Ukraine Considering Amendments to Intellectual Property Law

Ukrainian authorities recently considered various amendments to its intellectual property laws. Among other things, they considered amending the definition of the term “applicant”, as outlined in the Law on the Protection of Rights to Trademarks, Geographical Indications and Firm Names.

One of the proposals included the requirement for the applicant to carry out an “economic activity” according to the Ukrainian legislation.

This option is not likely to be adopted by the Ukrainian authorities as it would be contrary to Article 3 (7) of the Trademark Law Treaty (WIPO, 1994), to which Ukraine is a contracting party, which reads:

“In particular, the following may not be required in respect of the application throughout its pendency:

(ii) an indication of the applicant’s carrying on of an industrial or commercial activity, as well as the furnishing of evidence to that effect;

(iii) an indication of the applicant’s carrying on of an activity corresponding to the goods and/or services listed in the application, as well as the furnishing of evidence to that effect”.

Among other issues discussed were the genuine use of registered trademarks and prevention of bad faith registrations.

For more information, please contact our Ukraine representative.