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(In force 25.06.2003) The Law of Ukraine On Protection of Rights to Trademarks for Goods and Services as amended by the Laws of Ukraine N 751-XIV of June 16, 1999, N 2188-III of December 21, 2000, N 2783-III of November 15, 2001, N 2921-III of January 10, 2002, N 34-IV of July 4, 2002, N 762-IV of May 15, 2003, N 850-IV of May 22, 2003 (The word "Department" is replaced with the word "Institution" according to the Law of Ukraine N 2188-III of December 21, 2000) This Law shall regulate relations arising in connection with acquisition and use of the property right to trademarks for goods and services (hereinafter - trademark) in Ukraine. Chapter I GENERAL PROVISIONS Article 1. Definitions For the purpose of this Law the terms below shall be used in the following meanings: Institution - the central body of executive power for legal protection of intellectual property;
entity - a natural person or a legal entity;
trademark - a mark for distinguishing goods and services of one entity from goods and services of other entities;
certificate - the certificate of Ukraine for a trademark for goods and services; registered trademark - a trademark for which the certificate is issued; application - a set of documents required for issuing the certificate; applicant - an entity that submitted an application or acquired rights of the applicant according to other procedure set forth by the law;
application priority (priority) - being the first to submit the application; priority date - the date of submitting the application to the Institution or a respective state body - a participant to the Paris Convention on Protection of Industrial Property - under Priority; Register - the State Register for Certificates of Ukraine for trademarks for goods and services; Chamber of Appeal - a collegial body of the Institution to consider objections against the Institution's resolutions with respect to acquisition of the right to objects of intellectual property and other issues in its competence according to the present Law;
expertise institution - a state establishment (enterprise, organization) authorized by the Institution to consider applications and carry out expert examination thereof;
state system of legal protection of intellectual property - the Institution and a set of expertise, scientific, educational, informational and other state institutions of relevant specialization that belong to the sphere of the Institution's management;
domain name - a name used for addressing computers and resources in the Internet;
ICGS - International Classification of Goods and Service for registration of trademarks.
Article 2. Authorities of the Institution in the Sphere of Protection of Rights to Trademarks for Goods and Services 1. The Institution shall ensure implementation of the state policy in the sphere of protection of rights to trademarks for goods and services. For this purpose it shall: arrange for reception of applications, their examination, and make decisions with respect thereto; issue certificate for trademarks for goods and services, ensure their state registration; ensure publication of official information on trademarks for goods and services; participate in the international cooperation in the sphere of legal protection of intellectual property and represent Ukraine on issues on protection of rights to trademarks for goods and services in the international organizations in accordance with the current legislation; adopt normative and legal acts within its authorities according to the established procedure; organize informational and publishing activity in the sphere of legal protection of intellectual property; organize scientific research on improving legislation and organizing activities in the sphere of legal protection of intellectual property; organize activity on retraining personnel of the state system of legal protection of intellectual property; authorize institutions, included into the state system of legal protection of intellectual property - according to their specialization - to perform certain assignments, stipulated by this Law, the Provision on the Institution, other normative and legal acts in the sphere of legal protection of intellectual property; perform other functions in accordance with the Provision on the Institution, approved according to the established procedure. 2. The Institution's activities shall be financed by the State Budget of Ukraine.
Article 3. International Agreements 1. Where international agreements of Ukraine stipulate regulations contrary to provisions of Ukrainian legislation on trademarks, the provisions of international agreements shall apply. Article 4. Rights of Foreign and Other Entities 1. Foreign and stateless persons have the same rights as Ukrainian citizens, as set forth by the present Law, in accordance with the international agreements of Ukraine, or on the principle of reciprocity. 2. Foreign or other entities, who reside or are permanently located outside Ukraine, in their relations with the Institution, shall exercise their rights through representatives registered in accordance with the Provision on Representatives on Intellectual Property approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. Chapter II LEGAL PROTECTION OF TRADEMARKS Article 5. Conditions for Providing Legal Protection 1. Legal protection shall be given to a trademark, provided it does not contradict with the public order, humane and morale principles and which is not subject to terms for refusing legal protection stipulated by the present Law. 2. Object of trademark may be any mark or a combination of marks. Such marks may be, particularly words, including proper names, letters, figures, graphic elements, colors and combinations of colors, as well as any combination of such marks. 3. The property right to a trademark shall be certified. The certificate shall be valid for 10 years from the date of submitting an application to the Institution, and may be prolonged by the Institution for another 10-year period upon an application from the certificate holder, provided a duty is paid according to the procedure set forth by clause 2 of Article 18 of the present Law. The procedure for prolonging validity term for the certificate shall be established by the Institution. Validity term of the certificate may be terminated before the expiry date, as stipulated by Article 18 of the present Law. 4. The scope of legal protection shall be determined by a picture of trademark and the list of goods and services included into the register, and is attested by the certificate with a copy of a trademark's picture included into the Register and the list of goods and services. 5. Any entity, association of entities, or their successors shall have the right to receive the certificate in accordance with the procedure established by the present Law. 6. The right to receive the certificate shall be exercised by the applicant, whose application has an earlier submission date to the Institution, or - in case priority is claimed - an earlier date of priority, provided the application is not considered withdrawn, is not withdrawn or the Institution has not passed a decision on refusing registration of a trademark which appeal opportunities being exhausted.
Article 6. Grounds for Refusing Legal Protection 1. In accordance to the present Law legal protection cannot be provided to marks including or imitating: national coat-of-arms, flags, and other state symbols (emblems); official names of countries; emblems, abbreviated or full names of international, intergovernmental organizations; official control, guarantee, or testing seals, stamps; awards and other honors. These marks may be included into a trademark as non-protected elements, provided a respective competent body or their owners agree thereto. A competent body related to the state is a collegial body created by the Institution. 2. According to the present Law the following marks also cannot receive legal protection: usually having no differentiated meaning and having not acquired it due to their use; including only commonly used marks to specify goods and services of a certain type; including only marks or data, which are descriptive when used with respect to goods and services mentioned in the application or connected thereto, particularly specifying type, quality, composition, quantity, properties, purpose, value of goods and services, place and time of production or sale of goods or rendering of services; deceptive or misleading as to goods, services, or entities, producing goods or rendering services; including only commonly used symbols and terms; reflecting only the form, which is explained by the natural state of goods or the necessity of receiving technical results or providing goods with their substantial value. Marks, specified in paragraphs two, three, four, six and seven of the present clause, may be included into a trademark as non-protected elements, provided they do not have the dominating position in the picture of a trademark. 3. Marks cannot be registered as trademarks, if they are identical or similar and hence cannot be distinguished from: trademarks registered before or applied for registration in Ukraine in the name of another entity, with regard to the same or similar goods and services; trademarks of other entities, provided these trademarks are legally protected without registration on the basis of Ukraine's international agreements, particularly trademarks recognized as well known according to Article 6 of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property; company names known in Ukraine, and belonging to other entities, that acquired the right thereto before the date of submitting an application to the Institution regarding the same or similar goods and services; qualifying indications of goods' origin (including or alcohols and alcoholic beverages), which are protected according to the Law of Ukraine "On Protection of Rights to Indication of Goods Origin" (N 752). Such marks may be only non-protected elements of trademarks of entities entitled to use these indications; marks of conformity (certification marks) registered according to the established procedure. 4. Marks shall not be registered as trademarks if they reproduce: industrial designs, the rights to which belong to other entities in Ukraine; names of works of science, literature, art known in Ukraine, or quotations and characters from them, works of art, or fragments thereof without permission of copyright holders or their successors; last names, first names, pseudonyms, and their derivatives, portraits and facsimiles of entities known in Ukraine without their consent. (Article 6 as amended according to the Laws of Ukraine
Chapter III PROCEDURE FOR RECEIVING CERTIFICATE Article 7. Application 1. An entity willing to obtain a certificate shall submit an application to the Institution. 2. On behalf of the applicant, the application may be submitted through a representative on intellectual property, or other authorized person. 3. The application shall concern one trademark. 4. The application shall be in Ukrainian, and include: application for registration of a trademark; picture of the mark specified in the application; list of goods and services, for which the applicant wants to register the trademark, grouped in accordance with the ICGS. (paragraph four of clause 4 of Article 7 as amended
5. The application shall specify the applicant's (applicants') name and address. 6. If the applicant asks for protection of color, or a combination of colors, as a distinguishing sign of their trademark, they shall claim that in the application and specify the color, or combination of colors, to be protected; provide a color picture of a trademark in the application. The number of copies of such a picture shall be specified by the Institution. 7. Other requirements for the documents shall be established by the Institution. 8. A duty shall be paid for submitting the application. The rate of duty is determined with consideration of quantity of ICGS classes covering goods and services included into the application. The document confirming payment of the duty shall be received by the Institution together with the application or within a two-month period from the date when the application has been submitted. This deadline may be extended but not longer than for six months, if before the expiry thereof a respective application is submitted and a duty for submission thereof is paid. (clause 8 of Article 7 in wording of the Law
Article 8. Date of Submitting Application 1. The date of submitting the application shall be considered the date when the Institution receives documents containing at least: application in a free form on registration of a trademark in Ukrainian; information on the applicant, their address written in Ukrainian; a clear picture of a mark applied for registration; the list of goods and services for which the trademark is applied for registration. 2. The date of submitting the application shall be determined according to clauses 10 and 11 of Article 10 of the present Law. 3. After the date for submission of the application is determined, any entity shall have the right to study materials of the application according to the procedure set forth by the Institution. A duty shall be paid for studying materials of the application. (Article 8 in wording of the Law of Ukraine
Article 9. Priority 1. The applicant has the right to priority of application for the same trademark during six months from the date the earlier application was submitted to the Institution or a respective body of a country - participant of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, provided there is no priority claimed for the earlier application. 2. The priority of a trademark used in an exhibit shown at official or officially recognized international exhibitions held on the territory of a country - participant of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, may be set as of the date when the exhibition was opened, provided the application was sent to the Institution within six months since the date specified above. 3. The applicant, who would like to enjoy the right of priority, within three months from the date of submitting the application to the Institution, shall submit an application on priority with reference to the date and registered number of the previous application, and also its copy translated into Ukrainian, or a document confirming display of the exhibit at an exhibition, provided this application or exhibit were respectively submitted or conducted in a country - participant of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property. The above-mentioned materials may be changed within the specified term. If the materials are not submitted duly on time, the right for priority shall be considered as lost, of which the applicant is notified. Article 10. Expert Examination of an Application 1. Expert examination of an application shall have the status of scientific- technical examination and shall include formal expert examination and qualifying expert examination (essential expert examination), which is carried out by an expertise institution in accordance with the present Law and rules established by the Institution on the basis of the present Law. 2. Expertise institution fulfils informational activity necessary for performing examination of applications and is the center for international exchange of publications according to the Convention concerning the International Exchange of Publications approved on December 3, 1958 by the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). 3. Final results of examination of an application, which is not considered revoked or is not revoked, shall be reflected in a substantiated conclusion of expert examination of an application, which comes into effect after it has been approved by the Institution. On the basis of such conclusion the Institution shall pass the decision on registration of a trademark for all goods and services mentioned in the application or on refusal to register a trademark for all goods and services mentioned in the application, or on registration of a trademark related to a part of goods and services mentioned in the application and refusal to register a trademark for the rest of goods of services mentioned in the application. The Institution's decision shall be sent to the applicant. The applicant shall have the right to demand copies of materials presented against the application within one month after they receive the decision of the Institution. These copies shall be sent to the applicant within one month. 4. On their own initiative or upon request of the expertise institution the applicant may, either in person or through their agent participate in consideration of issues which have arisen in the course of expert examination according to the procedure set forth by the Institution. 5. The applicant shall have the right to correct application and change their names, address, mailing address, names and addresses of their representative, as well as introduce amendments related to reduction of the list of goods and services. The applicant may amend the application with respect to changing identity of the applicant upon consent of other applicants mentioned in the application. Such amendments upon consent of all applicants may be introduced by a person willing to be an applicant. Such amendments and corrections shall be taken into account, if they were received by the expertise institution not later than a document confirming payment of the state duty for issuance of a certificate. A duty shall be paid for filing requests to amend and correct an application, provided a mistake is not evident or technical, and an amendment emerged due to circumstances depending on the applicant. 6. The expertise institution may request from the applicant submission of additional documents, if examination is impossible without them, or in case there are substantiated doubts in authenticity of any data or elements, included into materials of the application. Within one month from the date of receiving a notification or conclusion of the expertise institution with request to submit additional materials, the applicant shall have the right to demand from the expertise institution copies of documents presented against the application. Additional materials shall be submitted by the applicant within two months from the date of receiving notification or conclusion of the expertise institution or copies of materials presented against the application. The deadline for submitting additional materials shall be extended, but not longer than for six months, if before expiry thereof respective application is submitted and a duty for submission thereof is paid. The deadline missed for serious reasons shall be renewed, if within six months from expiry thereof respective application is submitted and a duty for submission thereof is paid. If the applicant does not submit additional materials before the set deadline the application shall be considered revoked and the applicant shall be notified thereof. 7. If the applicant has filed additional materials, then it shall be determined in the course of expert examination whether they fall within the scope of the essence of the marks and the list of goods and services mentioned in the application. Additional materials do not fall within the scope of the essence of the marks as disclosed in the application, if they contain features, which should be included into the marks mentioned in the application as a trademark. Additional materials in part falling outside the essence of the marks mentioned in the application or supplementing the list of goods and services mentioned in the application shall not be taken into account in the course of examination of the application, and may be filed by the applicant as a separate application after receiving respective notification from the expertise institution. 8. Any entity may submit to the expertise institution a motivated objection against the application with respect to no correspondence between marks mentioned therein to terms of providing legal protection, determined by the present Law. A duty shall be paid for submission of an objection. The objection shall be considered is it has been received by the expertise institution not later than five days prior to the date when the Institution passes a decision on the application. The expertise institution shall send the applicant a copy of the objection. The applicant shall have the right to inform the expertise institution on their attitude to the objection within two months after the date of receiving notification. They may denounce the objection and leave the application without changes, introduce changes to the application or withdraw it. Results of considering the objection shall be reflected in the Institution's decision on the application. A copy of the decision shall be sent to the entity that submitted the objection. 9. During the formal expert examination of an application: the date of submitting the application shall be established on the basis of Article 8 of the present Law; the application shall be checked for compliance with formal requirements of Article 7 of the present Law and rules established by the Institution on the basis of the present Law; a document confirming payment of the duty for submitting the application shall be checked for compliance with established requirements. 10. If materials of application comply with requirements of Article 8 of the present Law and there is a document confirming payment of duty for submission of the application, the applicant shall be sent a notification on the established date for submission of the application. 11. If the application does not comply with requirements of Article 8 of the present Law, the applicant shall be immediately notified thereon. If incompliance has been eliminated within two months from the date of the applicant's receiving of the notification, the date of submitting the application shall be date, when the expertise institution received corrected materials. Otherwise, the application shall be considered as not submitted and the applicant shall be notified thereon. 12. If the application complies with requirements of Article 7 of the present Law and a document confirming payment of the duty for submission of the application to the established requirements, the applicant shall be notified thereon. 13. If requirements of clause eight of Article 7 of the present Law are violated, the application shall be considered revoked and the applicant shall be notified thereon. 14. If the application does not meet formal requirements of Article 7 of the present Law and rules established by the Institution on the basis of the present Law or a document confirming payment of duty for submitting the application to the established requirements the applicant shall be sent a notification with suggestions with respect to eliminating shortcomings. If shortcomings are related to grouping of goods and services, the notification shall include the list of goods and services grouped by the expertise institution and, if necessary, the rate of duty for submission of the application, which has to be paid, shall be mentioned. In case, when goods or services are presented in the application as a term, which crosses out the possibility of associating it with a certain class of the ICGS, the applicant is offered to replace the term or exclude it. If the applicant does not comply with this requirement, the above-mentioned term is not included to the list of goods and services grouped by the expertise institution. Elimination of shortcomings mentioned in the notification shall take place within the deadline set forth by clause 6 of the present Article for additional materials. 15. Qualifying expert examination shall verify compliance of the claimed marks to terms of providing legal protection set forth by the present Law. The examination shall use informational database of the expertise institution, including materials of the application, as well as reference- search device and respective official editions. 16. If there are reasons to think that the declared mark fully or partly does not meet the terms for providing legal protection, the expertise institution shall send the applicant a substantiated preliminary conclusion thereon with a suggestion to provide a motivated reply in favor of registering the mark. The applicant's reply shall be sent within the deadline set by clause six of the present Article for additional materials and shall be taken into consideration during the time of preparing examination conclusion on the application. (Article 10 in wording of the Laws of Ukraine
Article 11. Withdrawal of the Application The applicant shall have the right to withdraw the application at any time before the date of payment of the state duty for issuance of the certificate. (Article 11 as amended according to the Law
Article 11-1. Splitting the Application 1. The applicant shall have the right to split the application into two or more applications (separated applications) through division between them of goods and services mentioned in the application in such a way, that each of the separated applications did not include goods and services related to goods and services mentioned in other applications. 2. To split the application the applicant shall submit an application on introducing certain changes to the application and a separated application(s), provided duties are paid for submission of the above mentioned applications. 3. The date of submitting the separated application shall be the same as the date of submitting the split application. The date of priority of the separated application shall be determined, if there is a reason for that, the same as the date of priority of the split application. (the Law is added with Article 11-1 according to
Article 12. Publication on Issuance of the Certificate On the basis of the decision on registration of the trademark and with the document confirming payment of the state duty for issuing the certificate and the duty for publication on issuance of the certificate, the information on issuing the certificate shall be published in the official bulletin rendering information on issuance of the certificate determined according to the established procedure. The above-mentioned duties shall be paid after the applicant received the decision on registration of the trademark. The application shall be considered withdrawn and publication is not conducted, provided within three months after the date when the decision on issuing the certificate is delivered to the applicant, the document confirming payment of duties for issuing the certificate and for publication on issuance of the certificate in volumes and according to the procedure established by the legislation have not been sent to the expertise institution. The deadline for accepting these documents may be extended, but not longer than for six months, if before the expiry thereof a respective application is submitted and a duty is paid for submission thereof. The deadline missed for serious reasons shall be renewed, if within six months after the expiry thereof a respective application is submitted and a duty is paid for submission thereof. (Article 12 in wording of the Laws of Ukraine
Article 13. Registration of the Trademark (the title of Article 13 as amended according to
1. Along with publication of the information on issuing the certificate the Institution shall conduct the state registration of the trademark, and enter relevant information to the Register. The form of the Register and the procedure for maintenance thereof are established by the Institution. 2. After the information on the certificate is entered to the Register, any person has the right to access this information according to the procedure established by the Institution and with respect to their application to receive an extract from the Register related to information on the certificate, provided a duty is paid for submission of the application. (clause 2 of Article 13 as amended according to the Law of Ukraine N 850-IV of May 22, 2003) 3. Information entered in the Register may be corrected on the initiative of the certificate holder or the Institution. (paragraph one of clause 3 of Article 13 in wording
On the certificate holder's initiative amendments may be entered to the Register according to the established list of possible amendments. A duty shall be paid for entering amendments to the Register. (Article 13 is added with clause 3 according to
Article 14. Issuing the Certificate 1. The Institution shall issue the certificate within one month after the state registration of the trademark. The certificate shall be given to an entity that has the right to receive it. If the right for the certificate belongs to several entities, they shall receive one certificate. 2. The Institution shall establish the form of the certificate and the information contained therein. 3. Upon the certificate holder's request the Institution shall correct evident mistakes in the certificate, with further notification about it in the official bulletin. 4. In case of loss of or damage to the certificate, the certificate holder shall be given a copy of the certificate according to the procedure set forth by the Institution. A duty shall be paid for issuing the copy of the certificate. (Article 14 is added with clause 4 according to
Article 15. Appeals against the Decision with Respect to the Application 1. An applicant shall have the right to appeal the Institution's decision on application in court as well as to the Chamber of Appeals within two months after receiving the decision of the Institution or copies of materials requested according to clause 3 of Article 10 of the present Law. 2. If the Institution's decision on the application is appealed in court after state registration of the trademark, the court shall also resolve the issue related to validity of respective certificate. 3. The right to appeal the Institution's decision to the Chamber of Appeals shall be lost in case state duty has been paid for issuance of the certificate. 4. The Institution's decision may be appealed to the Chamber of Appeals through submitting an objection against the decision following the procedure set forth by the present Law and based thereon regulations of the Chamber of Appeals, approved by the Institution. A duty shall be paid for submission of the objection. If the duty has not been paid within the deadline, mentioned in clause 1 of the present Article, the objection shall be considered as not submitted and the applicant shall be notified thereon. 5. In case the Chamber of Appeals receives the objection and a document confirming payment of the duty for submitting the objection, procedures on the application shall be suspended until the decision of the Chamber of Appeals is approved. 6. The objection against the Institution's decision on the application shall be considered according to regulations of the Chamber of Appeals within two months from the date of receiving the objection and the document confirming payment of the duty for submission thereof within the motives stated by the applicant in the objection and during the time of its consideration. The deadline for consideration of the objection may be extended upon the initiative of the applicant, but not longer than for two months, if before its expiry respective application is submitted and a duty for submission thereof is paid. 7. Based on results of considering the objection, the Chamber of Appeals shall pass a motivated decision that shall be approved by an order of the Institution, and sent to the applicant. In case of satisfying the objection fully or in part, the duty for submission of the objection shall be returned. 8. Prior to approval of the decision of the Chamber of Appeals, within one month from the date when such decision was passed, the Head of the Institution may file a motivated written protest against this decision, which shall be considered within one month. The decision of the Chamber of Appeals adopted upon this protest shall be final and may be cancelled only by court. 9. The applicant may appeal the decision of the Chamber of Appeals that has been approved by the Institution in court within two months following the receipt of the decision. (Article 24 in wording of the Laws of Ukraine
Chapter IV RIGHTS AND DUTIES ARISING FROM CERTIFICATE Article 16. Rights Arising from the Certificate 1. Rights arising from the certificate shall become effective from the date of submitting the application. The certificate's validity shall be extended provided a respective duty is paid. 2. The certificate shall confer on its holder the right to use the trademark and other rights determined by the present Law. 3. Relations arising in the course of using the trademark, for which the certificate is held by several entities, shall be determined by an agreement between such entities. If such agreement is absent, each certificate holder may use the trademark at their discretion; however, none of them shall have the right to grant a permit (a license) for using the trademark and transfer the property right to the trademark to other entities without consent of other certificate holders. 4. The following shall be considered to constitute use of the trademark: laying thereof on any goods for which the trademark is registered, package containing such goods, signboard related thereto, label, tab, tag or other item attached to the goods, storing such goods with the above-mentioned laying of the trademark in order to sell, offer for sale, import and export; use thereof while offering or rendering any service, for which the trademark is registered; use thereof in business documents or in advertising and in the Internet, including in domain names. The trademark shall be recognized as used, if it has been used in the form of a registered trademark, as well as in the form, which differs from the registered trademark only through separate elements, if they do not change the trademark's features on the whole. 5. The certificate shall confer upon its holder the exclusive right to prohibit other entities from using without their consent, unless otherwise is envisaged by the present Law: a registered trademark related to goods and services mentioned in the certificate; a registered trademark with respect to goods and services similar to those included into the certificate, if such use may result into deception as to the entity producing these goods or rendering such services; a mark similar to the registered trademark with respect to goods and services mentioned in the certificate, if such use may result in confusion of this mark and the trademark; a mark similar to the registered trademark with respect to goods and services similar to those mentioned in the certificate, if such use may result in deception as to the entity producing goods or rendering services or this mark and the trademark may get confused. 6. The exclusive right of the certificate holder to prohibit other entities from using the registered trademark without their consent shall not apply to: exercise of any right, which arose before the date of submitting the application or, if priority was claimed, before the date of the application's priority; use of the trademark for goods, introduced into civil circulation under this trademark by the certificate holder, or upon their agreement, provided the certificate holder does not have serious reasons to prohibit such use related to further sale of the goods, particularly in case of change or worsening in the goods' state after they have been introduced into civil circulation; use of qualifying indication of the goods' origin, which is protected according to the Law of Ukraine "On Protection of Rights to Indication of the Goods Origin" (N 752); non-commercial use of the trademark; all forms of news broadcasting and commentaries on news; bona fide use of their names and addresses thereby. 7. The certificate holder may transfer to any entity the property right to the trademark fully or respectively a part of goods and services mentioned in the certificate on contractual basis. Transfer of the property right to the trademark shall not be allowed, if it may cause deception of the consumer with respect to goods and services or to the entity producing goods or rendering services. 8. The certificate holder shall have the right to grant a permit (license) to any entity for use of their trademark on the basis of a license agreement. License agreement shall include a provision saying that quality of goods and services produced or rendered according to the license agreement shall not be lower than quality of goods and services of the certificate holder and the latter shall exercise control over performance of this provision. 9. An agreement on transfer of the property right to the trademark and a license agreement shall be deemed valid, if they have been concluded in writing and signed by the parties. A party to the agreement shall have the right to inform an indefinite circle of entities on transfer of the property right to the trademark or on issuing a license to use the trademark. Such informing shall be performed through publication of data in the official bulletin in volumes and according to the procedure set forth by the Institution and at the same time entry thereof to the Register. Duties shall be paid for publishing the information on full transfer of the property right to the trademark and issuance of a license for using the trademark, as well as on amendments to the information on issuance of a license, suggested by a party to the agreement. In case of publishing information on transfer of the property right to the trademark related to a part of goods and services mentioned in the certificate, the Institution shall issues a new certificate in the name of the entity that has acquired this right, provided there is a document confirming payment of the state duty for issuance of the certificate. 10. The certificate holder shall have the right to lay out along with the trademark a warning mark, showing that this trademark has been registered in Ukraine. 11. The certificate holder, engaged in intermediary activities, shall have the right to use their trademark along with the trademark of the above- mentioned entities, as well as instead of their trademark on the basis of an agreement with the producer of goods or the entity rendering services. (Article 16 as amended according to the Laws of Ukraine
Article 17. Duties Arising from the Certificate The certificate holder shall bona fide use their exclusive rights arising from the certificate. (Article 17 as amended according to the Law of Ukraine
Chapter V TERMINATION OF CERTIFICATE'S VALIDITY AND ITS INVALIDATION Article 18. Termination of Certificate's Validity 1. The certificate holder may refuse from the certificate at any time completely or partially on the basis of an application submitted to the Institution. The refusal shall come into force from the date of publishing the information in the Institution's official bulletin. 2. The certificate's validity shall be terminated, provided the duty for extension of validity term is not paid. The document confirming payment of extension duty for each extension of validity shall be submitted to the Institution by the end of the current term of the certificate's validity, provided the payment was conducted during the last six months of the period. (paragraph one of clause 2 of Article 18 as amended
The duty for extension of the certificate's validity may be paid, and the document confirming payment thereof - shall be submitted to the Institution during six months after the established term expires. In this case the duty shall grow by 50%. The certificate's validity shall be terminated from the first day of the period, for which the duty is not paid. 3. The certificate's validity shall be terminated upon a court decision, because the trademark has transformed into a commonly used mark for goods and services of a certain type after the date of submitting the application. (clause 3 of Article 18 as amended according to
4. If the trademark was not used in Ukraine fully or in part related to goods and services mentioned in the certificate within three years from the date of publishing the information on issuance of the certificate or from other date after the publication, any person shall have the right to turn to court with an application on pre-term termination of the certificate's validity fully or partly. In this case the certificate's validity may be fully or partly suspended only on condition that the certificate holder does not mention serious reasons for not using the trademark. Such serious reasons are, particularly: circumstances impeding use of the trademark regardless of the certificate holder's will such as: limitations on import or other requirements for goods and services established by the legislation; the opportunity to deceive with respect to an entity producing goods or rendering services, during the entity's use of the trademark, that turned to court, or any other entity with respect to goods and services regarding which a requirement on termination of the certificate's validity has been set. For purposes of the present clause use of the trademark by the certificate holder shall be also use of the trademark by other entity provided the certificate holder exercises control over such use. (Article 18 is added with clause 4 according to
Article 19. Invalidation of Certificate The certificate may be invalidated totally or partially through a court procedure, if a) the registered trademark does not meet the conditions of legal protection; b) the certificate contains element of the trademark, or list of goods and services which were not included into the application; c) the certificate is issued as a result of submitting the application with violation of rights of other entities. (clause 1 of Article 19 is added with the sub-clause "c"
2. Provided the certificate or any part of it is recognized as invalid, the Institution shall inform about it in its official bulletin. 3. The invalidated certificate or a part thereof shall be considered as those that did not come into effect from the date of submitting the application. (Article 19 in the wording of the Law of
Chapter VI PROTECTION OF RIGHTS Article 20. Violation of the Certificate Holder's Rights 1. Any encroachments on the rights of the certificate holder, which are specified in Article 16 of the present Law, including taking actions without their consent, which require their consent, and preparation of such actions, shall be considered as violation of the certificate holder's rights, that entails responsibility in accordance with the current legislation of Ukraine. (clause 1 of Article 20 as amended according to
2. Upon the request of the certificate holder's such violation shall be terminated and the violator shall compensate the losses, which have been incurred. The certificate holder may also demand removal of illegally used marks or trademarks from goods or packaging, which look so similar to theirs that they may be confused, or destruction of produced copies of the trademark or mark, which look so similar to the original that they may be confused. An entity that obtained the license may demand restoration of the violated rights of the certificate holder upon the certificate holder's consent. (paragraph three of clause 2 of Article 20 in wording
Article 21. Means to Protect Rights 1. Protection of rights to trademarks shall be performed through court and other proceedings determined by the law. 2. Jurisdiction of courts shall include all legal relations arising from the application of the present Law. Courts, within their competence, shall settle disputes on: identification of the patent holder; conclusion and performance of license agreements; violation of rights of the patent holder. (Article 21 in wording of the Law of Ukraine
Article 22. Right to Re-Registration No entity, but the previous holder of the certificate shall have the right to re-registration of the trademark within three years after the expiry date of the certificate in accordance with clause 1-3 of Article 18 of the present Law. (Article 22 as amended according to the
Chapter VII FINAL PROVISIONS Article 23. State Duty and Other Payments Amounts and the procedure for payment of the state duty for issuing certificates for trademarks for goods and services shall be established by the legislation. Revenues obtained from payment of the state duty for issuing certificates for trademarks for goods and services shall be remitted to the State Budget of Ukraine. Amounts, terms and procedure for paying duties envisaged by the present Law shall be established by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. Duties, envisaged by the present Law shall be remitted to current accounts of the institutions, authorized by the Institution that are members of the state system of legal protection for intellectual property, and according to their specialization perform certain assignments, determined by the present Law. (part four of Article 23 as amended according to the
Revenues from duties, envisaged by the present Law, shall have a purpose designation, and according to the Institution's directives are used exclusively for ensuring development and functioning of the state system for legal protection of intellectual property, particularly for fulfillment of assignments, established by the present Law, and other normative and legal acts in the sphere of intellectual property. (Article 23 in the wording of the Law of Ukraine
Article 24. Registration of Trademark in Foreign Countries 1. Any entity has the right for registration of a trademark in foreign countries. 2. In case of registering a trademark in foreign countries in accordance with the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Trademarks and/or the Protocol of the Madrid Agreement on the International Registration of Trademarks, the application for international registration and respective application on territorial expansion and an application of extending the international registration of a trademark shall be submitted through the Institution, provided a national duty is paid for submitting each of them. (clause 2 of Article 24 in wording of the Law
3. Expenses related to registration of a trademark in foreign countries shall be paid by the applicant or other entity by the applicant's consent. Article 25. Protection of Rights to a Well-Known Trademark 1. Protection of rights to a well-known trademark shall be performed according to Article 6 of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property and to the present Law, if the trademark was recognized as well-known by the Chamber of Appeals or a court. 2. When determining whether the trademark is well-known in Ukraine, the following factors may be considered, if they are relevant: the degree of publicity or recognition of the trademark in a respective sector of the society; duration, volume and geographic region of any use of the trademark; duration, volume and geographic region of any expansion of the trademark including advertising or publication and presentation at fairs or exhibitions of goods and/or services with respect to which the trademark is used; duration and geographic region of any registration and/or applications for registration of the trademark, provided the trademark is used or is recognized; proof of successful assertion of the rights to the trademark, particularly the territory where the trademark is recognized as well-known by competent bodies; value, which is associated with the trademark. 3. The procedure of the Chamber of Appeals for recognizing the trademark as well-known in Ukraine shall be determined by the Institution. A duty shall be paid for submitting the application for recognizing the trademark as well- known in Ukraine. The decision of the Chamber of Appeals related to recognition of the trademark as well known in Ukraine may be appealed in court. 4. From the date, when, according to the decision of the Chamber of Appeals or a court, the trademark has become well-known in Ukraine, it shall be granted legal protection the same as it would have been given, if the trademark was submitted for registration in Ukraine. It shall also include goods and services that are not related to those, for which the trademark was recognized as well-known in Ukraine, if use of the trademark by another entity with respectsuch goods and services shows the connection between them and the owner of the well-known trademark and their interests may be infringed upon by such use. (the Law is added with Article 25 according to
President of Ukraine L. KRAVCHUK Kyiv December 15, 1993 N 3689-XII |