On January 15, 2024, the management of the IP Office (Ukrainian National Office of Intellectual Property and Innovations) met with representatives of the Center Air Command and the NGO “Defenders of the Sky” to receive the original certificates for trademarks owned by the NGO “Defenders of the Sky”.
The NGO “Defenders of the Sky” is an organization created by the military and for the military. The main goals are to support the families of servicemen of the “Center” Air Command, to implement social and charitable programs. The public organization was specially founded by the servicemen of the “Center” Air Command to represent, provide support, increase respect for the profession of the Air Force, and most importantly, to protect the interests of both the servicemen and their families, as well as the families of those servicemen who, unfortunately, were killed in air battles.
In 2022, the Air Command “Center” of the Air Force of Ukraine developed a joint initiative with the NGO “Defenders of the Sky” to register trademarks in Ukraine concerning the image of the “Ghost of Kyiv”. And it was at the meeting that the management of the IR Office solemnly handed over the finished certificates: “ПРИВИД КИЄВА“, “НІЧНИЙ ПРИВИД“, “GHOST OF KYIV“, “NIGHT GHOST“, as well as the logo image of the well-known collective image of a pilot with a finger up.
From now on, the goals of the NGO “Defenders of the Sky” have been expanded to include the creation and development of projects related to these trademarks owned by the NGO.
It is worth noting that registration of such trademarks, which embody the symbols of war in Ukraine, was unlikely, as the IP office had its own established attitude to such registration:
“The IR Office has taken a clear position on the registration of trademarks using war symbols to draw attention to goods and services. We are convinced that speculation on the symbols of war is unacceptable, just as commercialization of the pain of Ukrainians is unacceptable,” said Olena Orliuk, Director of the IP Office, at the meeting.
“But the registration of the image and marks “The Ghost of Kyiv” by an organization created by the military to support the families of servicemen is exactly the example when the use of war symbols will benefit the country and its defenders,” clarified Olena Orliuk.
Now, the NGO “Defenders of the Sky” is the official trademark holder: “ПРИВИД КИЄВА“, “НІЧНИЙ ПРИВИД“, “GHOST OF KYIV“, “NIGHT GHOST“, as well as the well-known collective image of a pilot with a raised finger. This will help prevent speculation on the heroic image of the defenders – the Ghost of Kyiv.
As a reminder, the “Ghost of Kyiv” is a collective image. It is based on the pilots of the 40th Tactical Aviation Brigade of the Center Air Command, who won significant victories in air battles in the skies over Kyiv during the first 30 hours of the Russian offensive. Today, his image is embodied in murals, comics, posters, stamps, poems, and songs.
Now, as stated on the website of the NGO “Defenders of the Sky”, the members of the organization will have to do a lot of work to popularize the image, implement many interesting projects, create attributes and art products, and work unquestioningly for the benefit of the legendary servicemen of the “Center” Air Command.
What kind of products and services are covered by these trademarks
All five trademarks, as can be found in the special information reference system of the IP Office, are registered in a fairly wide list of classes under the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks (hereinafter referred to as the “Nice Classification”), namely in 10 classes. Of these, eight are classes of goods and two are classes of services.
It is worth reminding that there are 45 classes of the Nice Classification, 1 through 34 are classes of goods or areas of activity engaged in the production of goods. Classes 35 through 45 are classes of services or areas of activity that provide services. Each of the classes for trademark registration has its own heading with explanatory notes and a list of services or goods that may belong to the selected class. At the same time, the names of goods or services contained in the class headings are generic names related to the industries to which the goods or services mostly belong. Therefore, to clarify the classification of each individual product or each individual service, it is necessary to use an alphabetical list.
Benefits of trademark registration
The NGO “Defenders of the Sky”, as well as any other individuals or legal entities that receive certificates of registration of their own trademarks, receive a number of advantages in the market for the production of relevant goods and/or services, namely
– the ability to claim compensation for damage caused by infringement of the owner’s trademark rights
– granting permission to use the trademark to third parties (franchising, license);
– the ability to prevent the unlawful use of the trademark, including prohibiting such use;
– the possibility of obtaining a domain in the ua and ukr zones;
– contribution of the trademark to the authorized capital of the company;
– obtaining permits;
– registration of the trademark in the Customs Register of Ukraine;
– increase in business value;
– the possibility of filing an International Application under the Madrid System for the Registration of Marks.
Of course, there is a certain list of designations that cannot be registered as a trademark, and the choice of classes of the Nice Classification in which registration is required is a rather complicated procedure for an ordinary individual and/or legal entity. Therefore, we always advise you to contact the relevant trademark registration specialists in order to spend significant funds wisely, because trademark registration is not a cheap procedure in terms of state fees (which, in any case, are not returned to the applicant), in any country of the world.
Our company has been specializing in trademark registration for many years and has extensive experience, including in asserting the right to register trademarks in cases where IP office experts provide a preliminary refusal to register (98% of our objections are verified and trademarks are registered). So, don’t hesitate to contact us if you want to get a professional result with a minimum of effort.
copyright / intellectual property / The Ghost of Kyiv / trademark
