Protection of Rights to Trade and Service Marks

A trademark is any sign, capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one manufacturer from those of other manufacturers, including:

• words;
• figurative elements;
• three-dimensional and other signs, or a combination thereof made in any colour or a combination of colours.

A certificate shall be valid within ten years. The registration of a trademark shall be renewable indefinitely for a term of no more than ten years.

An application shall be made out in the Ukrainian language and shall include:

• request for registration of a trademark;
• description of a trademark to be registered;
• list of goods and services in respect of which a trademark is to be registered;
• classes of goods according to the International Classification of Goods and Services;

A substantive examination is conducted by the Patent Office without a request of an applicant.

A certificate is granted within one month after a trademark has been registered in the State Register.

The rights derived from the registration of a trademark enter into force from the date of filing an application. The practical use of the rights derived from the registration of a trademark is possible from the date of registration of a trademark.

The rights to a trademark loose their effect:

• from the date of publication of the mention of the tradn from the date of publication of the mention of the trademark owner's declaration of complete or partial withdrawal of a certificate;
• from the first day of a certificate validity, for which a fee has not been paid, i. e. in case of non payment of the fee for the renewal of a certificate;
• in case of non-use in Ukraine within three years from the date of publication of the mention of the grant of a certificate (by a decision of a Court).

The rights to a trademark may be declared null in full or in part in the case when:

• a trademark does not comply with the terms of protection;
• a certificate includes elements of a trademark representation and a list of goods and services which were not present in an application as filed.

A registration of a trademark may be declared null by the court only

Disputes relating to the infringement of rights to a registered trade mark shall be heard by courts pursuant to the provisions of the present law, as well as the legislation of the Ukraine on unfair competition