Companies seeking to import clothes hangers must now pay royalties

Companies wishing to import clothes hangers into Ukraine are now unable to do so without paying royalties, as clothes hangers have recently become protected in Ukraine by a design patent.

Information about the design patent ('Clothes hanger' No 22682) was recently recorded in the Customs Register. According to the Ukrainian patent database, the protection was granted on January 25 2012 to Golyev Vitaliy Yuriyovych, a Ukrainian citizen.

Moscow’s business daily Kommersant reports that, in December 2012, the rights owner’s representatives sent a letter to well-known Danish retail chain JYSK's representatives offering the company the possibility to sign a contract under which it would be allowed to import clothes hangers into Ukraine provided that it pays royalties, the amount of which would depend on the quantity of imported goods. JYSK did not accept the terms of the contract and is planning to take the matter to court.

Such cases are not rare in Ukraine, as there is no substantive examination of design patent applications. The Patent and Trademark Office grants design patents if the application meets the formal requirements.

Maya Kryvoshei, PETOŠEVIĆ, Kiev