One of the most common questions we hear from applicants is: who should a trademark be registered to — the business owner as an individual or the company?

Before answering this, it’s important to note that in Ukraine there are no restrictions on the legal status of the applicant. According to the law, a trademark applicant can be either an individual (a Ukrainian resident, a foreign resident, or a stateless person) or a legal entity (of any form of ownership). It’s also worth noting that a sole proprietor (FOP) is considered an individual, not a legal entity.

As for who it’s better to register the trademark to, based on our experience, we usually recommend registering it to an individual. This approach has several advantages:

- regardless of what happens to the company (liquidation, bankruptcy, рейдерство), the trademark remains yours;

- if the owner passes away, a trademark registered to an individual can be inherited;

- it is relatively easy to conclude agreements for the benefit of the owner when the trademark is registered to an individual.

However, this approach also has some drawbacks:

- registration costs cannot be recorded as company expenses;
- tax authorities and other regulators may question why a company spends money on promoting a brand that belongs to an individual. However, this issue can be resolved by signing a standard license agreement.

Therefore, you can make your own informed decision on who should own your trademark based on your business goals and structure.