Ukraine Steps up UEFA Protection Ahead of Euro 2012 Soccer Championship

The State Department of Intellectual Property of Ukraine, in association with the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), is drafting amendments to the Law on Organization and Implementation of the Final Part of the European Football Championship of 2012, adopted in 2007, in order to completely respond to UEFA’s requirements.

UEFA has already registered more than 100 trademarks in Ukraine relating to Euro 2012, taking place in Ukraine and Poland in June and July of 2012. The official tournament logo and the slogan “Creating History Together” in Ukrainian and English have been registered, as well as device trademarks such as EURO 2012 and POLAND UKRAINE 2012.

A public database with UEFA’s intellectual property in Ukraine has been placed on the Ukrainian PTO’s website in order to raise awareness of IP rights belonging to UEFA and its commercial partners.

The State Department of Intellectual Property of Ukraine is obliged to register UEFA’s IP rights within the six-month period, whereas the process of trademark registration usually lasts around one year. An expert group has been created in order to accelerate the procedure further and reduce the time to four months.

To improve the level of protection of the UEFA’s IP rights, the State Department of Intellectual Property has been organizing conferences and seminars and releasing informative materials.

For more information, please contact Maya Kryvoshei at our Ukraine office.

Source: Ukraine government news portal related to Euro 2012