Legal Services Wellmarks

Intellectual property: trademarks, patents, copyright

This is the core of the firm’s practice. Trademark registration in Ukraine covers the entire process — from clearing the mark and selecting the Nice classes to obtaining the certificate, which is valid for 10 years from the filing date and may be renewed an unlimited number of times. In parallel we handle patent protection for inventions, utility models and industrial designs, and the registration of copyright and related rights.

A separate area of work is the management of those rights once acquired: licence agreements, commercial concession agreements, assignment of a trademark, and enforcement against infringement both pre-trial and in court.

The procedure, timelines and turnkey pricing are set out on the trademark registration page.

International trademark registration

A Ukrainian certificate protects the mark within Ukraine only. To protect a brand abroad you need either an international application through the WIPO Madrid System or a separate national registration in each country. We handle both procedures — through WIPO, EUIPO, USPTO, UKIPO and national offices — and where a country’s legislation requires a local representative, we engage partner attorneys.

The choice between them depends on your list of countries: at the consultation we cost both options and set out the difference in fees and timelines. A combination is often optimal — most countries through the Madrid System, one or two under national procedures.

Both procedures are described on the international trademark registration page.

Business registration and GS1 barcodes

We register limited liability companies and sole proprietors, set up businesses on a turnkey basis, and file amendments to company registration data. For manufacturers and retailers we separately arrange membership in the GS1 Ukraine association and the assignment of GTIN numbers, from which the EAN-13 barcode is printed.

Manufacturers entering marketplaces usually arrange barcodes together with trademark registration: the mark protects the name, while the GTIN gives the product its place in trade.

The GS1 procedure is described on the barcode registration page.

Licences for regulated activities

Certain business activities in Ukraine may be carried out only under a licence: the retail of alcohol and tobacco, passenger and freight transport, and other regulated areas. Operating without a licence, or breaching the licensing conditions, results in fines and suspension of the business.

We prepare the document package, file the application and support the licensing proceedings through to the decision, with minimal demand on your time.

Legal support for business

For entrepreneurs and companies for which an in-house lawyer is not warranted, we perform the functions of a legal department: subscription service, review of contracts and documents, day-to-day advice, and the preparation of formal claims.

Where a dispute has already arisen, we pursue a pre-trial settlement and, if required, represent the client in court — including in intellectual property infringement cases.

Migration law for foreign nationals

For foreign nationals planning to live or work in Ukraine, we assist in obtaining a work permit, arranging temporary or permanent residence, preparing documents and completing the procedures before the migration authorities.

The cost of an error in the paperwork is measured above all in time: a refusal means going through the procedure from the beginning, and sometimes leaving the country while it is redone.

What to do if your trademark faces a risk of refusal

This is the question we are asked most often at consultations. A risk of refusal does not mean the mark cannot be registered: where the conflict is identified before filing, rather than a year into the examination, there is almost always a way to remove the obstacle. Our lawyers do not stop at stating the risk — they propose solutions suited to your situation:

• Add a distinctive element — a coined word, an original phrase or a geographic component
• Register a combined mark — build the application around an original logo
• Adjust the list of goods and services — remove the categories that conflict directly with earlier marks
• Develop a new logo or carry out a partial refresh of the identity
• Reach agreement with the holder of the cited mark — conclude a coexistence agreement where possible

Which option is appropriate in your case is established by a trademark search — with a patent attorney’s written opinion on the risks.

Brand: from the name and logo to legal protection

A brand and a trademark are not the same thing. A brand is a marketing notion: the name, the logo, the identity, the reputation and the recognition taken together. A trademark is a legal one: the exclusive right to a sign within the classes applied for. Until the name is registered it belongs to no one in law, and the monopoly goes to whoever files first — regardless of who devised the name or who paid to promote it.

For that reason we work with the brand at every stage, not only with the paperwork. Where the name or the logo is not yet settled, or does not survive a similarity check, we assist with logo development and a partial refresh of the identity alongside the legal procedure: the sign you file should be both registrable and workable in the market.

A registered mark also opens up practical options: entry in the customs register to stop counterfeit goods at the border, access to brand protection mechanisms on marketplaces and advertising platforms, franchising and licensing, and recognition of the mark as an intangible asset when the business is sold or an investor is brought in.

A detailed account of what registration actually gives a business is in the article Why register your brand.

Where we work: Kyiv and the whole of Ukraine

The Wellmarks office is in Kyiv, at 27 Vyacheslava Chornovola Street — you are welcome to attend in person for a consultation with the patent attorney. Attending in person is not required: applications are filed electronically, documents are agreed online, and completed documents are sent by email.

We work with clients throughout Ukraine — Kyiv, Lviv, Odesa, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Vinnytsia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Poltava and other cities — as well as with Ukrainian businesses operating from abroad. A trademark certificate is valid throughout the country regardless of where the business is registered: there is no separate “regional” registration. We advise in Ukrainian, English and Russian.

The address, directions and a contact form are on the contacts page.