Trademark Inheritance: How to Obtain Rights?
A trademark is part of a business and is highly valuable. It is inextricably linked to its owner. According to the law, a trademark can be owned by an individual and/or a legal entity. How do you properly inherit trademark rights after the death of an individual? This article will provide details.
Content
Are trademark rights subject to inheritance?
What rights can be inherited?
How do I make changes to my trademark information after transferring my rights, and how much does it cost?
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As a general rule, inheritance, in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Code of Ukraine, can be carried out by will or by law (in order of priority).Inheritanceis the transfer of rights and obligations (inheritance) from a deceased individual (testator) to other persons (heirs).
As part of the inheritanceincludes all rights and obligations, which belonged to the testator at the time of the opening of the inheritance and did not cease upon their death. Therefore, trademark rights are also subject to inheritance. Therefore, when registering the inheritance, be sure to inform the notary that the testator has trademark rights. The notary can obtain up-to-date trademark data from the Special Information System of Ukrpatent, a public database. The heir can also provide the original or duplicate of the Certificate of Ukrainian Trademark or an extract from the Register containing information about the Certificate.
What rights can be inherited?
The trademark owner holds both property and non-property rights to the trademark. Since non-property rights are tied to the owner themselves, they cannot be passed on by inheritance.Only property rights are subject to inheritance. These include:
1) the right to use a trademark;
2) the exclusive right to authorize the use of a trademark;
3) the exclusive right to prevent unauthorized use of a trademark, including prohibiting such use;
4) other intellectual property rights established by law.
The intellectual property rights to a trademark are valid for a period often yearsFrom the date of filing the trademark application, unless otherwise provided by law. This period may be extended by ten years. This should be kept in mind when registering trademark rights through inheritance.
How do I make changes to my trademark information after transferring my rights, and how much does it cost?
After receiving the Certificate of Right of Inheritance, the heir must contact Ukrpatent to amend the details of the owner of the Trademark Certificate.To do this, you need to prepare a petition, pay a state fee, and provide copies of title documents.The petition may be drawn up in any form, but it must include: the number of the trademark certificate for which changes are being made, the date of its issue, the details of the current owner (indicated in the Register), the details of the new owner, and the address for correspondence.
The state fee for making amendments is UAH 1,600 and is paid to Ukrpatent. Copies of documents confirming the amendments must be certified by the heir, or a notarized copy of the certificate of inheritance must be provided. The amendment process takes approximately two months.
Our lawyers are always ready to assist with changes to trademarks and other intellectual property.
Free consultation with our lawyers:+380 44 233 70 20
