Open for Business:
IP in Ukraine
Resilience and Progress During War
Despite the continuing conflict in the country, there remain excellent opportunities for intellectual property owners in Ukraine, as well as resilient protection systems for your assets, as Peter Scott finds out.
Following the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the consequences for the country’s intellectual property (IP) infrastructure were immediate and significant. Some court hearings were delayed, the National Office for Intellectual Property Office stopped processing applications, and most obviously, Ukraine’s border enforcement was necessarily scaled back. And yet, despite the ongoing conflict, there remain excellent opportunities for IP owners in Ukraine, with resilient protection systems in place.
As Yuliya Prokhoda, Attorney-at-Law, CEO, Intels International Network Ukraine, and head of the National Association of Patent Attorneys of Ukraine (Ukraine), explained, the interruptions to the normal business of IP in the country were short-lived. “Our courts have not stopped operating since the invasion, and despite some delays in oral hearings, they have mostly returned to normal since March or April of 2022,” she said, noting, “Electronic communication systems, such as E-Court, allow us to file court documents and conduct hearings even during missile attacks if all parties can continue.”
It’s the same story for applications, explained Daria Kaplunenko, Managing Partner, Patent Law Agency IPK (Ukraine). “After the first two or three months of the war, the IP office resumed operations, and we continued providing services for international and local clients,” adding that while trademark filing services were suspended at the beginning of the war, trademark applications have since returned to pre-war levels. She also noted that the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic had been beneficial for attorneys in the sense that there was already an understanding of how to operate effectively when working remotely.
Even customs enforcement hasn’t stopped, though practical obstacles for on-the-ground enforcement persist as the war continues. Nevertheless, Ms. Prokhoda underlined that, “IP objects can be registered in the customs registry, and counterfeit goods can be intercepted at the border,” while observing that, “during the state of martial law in Ukraine, IP rights registration in the customs register has no time limitation.”
Indeed, most of the changes brought to the practical business of registering and enforcing IP rights in Ukraine have been in favor of flexibility for IP owners. For example, Ukraine adopted new legislation in April 2022, On the Protection of Rights of Intellectual Property Subjects during Martial Law in Connection with Military Aggression of the Russian Federation Against Ukraine, which allows for term extensions for the duration of the conflict.
“Our main IP laws have been amended and are more or less aligned with the respective regulations of the European Union.”
- Yuliya Prokhoda | Intels International
Network Ukraine (Ukraine)
Opportunities for Recovery
Ukraine is already well-integrated into the international legal system, including more than 20 years participation in the Madrid System and membership numerous international IP treaties. One irony of the Russian invasion is that it has accelerated efforts for Ukrainian accession to the European Union, raising the prospect of the country becoming an even easier place to do business for international companies in the future.
Ms. Prokhoda noted that Ukraine has been working to align its legislation with the EU. “Our main IP laws have been amended and are more or less aligned with the respective regulations of the European Union,’ she said, adding, “Ukraine is working on aligning its laws with the latest trends in European legislation.”
While that particular development is for the future, there are concrete opportunities in the shorter term, Ms. Kaplunenko highlighted. The Ukraine Recovery Conference took place in July 2022 in Lugano, Switzerland, and brought together representatives from nations around the world to discuss the post-conflict future for Ukraine. The resultant Lugano Declaration, signed by the heads of state and government, and ministers and high representatives from more than 40 countries, underlines the international community's view of Ukraine as a “magnet for investment,” Ms. Kaplunenko said. The conference will be repeated in the United Kingdom in June of this year.
There are, she added, opportunities for innovation even now. “War-related industries are developing quickly in Ukraine, but we don't currently have time to focus on IP protection. However, creative possibilities are increasing during these difficult times, and we expect a new wave of innovations in various fields.”
“[C]reative possibilities are increasing during these difficult times, and we expect a new wave of innovations in various fields.”
- Daria Kaplunenko | Patent Law Agency IPK (Ukraine)
Keeping up Connections
Ms. Prokhoda and Ms. Kaplunenko will speak at today’s session, Ukraine’s Perspective on Managing IP Assets (2:45 pm–3:15 pm).
Their message for INTA members is simple. As Ms. Prokhoda put it: “We are alive and still a part of your family, just as you are an important part of ours. We continue to work in the same sphere, navigating the same boat. Remember Ukraine as one of the countries on your personal map. We are always ready to work and collaborate with each and every one of you. Together, we will build a stronger, more unified form of cooperation—a friendship within the IP business. So please, continue to engage with Ukraine wherever possible.”
Further reading: In “Forging a Future for Ukrainian IP,” an April 2023 INTA Bulletin interview with Olena Orliuk, Director of the newly established Ukrainian National Office of Intellectual Property and Innovations. discuss how, despite having to work through wartime, the newly established Office is pressing ahead with ambitious plans.
