CLDP, in cooperation with the Administrative Court of Appeals of Armenia and the Cassation Court Chamber on Civil and Administrative Cases of Armenia, held a two-day Workshop on Adjudication of Intellectual Property Infringement Cases in Yerevan, Armenia. In attendance were approximately 30 civil judges from general jurisdiction courts and appeals courts throughout Armenia. The presentations and case studies for the workshop were prepared in direct response to issues requested by the Armenian judges. Topics discussed included civil and administrative procedures for protecting intellectual property rights, determining trademark infringement, including well-known marks and assessing the likelihood of confusion, remedies and calculation of damages, use of expert witnesses, cybersquatting, and unfair competition.

Leading the workshop were Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Bernice Donald and U.S. District Judge George C. Steeh III. This initial program served as the first of a series of trainings in 2014 that are designed to address topics of interest and ongoing IPR enforcement challenges in Armenia. CLDP’s judicial capacity building programs will contribute to the improved protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights in Armenia by creating a critical mass of judges trained in the enforcement of IP laws and will help Armenian judges to hone their skills and develop their expertise to provide fair, efficient, and consistent resolutions of intellectual property disputes.