Vasil Kisil and Partners Successfully Defended Metinvest Group’s Rights to AZOVSTAL Brand

The Appeals Chamber of the Ukrainian National Office for Intellectual Property and Innovations (UANIPIO) overturned a decision to refuse legal protection and issued a decision approving the registration of the АЗОВСТАЛЬ and AZOVSTAL trademarks.

Vasil Kisil and Partners successfully defended the interests of Metinvest Holding LLC in a case regarding the registration of the АЗОВСТАЛЬ and AZOVSTAL brands. This is the first case in which the Appeals Chamber of the UANIPIO applied a new legal provision on contravention of public policy to a mark that unlawfully reproduces objects that acquired special symbolic significance for Ukrainians during the war.

In March 2025, the UANIPIO refused the registration of the АЗОВСТАЛЬ and AZOVSTAL trademarks. The reasoning behind the refusal was that the word “AZOVSTAL” has acquired special symbolic significance, becoming a symbol of national resistance, will and indomitability of the Ukrainian people, and therefore the registration of the trademark is allegedly contrary to public policy and accepted principles of morality.

Partner Ilarion Tomarov and Senior Associate Marharyta Tolmach, representing Metinvest Holding LLC (which includes Azovstal Iron and Steel Works), proved that this approach was erroneous and unfair to the legitimate owner of the brand.

Vasil Kisil and Partners’ lawyers emphasized that the contravention of public policy and principles of morality cannot be established on assumptions about how the public “may” perceive the mark. This ground can be applied only when the unlawful use of a trademark by the applicant has been proven.

One of the pieces of evidence was a sociological survey of awareness of and attitudes towards the "АЗОВСТАЛЬ" trademark, with its results reinforcing the main arguments of the appeal as follows:

• Historical and legitimate connection. Metinvest Group has been managing the AZOVSTAL brand and developing it since 2006, having invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the modernization of the plant. Azovstal steel is the backbone of iconic buildings in Ukraine and the world - The Shard skyscraper in London, the bridge in Genoa, and the steel sarcophagus over the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant.
• Protection from unfair use. A legal provision restricting the registration of symbols of resistance is aimed at preventing third parties from piggybacking on such names. Instead, Metinvest is registering the trademarks to protect the brand from unfair practices and preserve its distinctiveness.
• Absence of negative context. The acquisition of symbolic significance does not give the word “АЗОВСТАЛЬ” a negative meaning. Instead, the brand resonates with the values of Ukrainian society, and Metinvest actively uses it in charitable projects (in particular, the release of steel bracelets to raise funds for the Armed Forces of Ukraine through United24, and the Heart of Azovstal project).

Decision of the Appeals Chamber

The Panel affirmed that the mere fact that a designation has acquired special symbolic significance is not sufficient ground for refusal. For this ground to be applicable, it is necessary to establish signs of unlawful use of the trademark.

In its decisions, the Panel arrived at the conclusion that the marks “АЗОВСТАЛЬ” and “AZOVSTAL” did not have signs of unfair commercialization of a socially significant symbol by a third party because their registration was carried out by an entity whose activities were directly associated with the AZOVSTAL brand and its history.

“This case is the first of its kind where the UANIPIO agreed that a refusal should be made only if it is proven that the use of a mark that has acquired symbolic significance is unlawful. This decision is exemplary for the interpretation of the new legal provision on contravention of public policy. "We pride ourselves on having helped protect the name “AZOVSTAL” for the company that not only created this history but also keeps its focus on restoring the industrial heart of Mariupol,” commented Vasil Kisil & Partners’ Partner Ilarion Tomarov.

“Azovstal is of special importance to Metinvest. The company's brand is associated with history, generations of metallurgists, dynasties that built its glory, thousands of structures made of Azovstal steel, and, of course, with the courage of the defenders of Mariupol who fought against the Russian aggressor. Therefore, for us, it was a matter of principle to protect the brand from use by people who have nothing to do either with the plant or with its heroic defense. This is a principled position, because since 2022, Metinvest Group has been a key partner of the Heart of Azovstal initiative supporting the defenders of Mariupol. We plan to continue to support both the project and the memory of the defenders of the plant and its heroic defense,” said Roman Ognevyuk, Chief Legal Officer at Metinvest Group.