The Supervisory Board of Lviv IT Cluster commented on the removal of Executive Director Stepan Veselovsky and his words about the rights to the IT Arena brand. Veselovsky replied that «the negotiation process is ongoing.»
The Supervisory Board of Lviv IT Cluster commented on the removal of Executive Director Stepan Veselovsky and his words about the rights to the IT Arena brand. Veselovsky replied that «the negotiation process is ongoing.»
Earlier, an internal conflict broke out in one of the largest IT clusters in Ukraine. According to AIN sources and confirmation from the Supervisory Board, Lviv IT Cluster CEO Stepan Veselovskyi transferred ownership rights to key trademarks to his deputy Yuriy Ogonovskyi without consent.
After that, the Supervisory Board of Lviv IT Cluster decided to remove Executive Director Stepan Veselovsky. Veselovsky and the team announced that they were leaving the cluster.
«About the trademarks — they remain with the cluster, the re-registration process was launched a few months ago. The Supervisory Board knows about this — that’s why their communication in the media surprised us,» said Stepan Veselovsky.
He noted that he founded the IT Arena project as a private individual in 2013 and stated that he owned the brand. And the rights to the trademark were transferred to Ogonowski so that he could develop IT Arena in Warsaw.
«The ownership of the IT ARENA trademarks was registered with the Lviv IT Cluster in 2016 and 2018… We additionally note that Stepan Veselovsky was never either an applicant for registration or the owner of the IT ARENA trademark, which he recently publicly stated,» the Supervisory Board commented on Veselovsky’s words for the DOU publication .
Lviv IT Cluster accused Stepan Veselovsky of manipulating the association’s charter, allegedly misleading the board chairman in order to limit the authority of the body to dismiss the director. The Supervisory Board claims that they have repeatedly tried to resolve this situation with the executive director in private over the past few months.
Lviv IT Cluster has now begun a full asset inventory, internal investigation, and independent external audit of the organization’s financial operations. The Supervisory Board plans to return all trademarks to the Cluster’s ownership, including through lawsuits and appeals to law enforcement agencies.
UPD. Stepan Veselovsky confirmed that he had a dialogue with the Supervisory Board and stated that trademarks began to return to Lviv IT Cluster on November 29, 2025, the latest document is dated January 2, 2026.
«The process takes time, but it is important that it is not retroactive. All trademarks and developments on these projects remain with the Cluster. The Supervisory Board was notified of this back in 2025. This is confirmed by the words of the Supervisory Board representatives: in the first publication they only stated that I took everything, but in the text to Forbes they confirmed that almost everything was returned,» Veselovsky said.
He confirmed that he is leaving Lviv IT Cluster and the transfer of cases will begin on January 29.
«We are not holding on to either the TM or the walls — only the team that implemented it all is important. Regarding the IT Arena TM, the negotiation process is ongoing,» Veselovsky added.
