PETOŠEVIĆ PEOPLE: Q&A with Yuriy Karlash

On his 10-year anniversary in the firm, we talked to Associate Yuriy Karlash based in our Kyiv office. Yuriy represents clients before the courts, law enforcement bodies, customs authorities and the antimonopoly committee in Ukraine. He handles trademark prosecution, unfair competition matters, license and IP rights assignments, settlement agreements and develops enforcement strategies. We asked Yuriy about his work, his favorite pastimes, food, and much more.

1. How did you start your career in the IP field?

   While I was a student, I wrote a thesis about IP protection in the EU, and a few years after my graduation I began working as an IP lawyer at Nemiroff, a Ukrainian vodka manufacturer. I am still unsure what attracted me more to this work – intellectual property or vodka!

2. What is the most challenging aspect of your work?

   There are many challenging things. One of them is litigation in a court which is far away from the Ukrainian capital and where judges rarely deal with IP disputes. In such cases one has to help the judges navigate and explore the wonderful world of intellectual property and related issues.

3. What do you most enjoy doing at work?

   Meeting my colleagues, getting and giving thanks and seeing happy co-workers.

4. What would you be working in, if you weren’t working in IP?

   Some time ago Ferrero was looking to hire 60 sensory judges to move to Italy and to taste-test their products. I would love to be one of them.

5. What was the first job you’ve ever had?

   I handed out flyers and leaflets.

6. What is your favorite thing to do when you are not working?

   Sleeping in.

7. What book did you read last?

   “Video Game Law in a Nutshell” by Dan D. Nabel and Bill Chang and “The History of Civilization: Ukraine – From the Cimmerians to the Rus’” by Mykhailo Videyko.

8. What is your favorite dish of all time?

   Almost all the dishes that Gordon Ramsay cooks on his shows.

9. If you could meet anyone in the world, from the past or present, who would it be and why?

   I would have liked to be there when the Wright brothers successfully flew their Flyer I.

10. What was your favorite subject in school and why?

    Perhaps English, because I liked the teacher. Definitely not math, although I wish it was.

11. What did you want to be when growing up?

    A billionaire! I am still growing up.

12. Tell us three things most people don’t know about you.

    I’ve never watched “Game of Thrones”.

    I occasionally find someone I know in Google Street images despite Google’s anonymization measures.

    I stealthily put candy wrappers from the candies I ate into my colleagues’ waste baskets.

13. If you could learn to do anything, what would it be?

    Doing clever things!

14. What is your biggest frustration about the world around you?

    Wars.

15. What is the most important thing you have learned in the last five years?

    People can change for the better, but not always those who you thought could.

16. What do you wish you could have told yourself at age 13?

    You are on the right track, but certain skills should be developed faster.

17. What cities/countries have you lived in?

    In Odessa and Kyiv in Ukraine. I spent some time in Kenya and Portugal, but I have not stayed there for long.

18. If you could live in another country of the 30+ countries where PETOŠEVIĆ operates, which would you pick and why?

    I would pick Georgia. It is a beautiful country and a very hospitable nation. And the website of their PTO is user-friendly!

19. If someone came to your city for 24 hours, where would you take them?

    We could have a tour of the central part of Kyiv visiting historic attractions such as the Golden Gate, Saint Sophia Cathedral, Saint Andrew’s Church, Saint Volodymyr Hill and the Andriyivskyy Descent, then a boat trip on the Dnipro river, and finally a pub crawl where we would visit venues such as Mokri Vusa (Wet Mustache), Kedy Mystetstvoznavtsia (Canvas Sneakers of an Art Expert), Old Bricks, and This is Pyvbar.