01.07.2020

On June 30, 2020, orders of the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine No. 281 and No. 282 of June 9, 2020, aimed at improving the protection of intellectual property rights at customs, entered into force.

The need to develop relevant subordinate legislation was set by amendments to the Customs Code regarding the protection of intellectual property rights during moving goods across the customs border of Ukraine, which was adopted at the end of 2019.

Thus, in Ukraine, the international principle of exhaustion of rights was formally approved, the possibilities of combating counterfeit goods were improved, and the provisions of Regulation (EU) No 608/2013 and No 1352/2013 were implemented.

By orders of the Ministry of Finance, a unified approach and procedure for applying customs measures to goods suspected of infringement of intellectual property rights, as well as standardized forms of interaction with rights owners and declarants, are introduced.

The procedure for registering intellectual property rights in the customs registry was also improved, application forms were introduced that are used in the EU countries, and communication between copyright holders of IP objects and the customs service was transferred into electronic form.

Currently, work is underway to launch a new Customs register of intellectual property rights objects, as well as the creation of a Сenter of operative expertise.