Head of the Lviv IT Cluster transferred rights to certain trademarks to his deputy without the Supervisory Board’s knowledge: details and positions of both parties

Changes in Lviv IT Cluster: Veselovskyi transferred trademark rights to his deputy

Stepan Veselovskyi, CEO of Lviv IT Cluster, transferred the rights to a number of trademarks, including IT Arena, to his deputy Yuriy Otonovskyi without prior notice to the Supervisory Board. This move sparked discussion among cluster members and may have serious implications for the organization’s future.

In the summer of 2025, according to sources from AIN and confirmation by the Supervisory Board, Veselovskyi transferred the rights to several key trademarks of Lviv IT Cluster to Yuriy Otonovskyi. Among these trademarks is IT Arena, which is an important annual conference for the Ukrainian IT industry, as well as IT Research and IT Meets. Such a transfer took place without the consent of the Supervisory Board, which provoked an ambiguous reaction among cluster members and representatives of major Ukrainian IT companies.

In the spring of 2025, applications for the transfer of rights began to reach the national intellectual property office. Although one of the main reasons for such a decision is named as the absence of an open conflict, sources note that the potential for discrepancies existed for a long time. It is possible that this situation, taking into account the special role of IT Arena in the Warsaw weight segment, prompted some participants on both sides to start bridging gaps through new legal initiatives.

Separately, in the fall of 2025, Otonovskyi began registering new companies, including TIXFORM in Warsaw, to hold IT Arena Warsaw 2026. This happened despite the fact that the Supervisory Board was not informed about the details of the events. Among others, speakers such as Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov and CEO of ElevenLabs Mati Staniszewski are already announced at the IT Arena event in Warsaw.

The Supervisory Board notes that they did not expect such a step and emphasize that any significant changes in the structure should be accompanied by detailed discussions to ensure the stability of the organization. Nevertheless, Yuriy Otonovskyi’s side stated that IT Arena itself remains in Lviv, and IT Arena Warsaw is a response to the challenges associated with international presence after the full-scale invasion.

Here is how participants and responsibilities are distributed within the Lviv IT Cluster structure:

Such a change may affect both the cluster’s reputation and its future projects, including international expansion and support for Ukrainian tech companies.