Agrochemicals & Agriculture
For foreign agrochemical corporations and international plant breeders, entering the Ukrainian market requires extending global IP portfolios to secure enforceable local rights. The Ukrainian agricultural sector involves close interaction between foreign innovators, local seed farms, and domestic manufacturers. In this environment, the primary legal risks for foreign right holders include unauthorized seed multiplication, patent infringement in agrochemical production, and the circulation of counterfeit crop protection products.
ADVANCE PARTNERS acts as local IP counsel for foreign seed companies, breeders, and agrochemical manufacturers. We provide legal support in acquiring, commercializing, and enforcing intellectual property rights across the full spectrum of agricultural innovations in Ukraine.
Our services
- Plant Variety Rights (PVP): Legal representation for foreign breeders in the registration of plant varieties in Ukraine, including plant patents, registration certificates for the right of dissemination, and breeders’ certificates. Representation during local DUS and VCU testing procedures. Maintenance of plant variety rights throughout their term.
- Patent Prosecution and PCT National Phase Entry: Entering the Ukrainian national phase via the PCT route and direct patent filing for agrochemical active ingredients, pesticide formulations, herbicides, fungicides, plant growth regulators, and biotechnological inventions related to agriculture.
- State Registration of PPPs and Fertilizers: Legal support during the Ukrainian state testing and registration procedures to obtain mandatory market authorization for imported plant protection products and fertilizers.
- Cross-Border IP Agreements: Structuring seed multiplication contracts with Ukrainian farms, cross-border licensing agreements for plant varieties and agrochemical technologies, and Material Transfer Agreements (MTAs) for imported germplasm.
- Trademark Protection: National registration of international seed brands, agrochemical product lines, and agri-tech platform names across relevant Nice Classification classes.
- Customs Enforcement and Anti-Counterfeiting: Recordal of patents and trademarks with the Customs IP Register of Ukraine to prevent the importation of counterfeit PPPs and unauthorized seed material.
Key legal issues
We provide legal support on specialized matters relevant to foreign stakeholders in the Ukrainian agricultural sector:
- PVP Enforcement Against Unauthorized Multiplication: Representing foreign breeders in disputes with local agricultural enterprises over unauthorized seed multiplication, propagation, and sale. Advisory on the scope of the farmer’s privilege and breeder’s exemption.
- Combating Generic Agrochemical Infringement: Enforcing foreign patent rights against Ukrainian generic manufacturers of crop protection products. Advisory on regulatory data protection and its interaction with patent exclusivity for registered pesticide formulations.
- Freedom-to-Operate (FTO) for Market Entry: Conducting patent landscape analyses for foreign agrochemical formulations prior to market entry in Ukraine. Identification of blocking patents and development of risk mitigation strategies.
- Trade Secret Protection: Implementing trade secret regimes under Ukrainian law to protect proprietary breeding methods, germplasm data, agronomic trial results, and fertilizer formulations. Drafting enforceable NDAs for engagement with local testing facilities, contract growers, and business partners.
- Essentially Derived Varieties (EDV): Advisory on the legal framework for essentially derived varieties under Ukrainian plant variety legislation and the UPOV Convention.
