How to patent a company or brand name in Ukraine?

Many entrepreneurs, when launching a new project, seek to patent the name in order to reliably protect their brand. However, let us say at once that legally this process is called differently. In this article we will understand what registration of a company name actually means and how to properly protect the unique name of your business in Ukraine, turning it into a valuable asset.

Section 1: Patent or trade mark: what is the difference?

So, you have decided to protect your unique name. The first and most important thing to deal with is the correct terminology. In the world of business and intellectual property, precision is of paramount importance. Many people confuse the concepts of patent and trade mark, which can lead not only to misunderstandings but also to wasted effort and money. Let us put things in a nutshell.

1.1 Why the term “patent on title” is incorrect: patents for inventions, trade marks for designations

Imagine you go to a car dealership to buy a boat. You would, of course, be misunderstood. Approximately the same situation arises when an entrepreneur wants to obtain a patent for a name. This is the use of the right word, but in a completely wrong context. A patent is a protective document issued by the state for the results of intellectual, creative activity in the scientific and technical sphere. Its main essence is to protect an innovation, something new that can be applied in practice.

Let’s be more specific about what a patent protects:

• Invention: It can be a completely new device (e.g. an innovative delivery drone), a unique production method (a new water purification method) or even a new chemical composition (a drug formula). The main criteria are world novelty, inventive step and industrial applicability. That is, it must be something really unique and useful.
• Utility model: This is, so to speak, the “little brother” of an invention. The requirements for it are lower (no inventive step criterion), but it also protects a technical solution – a new design of a device or process.
• Industrial design: Here it is purely a question of appearance, design. The original shape of a Coca-Cola bottle, the unique design of a trainer, the look of a smartphone case. What is protected is not how it works, but how it looks.

As you can see, none of these objects have anything to do with a name. The name of a company or brand is not a device or a technology. It has no technical characteristics. It is a verbal designation, an identifier. Therefore, trying to patent a name is a way to nowhere. You will simply be rejected because the subject matter you are applying for protection does not correspond to the very essence of patenting.

1.2 What is a trade mark (TM) and why it is the tool to protect a name

Now we take the right tool from the legal “drawer”. While a patent protects the essence of the invention, a trademark (TM, mark for goods and services) protects the identity of your business in the marketplace. It is any designation or combination of designations that allows consumers to distinguish your goods or services from those of your competitors. It is the face of your brand, its name.

Imagine a small coffee shop which the founder, Mr Vasily, has named “Bean of Happiness”. This name is his future trade mark. It helps customers to find his establishment and not the neighbouring Kava-Time. If Vasily registers “Zernyatko Shastya” as a TM, he will receive official confirmation that the name belongs to him (within the coffee business).

A trade mark can be almost anything that helps to identify a brand:

• Word TMs: The words themselves. For example, “Kyivstar”, “ATB”. This is the most common type of registration for names.
• Image TMs: Logos without words. Twitter’s famous “bird” or Adidas’ three stripes.
• Combined TMs: A combination of name and logo. For example, the word “McDonald’s” along with golden arches.
• Other types: There are also more exotic variants, such as sonic (Nokia’s screensaver melody), volumetric (bottle shape) or even olfactory marks.

So, when you want to protect a name, slogan or logo, your way is not to patent, but to register a trade mark. This is the only proper and effective legal mechanism for this purpose.

1.3 What are the advantages of registering a name as a TM: exclusive right to use it, protection from competitors

“Okay, we’ve got the terms sorted out. But is it worth it? Should I just work and that’s it?” – is a logical question for a budding entrepreneur. The answer is unequivocal: yes, you should. Registering a TM is not a bureaucratic whim, but a strategic investment in the safety and value of your business. Here are the “superpowers” you get:

• Monopoly right to use. This is the most important one. Once you have obtained a TM certificate, only you have the legal right to use this name for those goods and services which you have specified in the application. Imagine that you produce artisanal cheeses under the brand name “Cheese Skazka”. If a competitor starts selling their cheeses under the same name, you can use the courts to stop them from doing so, demand that they destroy the labels and compensate you for your losses. Without a registered TM, your claims will be much weaker.
• Brand capitalisation. An unregistered name is just a set of letters. A registered TM is a valuable intangible asset. It can be officially valued in monetary terms, put on the company’s balance sheet, sold, inherited or even used as collateral for a bank loan. Your brand becomes a real property.
• Scalability through franchising. Do you dream of opening coffee shops “Bean of Happiness” all over the country? This is only possible through the sale of franchises. And the core of any franchising agreement is a licence to use a trademark. Without an officially registered TM, you can forget about franchising.
• Protection against unscrupulous competitors and “patent trolls”. There are trolls who monitor the market, find popular but unregistered names, quickly register them for themselves, and then make claims against the real owner of the business, demanding a “ransom”. Having your own certificate for TM will completely protect you from such a scenario.
• Right to .UA domain. A prestigious .UA domain name can only be obtained if it is fully identical to your registered trade mark.

Thus, registration of the name as a TM is the foundation on which a strong and protected brand is built.

Section 2: Procedure for registering a name as a trade mark

So, we have established that it is the registration of a trade mark that we need to protect the name. Now let’s dive into the process itself. This is not a one-step action, but a sequential path that requires attention to detail. In this article we will consider the key stages, and even deeper this topic is disclosed in our main material – “How to register a trade mark in Ukraine in 2025“. There you will find a comprehensive guide with all the nuances. And now, to make the process visual, let’s imagine that we are helping Mr Vasily, who already knows us, to register his coffee shop brand “Bean of Happiness”, and we will go through this process together.

2.1. Selecting a unique name and checking it for similarity

This is, without exaggeration, the foundation of the whole procedure. Often, entrepreneurs, inspired by what they think is a brilliant name idea, immediately rush to order signs and print business cards. This is a big mistake. Before you invest even a hryvnia in brand promotion, you need to make sure that your brand name is “legally free”. Many people looking for how to patent a name in Ukraine do not realise that 90% of success depends on a thorough preliminary check. If your name turns out to be identical or confusingly similar to an existing trademark, you are guaranteed to receive a refusal, wasting time and money paid for state fees.

The audit is carried out in two main areas:

• Absolute grounds for refusal: The law prohibits the registration of designations that are descriptive (e.g., “Delicious coffee” for a coffee shop), indicate the type, quality or properties of goods, are commonly used or may be misleading. You cannot also register state symbols. The name “Seed of Happiness” is fanciful, so this criterion is met.
• Relative grounds for refusal:This is the uniqueness check. Your name is compared with the databases of already registered trademarks and, importantly, applications for registration. The examination evaluates not only a complete match (identity), but also similarities that may confuse the consumer. Similarity is analysed in three ways:
  • Phonetic (sound): How do the names sound? “Seed of Happiness” and “Seeds of Happiness” sound almost identical.
  • Graphic (visual): What do they look like in writing? “Milka” and “Miłka” are visually very similar.
  • Semantic: What meaning do they convey? For example, “King of Cheese” and “Cheese King” will be recognised as semantically similar for a cheese producer.

On your own, you can only conduct a cursory search in the open databases maintained by UkrNIPO. However, these databases do not contain the most recent applications that are still undergoing formal examination. A professional check carried out by patent attorneys includes an analysis of all databases, including even unpublished data. This greatly reduces the risk of rejection and is a mandatory investment before filing an application.

2.2 Determining the classes of goods and services according to the ICTU

Your trade mark is not protected “in general”. Its legal protection extends only to those areas of activity that you clearly indicate in your application. These fields are grouped in the International Classification of Goods and Services (ICCG), which has 45 classes: 34 for goods and 11 for services. Your task is to strategically choose classes that cover not only your current business, but also your plans for future expansion.

For our example of Mr Vasily’s coffee shop “Zerny Delight”, the choice of classes could be as follows:

• Class 43 (main): Restaurant services; café services; canteen services; food and beverage preparation services. This class is compulsory as it explicitly describes the activities of a coffee shop as a catering establishment.
• Class 30 (incidental to goods): Coffee, tea, cocoa, sugar, rice, flour, bread, confectionery. This class is required if Mr Vasily plans to sell prepackaged coffee beans, branded takeaway desserts or even branded sugar in sticks under his brand. Without this class, a competitor could produce Happiness Bean coffee and it would not be an infringement.
• Class 35 (strategic for the future): Advertising; business management; assistance in commercial or industrial management; advice on the organisation and management of enterprises. This class is key if Mr Vasily dreams of creating a franchise. It is this class that will allow him to provide services to open and manage other coffee shops under his brand.

The choice of classes directly affects the cost of registration: the more classes, the higher the state fee. Therefore, it is important here to find a balance between savings and full protection, looking several years ahead in the development of your business.

2.3 Preparing and submitting an application to UKRNOIVI

When the name has been checked and the classes have been selected, comes the stage of formalising your intentions. Often the enquiry how to register a company name in Ukraine leads to this very step. The application is not just one questionnaire, but a whole package of documents that must be drawn up perfectly. It includes:

• A statement of the established sample: It contains information about the applicant (it can be either a natural person or a legal entity), address for correspondence, information about the representative (if acting through a patent attorney).
• Image of the designation: This is a clear image of your future TM. If it’s a word mark, just the name. If combined – a quality file with the logo. If you want to protect a specific colour, this is also specified.
• List of goods and services: A detailed list of everything you plan to do under this brand, grouped by the selected ICTU classes.
• Document on payment of the fee: A receipt confirming the payment of the application fee, the amount of which depends on the number of classes and type of TM.

There are three ways tosubmit this package of documents to the state organisation “Ukrainian National Office of Intellectual Property and Innovation” (UKRNOIVI):

1. Traditional: In person or by mail to the office.
2. Modern: Through an electronic filing system. This is faster, more convenient and even a little cheaper as there is a discount on the fee.

Filling out all documents correctly is critical. Any inaccuracy can lead to enquiries from the office and delay the registration process for months.

2.4 Going through the application examination and waiting for a decision

Once your application is submitted to UKRNOIVI, the longest and least transparent stage for the applicant begins – the examination. This process can last from 12 to 20 months (standard procedure) and consists of two main stages:

• Formal examination (about 2-6 months): At this stage, only the correctness of the documents is checked: whether all fields of the application form have been filled in, whether the classes are correctly indicated, whether the fee has been paid in full. If deficiencies are found, you are sent an enquiry, which must be answered within a set time limit.
• Qualification examination, or examination in fact (remaining time): This is the most important step. The designated examiner of the Office carries out an in-depth analysis of your designation. He checks it against the absolute and relative grounds for refusal that we discussed in the first subsection. That is, he looks for similar trade marks and analyses whether your name is descriptive or deceptive. If the examiner has doubts, he may send you a preliminary rejection. You will have time to provide a reasoned response and convince the examiner of the correctness of your position. It is at this stage that the professional assistance of a patent attorney is most valuable.

Throughout this period, it is important to monitor correspondence from the Office and respond to it in a timely manner.

2.5 Obtaining a Certificate of Mark for Goods and Services

And now, after a long wait, you receive a letter of happiness – a positive decision to register your trade mark! This is a big victory, but it’s not the final. To turn this decision into a full-fledged protection document, you need to take two final steps:

1. Pay the state fee for the issuance of the certificate.
2. Pay the fee for the publication of information on the registration of your TM in the official gazette.

You have three months for this from the date of receipt of the decision. Only after these payments UKRNOIVI produces and issues you a certificate for the mark for goods and services. This is a beautiful laminated document that officially confirms your exclusive right to the name. The certificate is valid for 10 years from the date of application and can be renewed every 10 years by paying the appropriate fee. From that point on, your brand becomes your protected asset.

This whole process requires a significant investment of time and in-depth knowledge. To avoid risks and get a guaranteed result, many businesses choose professional support for TM registration, entrusting all stages to specialists.

Section 3. Company name (LLC, FLP) and brand name: is there a difference in protection?

We have already learnt that the brand name is protected by a trade mark. But then another logical question arises: “What about my official company name, for example, Mriya-Plus LLC, which I have registered with the state authorities? Isn’t it protected?”. This is an extremely important point, and confusion between the legal name of a company and the commercial name (brand) can be very costly. Let’s understand what the difference is here.

3.1 Why registering a legal entity in the Unified State Register does not automatically protect a name as a brand

When you set up a business, be it a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or register as a Physical Entrepreneur (PE), you must undergo state registration. Your data is entered into the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, Physical Entrepreneurs and Public Formations (USR). This register does ensure the uniqueness of your legal entity name.

For example, if you have registered AVANGARD-BUD LLC, no one else in Ukraine will be able to register another LLC with exactly the same name. The system simply will not allow it. It would seem that this is the defence! But this is only the tip of the iceberg.

Registration in the Unified State Register only protects your “official signboard” in the legal field. It is necessary for concluding contracts, filing statements and opening bank accounts. However, it does not protect the use of your name as a brand in the market for goods and services.

Let’s imagine a situation. You have registered LLC “AVANGARD-BUD” and build quality houses under that name. But registration in the Unified State Register does not prevent your competitor, who is FLP Petrenko, from calling his construction team “Avangard-Bud” and placing adverts with that name. Moreover, another entrepreneur can open a shop of building materials under the signboard “Avangard-Bud”. And worst of all: a third person may go and register the trade mark “Avangard-Bud” for themselves. In that case, he or she will be able to prohibit you from using the name in your advertising and signage, despite the fact that your LLC was created earlier. Registration in the Unified State Register does not give you exclusive rights to use the name commercially.

3.2 The need for separate registration of a commercial designation (brand) as a trade mark for full protection

Now it becomes clear that a legal name and a brand are two different entities that require different protection mechanisms. Your LLC “AVANGARD-BUD” is a legal entity. And the brand “Avangard-Bud”, under which your clients know you, is a commercial designation, an intangible asset that brings you reputation and profit. And it is this asset that is protected by a trade mark certificate.

Only a separate registration of the name as a TM gives you real, full protection. Let’s return to our example. If the owner of LLC “AVANGARD-BUD” immediately after the establishment of the company applied for registration of TM “Avangard-Bud” for services in the field of construction (class 37) and sale of building materials (class 35), he would get a monopoly right to use this name in his field.

What this would have given him in practice:

• He could legally prohibit FLP Petrenko from using the name “Avangard-Bud” for his brigade.
• He could have demanded that the shop owner change the signboard.
• No one else would be able to register a similar TM and make a claim against him.

Thus, registration of the company name in the Unified State Register and registration of the brand name as a TM are two parallel and equally important processes for the comprehensive protection of your business. The first protects you in the legal-documentary plane, and the second protects you on the market, in the eyes of consumers and from unscrupulous competitors.

And, of course, when you have already protected your name, the next logical step is to protect the visual elements of the brand. After all, it is often the logo that is the key identifier of your company. You can read about how to do this in our article “How to register a company logo: procedure and cost”.

Conclusions

So, let’s summarise our journey. When an entrepreneur says he wants to patent a name, what he really means is a much more important and precise procedure – registering it as a trade mark. This is not just a play on terms, but a fundamental difference between protecting technology and protecting the identity of your business. Remember that registering your company with the USR does not give you the exclusive right to a brand, only to a legal name.

Investing in TM registration today is not an expense, but a strategic step that turns your name from a mere set of words into a valuable intangible asset. It is your guarantee of safety from unscrupulous competitors, an opportunity to scale your business through franchising and a reliable foundation for building a strong and recognisable brand. Do not put off this key step for later, because protecting your company name is the key to its stable and successful future. If you want to ensure reliable legal protection for your business, you should consider registering your trade mark with the help of specialists.