Registration of ua domain: benefits and prospects
A domain is a website address that consists of a unique set of characters. “Under the hood” site address, in general, consists of a set of numbers, but, because they are difficult to remember, a system of domain names was created. In it, the numeric designations are linked to the alphabetic ones.
Domains are divided by levels. The coolest are domains of the first level. A striking example is the .UA domain, which gives the site status. Since .UA – is an abbreviation of the name of the country, then such a domain also determines the nationality. We can say that, for example, the site klona.ua is in the domain zone of Ukraine.
A prerequisite for obtaining a domain “.ua” – the presence of a registered trademark, ie you need to provide a document that the company has the right to TM with a similar name.
Assistance in trademark registration in Ukraine provides branding agency KOLORO. Simplify your life and entrust your difficulties to professionals!
Some important points to consider when selecting a domain name:
- Spelling the name of the domain name, it is better to use Latin characters – this will slightly improve the indexing of the site search engines.
- An important point to consider is transliteration. By correctly selecting TM designations in Latin, it is possible to get several domain names for one trademark.
- Don’t forget to pay the fees and charges to get the certificate and be able to register a .UA first level domain.
The main advantage of a site on such a domain is authority and a high level of trust among buyers. This is due to the fact that both consumers and search engines (they also respect .UA domain) know that .UA domain registration is a serious and expensive business, so the sites placed there are considered elite and safe. Another plus – there are not so many web pages in this zone – as of 01.06.2017 there are 20056 of them. The opportunity to pick up a short but organic domain name gives a chance to increase site traffic and, accordingly, increase profits.
According to Hostmaster, the number of registrations in the .UA domain zone exceeded 550 thousand by the end of May 2017. The main indicators are as follows:
ua domains: basic steps on the way to registration
All domain zones have their own registration rules. The main rule for registration of .ua domains is the presence of a registered TM, which will repeat the domain name. TMs are registered by classes of activity and for one word there can be many of them, and one-word domain names – a limited number.
Basic rules of .UA domain registration:
Documents for domain registration in the .UA zone
To register a domain, you must be sure to provide such documents:
- Certificate of ownership of the trademark.
- Documents certifying the identity of the applicant, if an individual and certificate of registration for a legal entity.
- If necessary, an agreement on the transfer of ownership rights to TM.
After submission of all documents and payment, the rights to the mark/trademark are verified, and the TM is verified to match the declared domain name. The registration period varies from one to fourteen days, and the site becomes available after DNS update – in 72 hours.
.UA domain: trademark registration
The procedure of trademark registration lasts up to 15 months and costs from 1500 UAH (state fees + cost of services of a patent attorney).
Remember that trademark registration in Ukraine is not only domain registration. Having a certificate confirming the copyright to use the TM provides additional guarantees to protect your products from counterfeit production and black competition.
A registered TM increases prestige: consumers tend to trust certified companies more. Another plus of a registered TM is an intangible asset, which often provides investment attractiveness. New, but becoming quite popular in Ukraine, the phenomenon of franchising is also possible only with a registered trademark.
So, if you decide to register a trademark, you can contact a patent attorney or do it yourself.
If there is no time and you need to register only one TM, you can contact an attorney and prepare for him:
- identification documents or company documents;
- registration logo;
- money.
If in the future you are thinking of registering another trademark and want to understand all the issues, you can do the registration yourself.
Stages of independent registration of a trademark
If you don’t have a website, now is the best time to create one with COLORO Agency. And the first step in creating your website is to register a domain name.
The very first thing you should do before starting the registration process is to check the availability of similar or similar variants of already registered TMs. Why is this so important? – If you file documents and it turns out that such a TM already exists – you will not be reimbursed for the financial costs.
Having checked for similarities with other trademarks, decided on the visualization of the mark and transliteration, you can start registering through the mail or electronically.
Step 1: postal registration of TM
You can register yourself through the Ukrainian Institute of Intellectual Property by downloading a sample application. In the application it is necessary to provide:
- contact information;
- Passport details (if a PEF) or Certificate of Registration (if a legal entity);
- a verbal description of the image of the sign (the graphic or letter designation should be described briefly and clearly);
- photocopies of the TM logo image;
- color content of the logo;
- a list of goods and services that are included in the trademark;
- insert the correct class with a list of goods classified according to the International Classification of Goods and Services.
Electronic registration
Another way to apply for trademark registration on your own is electronic registration. This type does not differ much from the paper version. In this case, first of all, it is necessary to register on the portal of the State Intellectual Property Service and obtain an electronic digital signature in an accredited key certification center Ukrpatent. Further it is necessary to:
- fill in the electronic application form;
- attach the application materials;
- to sign with an electronic signature;
- to register an application.
Step 2: Confirmation of TM registration
Having received confirmation of receipt of the application, you need to pay the state duty for its registration in the amount of 1000 UAH for one class. Having paid, you wait from 8 to 18 months, during which the confirmation of appointment will come. In this case, you need to pay the state duty in the amount of 85 UAH and 150 UAH for the publication of statements, and send the receipts back. And wait again. True, now a little less – up to two months, which ends with the receipt of the certificate (although it is possible and refusal). Now you can register a domain.
Step 3: Purchase a domain
The last step on the way to owning a .UA domain is its purchase. You can’t do it on your own – you need to contact special services that provide such services. Registration time – up to 7 days, and the cost – from 1000 UAH.
Only owners of trademarks with the same name can buy a .UA domain. For example, to register the domain sibas.ua, TM can be called sibas, sibas, sibas, sibas or sibas. If you want to call the trademark sibas.ua, then the chances of being unique are greater, but also the cost will be corresponding: about 7 000 UAH for the fact that .UA is a symbol of the state.
UA domain registration without a trademark: is it possible?
All services offering the registration of the national Ukrainian domain in one voice say that without a certificate of the registered TM to purchase the domain .UA is impossible. But from a legal point of view on the above-mentioned domain without documents for the trademark can register different organizations, such as koshki.ua – a meeting place for lovers of ponytails and it will not be a private resource, but public. But let’s say you like the name of the domain koshki, but you do not have a TM with a similar name, and the registration process is complicated, lengthy and risky.
A domain name can be registered to someone else’s trademark, which, for example, did not need the domain and, having promoted, register a trademark and transfer the domain to it.
Another option to bypass the registration of TM – registration with a European domain registrar, and in the application indicate the number of the selected foreign TM. Then the following will happen:
- The European registrar will send a confirmation request to the Ukrainian partner.
- The Ukrainian partner will request a registration number from the applicant.
- The applicant will provide someone else’s TM number.
This variant of domain name registration is called cybersquatting – willful or incorrect registration of a domain name that infringes another owner’s rights to a trademark with possible resale.
The legal framework that can protect against this type of illegal activity is imperfect in Ukraine, although the activity itself is not developing due to the conditions of .UA domain registration.
According to the Regulations on the peculiarities of registration of second-level private domain names and the summary of the Domain.ua Rules, the first level can be registered for the domain.UA only if there is a registered trademark. This is done to prevent cybersquatting.
Pitfalls when registering a TM
Many people who have registered TMs on their own have regretted that they did not turn to intermediaries because of the red tape involved. But even the submission of documents for registration of a trademark does not always result in obtaining a certificate. Therefore, we repeat, it is absolutely necessary to check whether the name is free before applying for registration.
You may be beaten (sibas.ua is currently free) and write a TM name that is slightly different from yours, for example, yours is Sibas and your opponent’s is Siba&S, which is also suitable for the name of the mentioned domain. But your opponent will get it faster, because he applied for accelerated registration in 4 months, while your application should go through the procedure in 8 months.
How much does it cost to register a .ua and .ukr domain in Ukraine?
The .UA domain registration services are officially registered by 120 registrars. The cost of .UA and .UKR domain registration is calculated per year and depends on the company:
.UA domain name registration: results
Finding a good name for a domain and registering it in the .UA zone is the first step towards building a modern company website and one of the ways visitors can easily find you. It’s also a great opportunity to create corporate email addresses, such as info@koloro.ua.
But betting on a more expensive domain, you need to think about whether the game is worth it. After all, such giants (who “missed” the .UA domain in their time) of global scale as Google and local scale as rozetka feel perfectly well on the .COM.UA domain.
The bright minds of KOLORO branding agency will come up with a name, help with trademark registration and develop a company logo. We do qualitatively and beautifully. Call and write:
