Significant changes in the field of intellectual property

On September 18, 2023, amendments to Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 1716 of December 23, 2004 will enter into force.

One of the most anticipated and key changes is the introduction of new fees and activation of the post-grant opposition mechanism for inventions, utility models and industrial designs.

Firstly, this administrative mechanism was aimed at reviewing intellectual rights and their possible annulment, which had long been enshrined in relevant legislative acts, but the absence of established fees prevented the Appeals Chamber of Ukrainian National Office for Intellectual Property and Innovations (NIPO) from considering such cases, and invalidation of rights was possible only in court.

Secondly, it should be noted that the amount of the discount for submitting applications for the registration of trademarks in electronic form has been increased from 20% to 25%. In other words, the minimum application fee for one applicant for one class of goods or services will now be 3,000 hryvnias.

Thirdly, unfortunately, the cost of individual fees has increased, in particular, the cost of fees for applying to the NIPO Appeals Chamber:

• For filing an objection to the decision on an application for a trademark to the Appeals Chamber - costed UAH 3,400, became UAH 6,800.
• For filing an objection against a decision on an application for an industrial model - costed UAH 3,400, became UAH 4,000.
• For submitting an objection against a decision on an application for registration of a geographical indication- costed UAH 3,400, became UAH 6,800.

In addition, within the framework of this regulatory act, technical changes aimed at harmonizing the terminology with relevant specific laws in the field of intellectual property were implemented.