Ukraine introduces new official opposition procedure for trademarks

We have very good news to share – Ukraine has finally adopted a new official opposition procedure for trademarks. The amendments were adopted by the Parliament of Ukraine on 21 July 2020, and are expected to be published shortly.

Also the current rules provided a possibility to file oppositions against pending applications with the patent office, but the term and process itself have been very peculiar. In accordance with the old rules, the opposition had to be filed no later than 5 days before the decision on the application was issued. Therefore, it has been very difficult, almost impossible, to determine the actual due date for filing the opposition.

After issuance of the acceptance decision, the only possibility to contest the registration was to file a cancellation action with court. The administrative proceedings were no longer possible.

With the new amendments adopted, the term and procedure will finally become clear and definite: an opposition can be filed within 3 months of the publication date of the application. Now the process becomes more predictable, and chances to miss the opposition deadline will be minimized.

Further, a refusal of opposition can be appealed to the Board of Appeals of the patent office.

We expect that the changes will become in force by the end of August 2020. However, taking into account that the procedure for publishing trademark applications is new in Ukraine, it is expected that there will be some delays in the practical implementation.

For any further information, our Riikka Palmos is more than happy to help you.