If your client is based outside Ukraine, it cannot deal with the Ukrainian office itself: the law requires a registered Ukrainian patent attorney. Choosing one comes down to two things — checking that the attorney is genuinely registered, and knowing how deadlines, fees and reporting will be handled before you send the first instruction.
In short
Who may act: applicants based outside Ukraine act before UANIPIO only through patent attorneys registered in Ukraine.
How to verify: the official register of patent attorneys on the UANIPIO website shows the name, registration number and specialisation.
What to ask first: a fixed fee including official fees, and who dockets the deadlines.
Why a registered attorney is mandatory
Foreign persons and persons whose permanent residence or seat is outside Ukraine exercise their rights before UANIPIO through patent attorneys registered in Ukraine (Article 4(2) of the Law of Ukraine on Protection of Rights to Marks for Goods and Services). Ukrainian applicants may file themselves or through any authorised person; your client may not.
A patent attorney is admitted after certification by the Attestation Commission of UANIPIO (Article 2-3) and entered in the State Register of patent attorneys. Complaints about attorneys' conduct go to the Appeal Commission of UANIPIO (Article 2-4) — a different body from the Appeals Chamber, which decides disputes over trademarks.
How to verify a Ukrainian attorney
1. The register. Search the official register of patent attorneys on the UANIPIO website (in Ukrainian; search by surname). If a firm cannot give you the name and registration number of the attorney who will act, ask why.
2. Specialisation. The certificate shows the attorney's specialisation — trademarks, industrial designs, inventions and utility models. It indicates the main field but does not restrict which applications the attorney may handle.
3. Actual filings. The UANIPIO database shows which applications were filed through which representative. Ask for examples in your client's class.
Seven questions to ask your Ukrainian associate
1. What is the fixed fee, including official fees? And in which currency you will be invoiced.
2. Who dockets the deadlines? And how they are reported to you — with the deadline stated up front, not buried in a translation.
3. Is there a search before filing, and what does it cover? Similar marks, pending applications and Madrid designations covering Ukraine.
4. Who prepares the Ukrainian specification? The list of goods and services is filed in Ukrainian; you should see and approve it.
5. What happens on an office action or provisional refusal? Whether the response is quoted in advance as a fixed fee.
6. Will they contact your client directly? A good associate works only through you.
7. Who exactly handles the file? Name, registration number and a direct email.
Red flags
“Registration guaranteed.” The office decides after examination; no one can guarantee the outcome, only assess the risks before filing.
“Registered in a month.” A Ukrainian registration usually takes about 14 months to the decision and about 2 more for publication and issue of the certificate, where no office action or provisional refusal arises.
Fees without official fees. If official fees are “extra”, the final invoice will differ from the quote.
Direct contact with your client. An associate who approaches your client is competing with you.
Working with us
We are two registered Ukrainian patent attorneys. Applications are filed through our founder Yurii Trachuk (Reg. No. 379), so our filings appear under his name in the UANIPIO database. Volodymyr Tarasiuk (Reg. No. 529), executive director, runs the bureau, handles matters for foreign applicants and IP firms, and in many of them prepares the documents and office action responses himself. We have practised since 2004 and work as usual during the war.
Quotes within one business day, flat professional fees plus official fees at cost, reporting in English, and no contact with your clients. How we work with IP firms · Trademark registration cost in Ukraine.
Frequently asked questions
Can a foreign company file a trademark in Ukraine without a local attorney?
No. Foreign persons and persons whose permanent residence or seat is outside Ukraine exercise their rights before UANIPIO through patent attorneys registered in Ukraine (Article 4(2) of the Law of Ukraine on Protection of Rights to Marks for Goods and Services). A Madrid designation reaches the office through WIPO, but once the holder has to act before the office — for example to respond to a provisional refusal — a registered Ukrainian attorney is needed.
How do I check that a Ukrainian attorney is registered?
Search the official register of patent attorneys on the UANIPIO website. It shows the attorney's name, registration number and specialisation.
Does an attorney's specialisation limit what they can file?
No. The specialisation shown on the certificate indicates the attorney's main field, such as trademarks, industrial designs or inventions, but it does not restrict which applications the attorney may handle.
Where can a complaint about a Ukrainian patent attorney be filed?
With the Appeal Commission of UANIPIO, which considers complaints about the actions of patent attorneys and monitors their compliance with the law (Article 2-4 of the Law of Ukraine on Protection of Rights to Marks for Goods and Services). It is a different body from the Appeals Chamber, which hears disputes over trademark applications and registrations.
How long does trademark registration in Ukraine take?
About 14 months to the decision and about 2 more for publication and issue of the certificate, where no office action or provisional refusal arises.
The provisions cited are articles 2-3, 2-4 and 4(2) of the Law of Ukraine on Protection of Rights to Marks for Goods and Services, as in force on 26 February 2026 (checked on 11 November 2026).
Author: Volodymyr Tarasiuk, Ukrainian patent and trademark attorney, Reg. No. 529