The rights to the logo of Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) have been acquired by aviation blogger and former director of DTEK Orlivska VES LLC and DTEK Tryfonivska VES LLC, Ivan Lyakh.
The logo and other assets of the airlines were put up for sale on the State Property Fund platform “SETAM,” Ivan Lyakh announced on his Facebook page.
“It took me a little over three months to transfer the rights to the trademark. The original certificate was somewhere in the depths of UIA offices. Trying to retrieve it was in vain, so I had to apply for a duplicate. Today, the process is complete. I have the original certificate, and the State Register of Certificates of Ukraine for trademarks now reflects the data of the current certificate holder,” the buyer wrote.
He stated that he currently has no plans to use the purchased UIA logo.
“Why do I need it? First, if someone decides to recreate UIA after the end of the war, I will be happy to participate in the process with the original intellectual property rights. Secondly, if that doesn’t happen, owning a piece of Ukrainian civil aviation history seized by an aviation enthusiast is valuable to me,” Lyakh added.
Ivan Lyakh acquired the logo at an auction on December 12, 2023, for UAH 98.41 thousand. Nine individuals participated in the auction.
He explained that upon the recommendation of one of the former top managers of the airline, he acquired its main trademark – the “Ukraine International Airlines” (UIA) logo. It includes the name of the airline in two languages and a graphic element – a falcon. The logo was developed by the advertising agency “Artmaster” in 2005. UIA’s corporate colors (blue and yellow) and the airline’s symbol – a stylized falcon were used during its creation.
As previously reported, the Economic Court of Kyiv opened bankruptcy proceedings against Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) on November 22, 2023, following a lawsuit filed by UkrEximBank. UIA was the largest airline in Ukraine before the full-scale Russian invasion.
Prior to the full-scale invasion, UIA had accumulated billion-dollar debts to the state, which its co-owner Ihor Kolomoisky refused to repay, offering instead the airline’s shares. In particular, the airline owes at least UAH 800 million for servicing aircraft at Boryspil Airport and UAH 1.5 billion for air navigation services to Ukraeroruh. Both cases are in court. UIA’s total financial obligations as of the end of 2022 amounted to UAH 20.5 billion, according to OpenDataBot.
UIA was established in 1992 as a joint venture between Ukraine and Western investors for flights from Kyiv to European countries on foreign aircraft. In 2011, the state sold its 61.58% stake in UIA to private individuals.
Among the new owners of the company were former co-owner of the bankrupt airline AeroSvit, Aron Mayberg. According to media reports, after its privatization, former Minister of Infrastructure Boris Kolesnikov and the brother of former Minister Dmitry Tabachnik, Mykhailo, were also shareholders of UIA.
In 2015, Ihor Kolomoisky, who owned AeroSvit with Mayberg, admitted that he bought a stake in UIA from Kolesnikov. In 2022, UIA ceased operations amid the conflict between Mayberg and Kolomoisky.
In early 2023, Mayberg resigned as co-founder of UIA and also stepped down from the airline’s supervisory board. Thus, the company remained under Kolomoisky’s control.
