Trademark registration in Ukraine

What is a trademark and why should it be registered?

A trademark (or brand) is a designation that allows you to distinguish the goods or services of one person from the goods or services of others.

A trademark can be a single word or a combination of words, letters and numbers or any combination of signs, including proper names, figurative elements, colors, the shape of goods or their packaging, sounds, provided that such signs are suitable for distinguishing goods or services of some persons from the goods or services of other persons.

Trademark registration grants the exclusive right to use the registered trademark. This means that the trademark can be used only by its owner or, for a certain fee, can be transferred under a license for use (order) to another person. Trademark registration provides legal certainty and strengthens the position of the right holder, for example, in the case of legal proceedings.

Trademark registration is necessary if you:

• wish to protect the name or image in your field of activity;
• are interested in promoting their products or services;
• want to have competitive advantages;
• plan to earn through licensing (franchise);
• you want to register a domain name with the name of your trademark in the .ua zone

Trademark protection can be obtained through registration, by submitting an appropriate application to the national office (Ukrpatent) and paying the necessary official fees.

Before starting the registration, we recommend conducting a preliminary search to check whether a similar or the same trademark has been previously registered. This is one of the most frequent reasons for refusal of registration.

The term of consideration of documents for registration will depend on the chosen registration procedure. The standard period of consideration of documents (examination) lasts 18-22 months from the date of submission of documents. The accelerated period for consideration of documents (examination) lasts 7-8 months from the date of submission of documents.

The term of trademark registration is 10 years. It can be renewed an infinite number of times, subject to a renewal fee every 10 years.

A trademark is registered for certain goods or services, which are divided into 45 classes by the International Classification of Goods and Services.

Legal protection of a trademark is limited to the classes for which it is registered. Our specialists will be happy to help with the choice of classes and the trademark registration procedure!

The owner of the trademark has the right to use a warning marking – the letter “R” in a circle, indicating that the trademark is registered. Or the “TM” icon, which indicates that the trademark is in the process of registration, and therefore already under legal protection.

Internationally, you have a choice: You can either file a trademark application with the trademark office of each country in which you want protection, or use the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Madrid System to file a single application for a large number of participating countries. Today there are 112 countries.