Client: Healthcare Charity

Project: Legal assessment of trademark use and licensing model, including a tax review of royalty income for a non-profit organization

Experts: Anna Kravchuk, Yuliia Khalaim

Outcome: Practical recommendations on implementing a legally compliant trademark use and licensing model

Project Overview

The client is a charitable organization that has been implementing socially significant healthcare and humanitarian projects for decades and has established a strong reputation both in Ukraine and internationally.

Its trademarks constitute valuable intellectual property assets that have the potential to generate passive income to support the organization’s charitable and statutory activities.

The client sought legal advice on the model under which its trademarks are used by third parties participating in charitable initiatives. Given the client’s non-profit status, any licensing arrangement and royalty payments had to comply with Ukrainian tax legislation and preserve the organization’s non-profit status.

Synergy IP conducted a comprehensive legal and tax assessment, including:

  • analysis of the organization’s statutory activities and corporate structure;
  • identification of the trademarks in use and assessment of how they are used by both the organization and third parties;
  • evaluation of the existing trademark use and licensing model from both intellectual property and tax law perspectives, with a particular focus on potential tax risks and compliance with the legal requirements applicable to non-profit organizations.
Result

Following the project, the client received a comprehensive written legal opinion that:

  • assessed the existing trademark use model involving third parties;
  • proposed an alternative and legally compliant trademark licensing structure;
  • confirmed the possibility for a non-profit organization to receive passive royalty income, provided that the applicable legal and tax requirements are met;
  • identified the key legal and tax risks and provided practical recommendations for their mitigation.

This project demonstrates that charitable organizations can effectively manage and monetize their intellectual property assets while maintaining compliance with non-profit regulations and applicable tax laws.