In today’s challenging environment, when technological innovations play a key role in strengthening the country’s defense capabilities, the issue of legal regulation of intellectual property rights to military developments is of particular importance. Recently, two draft laws aimed at regulating the distribution of property rights to objects created during military service were submitted to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (hereinafter – VRU). Therefore, this article addresses the question “How does Ukraine plan to regulate IP rights to technologies created by military personnel?”
What draft laws have been submitted to the Verkhovna Rada?
Two draft laws have been submitted to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to regulate the distribution of property rights to objects created in connection with the performance of official duties during military service.
The draft Laws of Ukraine “On Amendments to the Civil Code of Ukraine on Intellectual Property Rights to Objects Created in Connection with Military Service” and “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine on Intellectual Property Rights to Objects Created in Connection with Military Service” were registered in the Parliament on March 17, 2025. The Ukrainian National Office of Intellectual Property and Innovation (hereinafter referred to as “the UNOIPI”) was involved in the development of these acts.
The models for the distribution of intellectual property rights to proprietary and custom-made objects are set out in the Civil Code of Ukraine (the “CC”) and special laws in the field of intellectual property.
The Civil Code of Ukraine establishes a general rule that intellectual property rights to an object created in connection with the performance of an employment agreement (contract) belong jointly to the employee who created the object and the legal entity or individual where or for whom he or she works, unless otherwise provided by this Code or the contract.
A similar model has been implemented with respect to intellectual property rights to an object created to order. At the same time, a different model has been implemented for some objects, namely: intellectual property rights to a work created in connection with the performance of an employment agreement (contract) are transferred to the legal entity or individual where or for whom the author works from the moment the work is created in full, unless otherwise provided by the agreement or law.
At the same time, labor or commissioning relations differ from relations arising in connection with the performance of official duties during military service and remained outside the scope of legal regulation. The study of international experience has shown that in many countries, intellectual property rights to military objects are assigned to the state represented by the relevant state body.
Why is it important?
The issue of regulating the distribution of intellectual property rights to objects created in connection with military service is extremely important, as the potential of Ukrainian military personnel to invent, improve and implement technical solutions that require proper legal protection is obvious.
One of the key questions that needed to be answered was the determination of the entity that would be assigned property rights to such objects. In searching for an answer to this question, we studied not only the experience of the leading military-tech countries (the United States, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom), but also consulted with military inventors.
Mechanism for securing rights
The draft law “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine on Intellectual Property Rights to Objects Created in Connection with Military Service” provides that
– personal non-property intellectual property rights to such objects belong to the creator (i.e., the military personnel who created the relevant object);
– intellectual property rights are acquired by the state of Ukraine represented by the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine or another central executive body that, in accordance with the law, manages a military formation or ensures the formation and (or) implementation of state policy in the field of state border protection, organization of special communications, information protection, intelligence or state (law enforcement) agency in which the author is performing military service.
Here is a brief description of the stages of the procedure:
- Creation of an object: a serviceman creates an object of intellectual property.
- Notification of the commander: the author (inventor) notifies his/her commander in writing about the created object.
- Notification of the authorized body: the commander is obliged to transmit the notification of the created object to officials authorized to make decisions on intellectual property issues in the relevant state body.
- Granting of legal protection: within four months from the date of receipt of the notification, the body designated by law must file an application for state registration of the object with the UNOIPI or decide to keep the object as restricted information.
The right to register remains with the author (inventor); if the designated body fails to fulfill these conditions within the established time limit, the right to register the object is transferred to the author (inventor) or his/her successor. At the same time, the designated body retains the preemptive right to purchase a license.
Remuneration for military personnel
If a serviceman has created an intellectual property object in connection with the performance of his official duties during military service, he is entitled to remuneration in accordance with the procedure established by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. However, there is currently no clear procedure for payment of remuneration, and the relevant mechanism is being developed.
Regulating the rights to intellectual property created by military personnel is an important step to ensure the effective use of innovations in the defense sector. The proposed legislative initiatives are aimed at balancing state interests with the rights of authors, which will contribute to the development of technologies and increase the country’s defense capability. The introduction of clear mechanisms for the distribution of property rights will stimulate research activities in the Armed Forces and ensure fair remuneration to developers.
copyright / draft law / intellectual property / property rights
