Our Scholars 2022 – Anna Vnukova

Your current occupation and country of work?
My name is Anna Vnukova, and I am from Ukraine. Currently, I work as an in-house lawyer for the Ukrainian logistic company "Nova poshta". At the same time, I have an internship in the Polish IP and IT law firm "Maruta Wachta".

How you use European law in your work?
Every day I deal with European IP law. For example, I help register TMs for both my employees through the EUIPO system, draft contracts about copyrights for computer programs, and help apply for Universal patents.
Before the war, I did notwork with European IP law at all. I had only a general understanding of it. But nowadays, my Ukrainian company faces new challenges and is trying to cover new markets in the EU. So, gaining new knowledge of European IP law was vital for me as I am the only IP lawyer in the company. For example, a few days ago, I drafted a contract between the Ukrainian company and a contractor from the EU, and we used Polish copyright and general principles of EU regulation. This summer course was very helpful in this case because we discussed a lot of copyright principles, and after the training, I had a chance to ask specific questions to the lecturer about my issues.
Also, I worked with some German utility models. In this summer school, I received information about the difference between patents and utility models and understood that such types of industrial works as utility models exist not in all EU countries, and it depends on the local regulation.
I also gained new knowledge about TM registration through the EUIPO system. I already used this new information during the registration of a TM for a Ukrainian client in the EU.

How you benefitted from the scholarship and the gained knowledge?
I believe the knowledge acquired at school has a retrospective effect. Ukraine may soon become a member of the EU, so our regulation should be as similar as possible. The school, in general, helped me see and understand how IP law functions in the EU, what general conventions define it, and the main directives. I am convinced that I will use this knowledge very soon when Ukraine adapts its legislation.
But not only the lectures were useful for me, but also the new people I met here. For example, at a conference was a representative of the music industry, and during our conversation, I learned a lot about neighbouring rights during a conversation with a representative of the music industry It is a complicated topic, especially when my firm wants to order some music for commercial use, and it is my job to find the owners of the music rights (copyright and neighbouring rights) and prepare the contracts. A participant helped me understand some specific things in this process.
I am also very pleased with the extracurricular program. We visited the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), and it was incredible. The case against Poland was being considered in court, which was particularly interesting to me, as we discussed it a lot with our Polish colleagues. Therefore, this extracurricular experience was very enriching.
After finishing the programme, I only had only positive feelings about it. I felt that I could become part of the professional space of lawyers in the field of IP in the EU. I realized that I should not be afraid and should not limit myself only to the practice of Ukraine. I can reach a new level as a specialist. This experience was very valuable for me.
I am very grateful to the Friends of the ERA Association for the opportunity to visit this school. This scholarship supported me and helped me to attend this wonderful school. I am very grateful for your help. To be honest, I did not expect this school to be so extraordinary. Thank you also for the scholarship, as it gave me the opportunity to use my potential as a lawyer in the field of IP and showed me new perspectives.