A recurring question from foreign counsel instructing us for the first time: what does a Ukrainian power of attorney actually require, and how long will it hold up the filing? The short answer is that it requires less than most jurisdictions, and it does not hold up the filing at all.

No legalisation, no notarisation, no apostille

A power of attorney for filing and prosecuting a Ukrainian trademark application needs to be signed by the applicant. That is the whole formal requirement.

It does not need to be notarised, legalised or apostilled, and it does not need to be filed in the applicant's own language with a certified translation. For corporate applicants a signature by an authorised officer is sufficient.

The filing does not wait for it

This matters for deadline management. The application can be filed before the executed power of attorney reaches us — the original, whether on paper or electronic, is submitted to the Office within a reasonable period after filing.

So if your client instructs you close to a priority deadline, the power of attorney is not the bottleneck. Send the instruction, we file, the document follows.

How it is signed in practice

For Ukrainian residents there are three electronic routes, all of which take minutes and require no registration with any third-party service: the state Diia application, a qualified electronic signature, or a bank-issued mobile signature.

For foreign applicants the usual route is a scanned signed copy, with the original sent by post. An electronic signature recognised in the applicant's jurisdiction is also acceptable in most cases.

What the document authorises

The power of attorney confirms that we may file documents on the applicant's behalf, respond to office actions and requests from the examiner, and receive correspondence and the certificate.

It is worth keeping the scope broad enough to cover the whole prosecution, including responses to provisional refusals and appeals, so that a fresh document is not needed at the least convenient moment.

A practical point on scope

If the client is likely to file further applications, a general power of attorney covering all matters before the Office saves repeating the exercise. Ukrainian practice accepts this without difficulty.

Working with us

We act as local counsel for foreign IP firms: filings, responses to provisional refusals, oppositions before the Appeal Chamber, renewals and recordals. We send the power of attorney in the form that suits your client and take care of submitting it to the Office. More on how we work with IP firms.