Ganna Prokhorova and Oleksandr Mamunya of Mamunya IP have published a newsletter explaining how the war in Ukraine has affected activities at the Ukrainian Patent and Trademark Office (UAPTO), Customs service and the courts.
They say the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (UCCI) published a letter which concluded that the declaration of martial law is a force majeure event which affects deadlines.
Impact on deadlines and IP Office activities
Prokhorova and Mamunya, however, warn that the UCCI’s letter “does not mean automatic suspension of deadlines in all kinds of proceedings pending in courts and state bodies”.
The UAPTO is still open for business, but its appeals chamber deals with proceedings in writing. Although IP rights can be restored, they advise IP owners and their representatives to adhere to the UAPTO’s deadlines because it is not yet clear how it would interpret UCCI’s letter. “[U]nless UAPTO officially [suspends] its operations, we recommend adhering [to] the deadlines."
Impact on IP disputes and enforcement
According to Prokhorova and Mamunya, “civil and commercial cases have been temporarily suspended” and "only [a] few Ukrainian courts work". They said the UCCI’s letter and martial law could be used as a “ground for renewing missed procedural deadlines”.
Domain names disputes for the .ua domain are not affected. The Customs service is still functioning, but Prokhorova and Mamunya do not believe IP enforcement actions would be prioritised.