Conflict of laws regulation of intellectual property relations with a foreign element: current trends

Abstract

This article examines the issue of the current state and trends in the development of conflict of laws regulation of cross-border intellectual property relations.
In the doctrine and practice of international private law, special conflict of laws regulation of intellectual property relations with a foreign element is carried out using two main conflict of laws rules: «law of the place of origin» (lex originis) and «law of the place of protection» (lex loci protectionis). At the same time, the most widespread use of the conflict of laws rule «law of the place of protection» (lex loci protectionis) is today.
However, conflict of laws regulation of cross-border intellectual property relations is at the stage of its formation and requires unification, since:
- despite the relative prevalence of the rule lex loci protectionis, there is no unified practice regarding its interpretation and application due to the ambiguity of the concept of «law of the place of protection»;
- the rule ( «law of the place of protection» (lex loci protectionis) has not yet become generally accepted (unified), since in the doctrine and practice on this issue the rules «law of the place of origin» (lex originis), «law of the forum» (lex fori), «law of the place of harm committed» (lex loci delicti commissi), etc. continue to be applied;
- special conflict rules «law of the place of protection» (lex loci protectionis) and «law of the place of origin» (lex originis) mainly regulate the issues of validity and protection of intellectual property rights, while transactions and inheritance regarding intellectual property rights are regulated by conflict rules on contractual obligations with a foreign element and cross-border inheritance.