The concept of a trademark has been developed in Ukraine all the time after its independence declaration in 1991. A number of major legislative acts regulating the trademark field have been enacted in Ukraine, including the Trademark Law. Ukraine has become a signatory to international treaties in the trademark protection field, including Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, Madrid Agreement concerning the International Registration of Marks, Trademark Law Treaty, Nice Agreement concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks.
The system of trademark registration is governed by the Department on Intellectual Property of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. Its functions are limited to those of a registrar.
The Ukrainian legislation in force recognizes two types of trademark protection: national registration and protection provided by international treaties. Any physical person or legal entity may file a trademark registration. Usually trademark registration is made through patent attorneys. The first, who files a trademark registration, receives the rights to the trademark.
A trademark is a sign that distinguishes the goods or services of one person from the same type of goods or services of another person. A trademark may be a verbal, figurative, three-dimensional or other sign, or a combination thereof, executed in any color or combination of colors.
A trademark application is filed in a special form and is subject to the two-staged official procedure: formal and qualifying examination. The goods and services covered by the trademark application are classified according to the International Classification of Goods and Services. Formal examination checks conformity of a certain trademark application against the formal requirements. The qualifying examination studies conformity of a mark with the registration requirements.
There is an official bulletin "Industrial Property" where official publications of trademark particulars are published. The official registration of the mark and its particulars are included into the trademark register. Within one month following official registration of a mark a certificate of registration is issued. It is valid during 10 years from the filing date, and may be renewed for additional 10-year periods.
The trademark certificate entitles the owner to exclusive rights, including one to prohibit others from use of the registered mark without the owner's authorization. Unauthorized use of a registered mark is an infringement of the owner's exclusive rights and the infringer should be held liable.
The exclusive competence to cancel any registered subject matter of industrial property belongs to the justice bodies.
One of the main problem is that pending trademarks are not published before their registration. Third parties are not allowed to participate in the examination procedure. Therefore, the lack of provisional publication creates conditions for illegitimate registrations of well-known international marks. As a result, a number of objections are raised, which are resolved only by court.
Nevertheless, Ukraine shows stable development of its trademark protection law that has resulted in growing interest in trademark assets as an important means of commercial success.