Quarantine introduced by the Decision of the Cabinet of Ministers No.211 dated 11 March 2020 affected all spheres of life and business in Ukraine, including intellectual property.

Quarantine is in effect until 31 July 2020, however, starting from 22 May 2020, the five-stage “adaptive quarantine” plan has introduced its gradual easing.

As of today, the third stage of the adaptive quarantine plan applies to the most territories of Ukraine, except for certain regions. City of Kyiv is still at the stage two having not met the criteria required to move on to the next stage of the eased quarantine measures. Given the statistic on increasing the cases of coronavirus infection, it is hard to predict if the quarantine will end on 31 July.

Below we provide information on how the state bodies and organisations in the field of IP operate during the quarantine. Given that different regions are at the different stages of the “adaptive quarantine” plan, we would recommend referring to the local quarantine guidelines for details. The information below generally related to the bodies and organisations located in Kyiv.

Generally, restrictions in their work relate to visits by the individuals and operation of the reception for submitting documents in person. Thus, hard copies shall be submitted via mailbox located inside the premises. Visiting individuals are required to wear masks. Documents are also accepted by post, e-mail, or by certain electronic systems. Access to said electronic systems can be achieved by using the Qualified Electronic Signature or Electronic Digital Signature (“digital signature”).

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