of advertising”, Dmitriy Semenov, lawyer of Tonis TV Channel, says. “It is also worth noting certain aspects of agreements and memoranda between the National Council for Television and Radio Broadcasting and leading broadcasting companies and radio companies. The main issue of the memoranda is the language of broadcasting. Thus, according to two memoranda of February 2007, the share of Ukrainianlanguage broadcasting for nationwide channels should be no less than 75% of the daily broadcasting without subtitling. And for radio broadcasters, the share of music by Ukrainian authors and performers between 7 am and 11 pm should be at least 50 %. The memoranda lost their force on 2 January 2008 according to the decision by the National Council for Television and Radio Broadcasting of 18 December 2007,” he adds.

Konnov & Sozanovsky has a longstanding practice in copyright and media law. The firm’s lawyers were among the original pioneers who offered highly effective legal solutions in this field. The legal team represents leading Ukrainian TV and radio broadcasting organizations, popular artists, famous music producers, publishing houses, software producers and distributors, production studios, mobile content providers, advertising agencies and sales houses. Tatiana Gluhovskaya, Victor Mirsky, Julia Semeniy, Sergei Sozanovsky, Natalia Biryukova are considered to be the leading lawyers in the field of copyright and media law.

The Silecky Firm affiliated with Squire, Sanders & Dempsey was frequently mentioned during the poll as a reliable and experienced adviser for the media and entertainment legal area. It advised foreign media companies in the acquisition of a Ukrainian television company by means of a share swap for shares in a foreign media company; a Russian media company on acquisition and creation of a television production company in Ukraine. a Western media company on the acquisition of an interest in several Ukrainian television and radio broadcasting companies and newspaper publications, including legal due diligence, assistance in structuring the acquisition, drafting and negotiating transaction documents, as well as providing general advice on Ukrainian law. Apart from representing buyers, The Silecky Firm affiliated with Squire, Sanders & Dempsey provided legal advice to an owner of a Ukrainian print media company on its sale to a multinational company, as well as to a Ukrainian production company on its sale to a multinational distribution and production company. Helen Kryshtalowych received excellent referenced and was ranked the leading practitioner in the research.

DLA Piper Ukraine provided legal assistance on drafting contracts with authors, artists and recording company to GE Fabbri Ltd, which is a major UK-based partwork publisher. Senior associate Natalia Pakhomovska and associate Anna Ostanina are recommended as the specialists in the field of media law. Beiten Burkhardt launched its IP/IT practice group in September 2007. The firm’s clients include the mass media, advertising agencies and companies providing services over the Internet, etc. The relevant practice group’s leading specialists are Tetiana Tymchenko and Oksana Horban.

Integrites advises on legal forms for media companies (establishment, structuring, purchase and sale); IPOs; media tax law; film financing; licensing radio and television broadcasters; structuring of production and license agreements; protection of the intellectual property of companies; litigation proceedings against the press for corrections, retractions, injunctive relief, or damages. In arbitration and litigation proceedings Integrites combines its practice group expertise with the knowledge provided by its colleagues who are particularly experienced in court and out-of-court dispute resolutions. The company’s services also cover all aspects of unfair competition law, including the planning and implementation of advertising and PR activities. Yuriy Korchev is a leading media specialist of Integrites.

The priority direction of the Kiev Legal Company’s activities is to provide legal support and financial consultation in the mass media field. The company’s aim in this area is to provide legal services and financial consultations with the aim of avoiding breach of intellectual property rights of mass media market players; to conclude and execute advertising and sponsorship contracts, which shall exclude breach of advertising and intellectual property laws. In 2007 the lawyers of the Kiev Legal Company conducted several IP litigations concerning violation of copyright in the TV media market, advised on the acquisition of TV Channels K 1, K 2, Megasport by the Ukrainian Media Project, etc. Nataliya Nesmiyan, Kateryna Pospyelova, Valery Simchuk, Olga Zayoma, Iryna Bondarenko and Inna Filipova are members of the company’s legal team.

In 2007 the ARIES law firm, with managing partner Oleg Davidenko and lawyer Eugene Artyukhov, completed several projects in the field of media law. The firm advised Ukrainian radio companies in respect of the National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine on issues like: the rights of Ukrainian radio companies to choose the language of broadcasting in one or another region of Ukraine; the rights of Ukrainian radio companies to produce a personal national audiovisual product. It provided legal advice on consultancy and mediation of client interests in the National Council for Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine. Lawyers assisted broadcasting stations during the performance of scheduled and unscheduled inspections by the National Council. The firm’s lawyers prepared letters, appeals and reports on clients work in the National Council for Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine. In addition, ARIES, at the request of demands by clients, and in unison with experts from the Institute of Intellectual Property and Law, prepared the decision of a commission of experts in accordance with a radio company’s air to the matter of national audiovisual product.

Taras Kulbaba, a lawyer of the Jurvneshservice law firm, represented the interests of a client within very lengthy and complicated proceedings on the setting up of a newspaper. He believes that media law will be considerably revised in the part on media registration, as the legislation in force allows the setting up of several newspapers at different levels (local, all-Ukrainian and international) with one and the same name, something which definitely leads to consumer confusion.

Ernst & Young has designed the tax and legal structure for a few large international publishing houses entering the Ukrainian market and assisted several clients considering acquisitions in broadcasting. These projects incorporated due diligence and advice. The firm’s main media specialists are Yulia Logunova, Iryna Kalyta and Tetyana Mykolenko.

Deloitte & Touche USC advises on legal due diligence procedure and on legislative requirements as regards TV. Vadim Voloschenko, Oleksiy Katasonov, Dmytro Gadomskiy, Yevgen Shyrynos represent the firm, in the main, in various legal proceedings. Economics and Law Consultants Union provides protection of individuals due to derogatory information disseminated in the mass media. Igor Godetskyi and Svetlana Rud are the firm’s legal specialists.

In 2007 Arzinger & Partners advised client on establishing a national cable television holding thanks to the work of recommended specialists Inna Laska and Sergey Shklyar.

Gvozdiy & Oberkovych attorneys at law provided legal advice on investing in the Ukrainian media market (the press, Internet business) to the value of USD 2 million under the direction of partner Sergiy Oberkovych.

Vasil Kisil & Partners was appreciated due to its extensive experience in media litigations. Varlamov & Partners enjoys an undisputable reputation as a TV media expert, while Doubinsky & Osharova is highly regarded for its IP focus.