IT, intellectual property and data

This practice covers legal support for technology businesses and the protection of intangible assets: trademarks, copyright, IT contracts, personal data and online infringement.

An IT lawyer in Kyiv helps protect a business’s intellectual property and data: registering a trademark, securing the rights in code and content, contracting with developers and contractors, bringing personal data processing into line with the law and stopping online infringement. We work with IT companies, start-ups, authors and online businesses – at our office in Kyiv or online.

Our services

• Trademark registration – searches and risk assessment, the application, objections, protection against similar signs
• Copyright and content protection – rights in works, assignment agreements, responding to infringement
• IT contracts and outsourcing – development and licence agreements, transfer of rights in the result
• Personal data protection – processing audits, grounds for processing, policies and consent forms
• Domains and online infringement – preserving evidence of infringement, demands to infringers and intermediaries, domain disputes

When you need an IT lawyer

• you are bringing a new brand or product to market
• you are commissioning development or engaging contractors, freelancers or an outstaffed team
• the rights in code, design or content created by employees or contractors need to be secured
• your content, code or brand is being used without permission
• the company collects data on customers, employees or website users
• your brand has been used in someone else’s domain name

How we handle these matters

• we secure the rights to the work product before the product launches, not after the conflict
• we check whether the company actually owns what it treats as its asset
• we respond to infringement quickly: preserving evidence has a time limit
• the scope of work and the payment terms are agreed in writing before we start

How the work proceeds

1. First conversation: we establish which asset needs securing or protecting – a brand, code, content or data – and whether there is already an infringement.
2. Documents: we analyse contracts with employees and contractors, licences, register entries and data processing policies.
3. Position and action: an application, a contract, a policy, a demand or a claim – depending on the situation.
4. Support through to the outcome: registration, signing the contracts, representation in the dispute.

Legislation and case law are updated over time; this page reflects the position as of October 2026. Before acting on it, take advice on the wording currently in force.

Frequently asked questions

Does copyright have to be registered?

No. Copyright in a work arises by the fact of its creation; a work is deemed created from the moment it is first given any objective form – written, material, electronic (digital) and so on. No registration or other special formality is required for copyright to arise and be exercised (parts 1 and 3 of Article 9 of the Law of Ukraine “On Copyright and Related Rights”). That said, the copyright holder may register their copyright in the work in the state register to certify the rights belonging to them (part 5 of Article 9 of the Law).

Who owns code or design created by an employee?

The moral rights in a work created in the course of employment belong to the employee who created it, while the economic rights pass to the employer in full from the moment the work is created, unless the Law, the employment contract or another contract between them provides otherwise. The employee is entitled to remuneration; where their job duties expressly provide for creating such works, the remuneration may be included in their salary under an agreement between them (Article 14 of the Law of Ukraine “On Copyright and Related Rights”).

What if the work is created by a contractor or a sole trader?

Then the rules on works created on commission apply: the economic rights pass to the client in full from the moment the work is created, unless the commissioning contract provides otherwise (part 2 of Article 15 of the Law). At the same time, the Civil Code provides that the economic rights in an object created on commission belong jointly to its creator and the client, unless the contract or the law provides otherwise (part 2 of Article 430 of the Civil Code of Ukraine). The scope of the rights transferred should therefore be set out expressly in a written contract.

Can the rights in code be transferred without a written contract?

As a general rule, no. A transaction disposing of intellectual property rights is concluded in writing (including electronic form), except in cases set by law; if that form is not observed, the contract is void (part 2 of Article 1107 of the Civil Code of Ukraine). So the terms on the transfer of rights should be set out expressly in the contract, not only in the certificate of acceptance.

How does a licence differ from an assignment of rights?

Under a licence agreement the licensor grants the licensee permission to use the object in a defined way, for a certain period and in a certain territory; rights and ways of use not specified in the agreement are deemed not to have been granted, and unless the agreement provides otherwise, the licence is deemed non-exclusive (parts 1, 4 and 6 of Article 1109 of the Civil Code of Ukraine). An agreement assigning exclusive intellectual property rights is a separate type of transaction (item 4 of part 1 of Article 1107 of the Civil Code).

How long do trademark rights last?

The economic rights in a trademark are valid for ten years from the filing date, unless the law provides otherwise, and may be renewed for ten years each time (Article 496 of the Civil Code of Ukraine). The owner has the exclusive right to authorise use of the mark and to prevent its unlawful use, including by prohibiting such use (Article 495 of the Civil Code).

Is consent always required to process personal data?

No. The data subject’s consent is only one of the grounds for processing. The law also allows processing, in particular, to conclude and perform a transaction to which the data subject is a party, to perform a duty of the controller provided for by law, and to protect the legitimate interests of the controller or a third party – except where the need to protect the data subject’s fundamental rights and freedoms overrides those interests (Article 11 of the Law of Ukraine “On Personal Data Protection”). The basis should be identified for each processing activity separately.

Need legal assistance in IT or intellectual property? Call us or leave a request – a lawyer will be in touch.