A lawyer for DeepTech companies: intellectual property, structuring and tax
DeepTech is a business built around complex technology: artificial intelligence, robotics, biotech, semiconductors, new materials, space, energy, defence developments. In such a business the most valuable thing is not an app or a website, but the technology itself and the rights to it. And this is exactly where the ordinary “IT” legal approach breaks down: what works for a product studio does not close the risks of a company that invests in R&D for years, registers patents, builds a hardware solution and often balances on the line between civilian and dual use. Dextra Law works with technology businesses on two fronts that are decisive for DeepTech: protecting intellectual property and legal structuring of the company together with taxation. Below is how this looks in practice.
Why DeepTech is legally a different game
A classic IT product can be rewritten, relaunched, repositioned. DeepTech does not work that way: the company’s value is concentrated in a technology whose development costs years and significant money, and an error in the rights or the structure can devalue everything at once. Several features define this specificity.
- The technology is the main asset. The company’s value rests on an invention, an algorithm or know-how, not on traffic. If the rights to them are set up carelessly, the investor will be the first to see it.
- The hardware component. Many DeepTech solutions are “hardware” plus software, which adds questions of patents, industrial designs, manufacturing, importing components and exporting the finished product.
- Dual use. A drone, a sensor, a communications system or an AI model easily falls into the dual-use category — and then export control kicks in.
- Deep investment and long cycles. Rounds, grants, convertible instruments, due diligence — all of this requires the rights and the structure to be impeccable long before the deal.
Intellectual property — the foundation of DeepTech value
For DeepTech, IP is not “something for later” but the very thing you sell to an investor and protect from copying. Different instruments work here, and the strength lies in assembling the right combination of them for a specific technology.
Patents for inventions and utility models
A technical solution is protected by a patent for an invention under the Law “On the Protection of Rights to Inventions and Utility Models”. For DeepTech this is the main way to lock in a monopoly on the technology and capitalise on R&D. We support the registration of a patent for an invention — from assessing patentability to obtaining the protection document.
Industrial designs
The product’s appearance — the shape of the device, the interface, the casing design — is protected as an industrial design. For hardware DeepTech solutions this is an important layer of protection alongside the patent on the technical substance. Dextra supports obtaining an industrial design certificate.
Patent clearance: check before launch, not after a lawsuit
The most expensive DeepTech mistake is to bring to market a product that infringes someone else’s patent. That is why, before launch and especially before raising investment, you need a patent-clearance check and patent search: it shows whether your market is clear and whether you risk running into a competitor’s claim. For a company planning to scale into external markets, this is not an option but part of basic hygiene.
Trade secrets and know-how
Not everything is worth patenting. A patent is public disclosure of the essence of an invention in exchange for a time-limited monopoly, and for some algorithms, models or technological processes it is more advantageous to keep them as a trade secret. The choice between a patent and secrecy is a strategic decision taken at the start — not once the technology has already been shown to a contractor without an NDA.
Software, licences and open source
The software component of DeepTech is protected by copyright under the Law “On Copyright and Related Rights”, and monetised through licences. We handle software licence development — from the SaaS model to complex B2B licences — and check the cleanliness of open-source use, because breaching open-source licence terms surfaces precisely during due diligence.
The chain of rights: from founder to contractor
The most typical hole in DeepTech is that the technology was created by founders, hired engineers and contractors, yet the rights to it never passed to the company correctly. The investor asks “show that the IP belongs to the legal entity”, and it turns out that part of the code or development formally belongs to individuals. This is closed by proper assignment agreements and IP clauses in contracts with the team, including through gig contracts with clear transfer of rights, confidentiality and non-competition.
Legal structuring and tax
The second pillar is how the company is built: which regime it operates in, how it pays tax, how it takes investment and hires the team. For DeepTech in Ukraine there are two special regimes, and the choice between them is no small matter.
Diia City: the base regime for technology businesses
For most civilian DeepTech companies the optimal entry point is the special legal regime Diia City, introduced by the Law “On Stimulating the Development of the Digital Economy in Ukraine”. It gives technology businesses several substantial advantages:
- Profit tax or tax on withdrawn capital. A resident may choose the tax on withdrawn capital at 9% instead of the 18% profit tax, and reinvested profit is not taxed at all.
- Reduced payroll burden — 5% personal income tax where the staffing criteria are met (in particular, average remuneration of no less than the equivalent of EUR 1,200 and at least nine specialists), plus the military levy and unified social contribution calculated from the minimum wage.
- Gig contracts — a flexible model of cooperation with engineers that combines features of an employment and a civil-law contract and lets you assign the rights to the created IP to the company from the outset.
- Investment tools and the ability to defer mobilisation for employees: Diia City residency is one of the criteria for recognising an enterprise as critically important, which directly concerns DeepTech teams with engineers of conscription age.
Defence City: the regime for defence and dual-use DeepTech
If your technology serves defence — drones, electronics, communications systems, sensors, AI for military tasks — a separate regime, Defence City, has been in effect since 5 January 2026. It is designed for enterprises of the defence-industrial complex and offers even deeper incentives: exemption from profit tax provided funds are reinvested into development, exemption from land and property taxes, simplified customs procedures for importing components and exporting defence products, and a special currency regime. The key condition is that the share of “qualified” income from defence activity must be at least 75%, and a resident submits annual reporting to the Ministry of Defence together with an audit report.
It is important to understand that Diia City and Defence City are different regimes with different conditions, and a company usually chooses the one that matches its profile. For a dual-use business that works for both the civilian and the defence market, choosing the regime and the structure to fit it is a separate strategic decision where the cost of a mistake is high. This is exactly where you need a lawyer who sees both regimes as a whole.
Group structure, investment and due diligence
DeepTech rarely lives in a single legal entity. Raising venture investment, entering external markets, protecting IP and being convenient for funds often require a well-thought-out structure — a Ukrainian operating company plus a parent structure abroad, with correct ownership of intellectual property rights within the group. Add to this the investment instruments (SAFE, convertible loans, option pools for the team) and readiness for due diligence, during which the investor checks precisely two things — who owns the technology and how the business is built. Both are our area. We also support the registration and advising of technology companies and the ongoing legal support of a product IT business.
Dual use and export control
Many DeepTech products have a dual-use nature, and as soon as you export such a technology or component, the export-control regime kicks in. This is a separate layer: correct classification of the goods, obtaining the necessary permits, and support for foreign-trade contracts. For companies that regularly import components or export products, the authorised economic operator (AEO) status is separately useful, as it simplifies customs procedures and increases the trust of counterparties. For defence DeepTech, the Defence City regime with its simplified customs partly covers these questions, but it does not remove classification and permits.
Web3, tokens and the crypto component
Some DeepTech projects have a blockchain or token component — from decentralised computing to the tokenisation of assets. This is a separate regulatory plane where financial law, IP and structuring intersect. We support Web 3.0 projects and provide crypto-lawyer services — from the structure of a token issuance to compliance with regulatory requirements.
What Dextra covers, and how: in brief
| The DeepTech company’s task | Legal solution |
|---|---|
| Lock in a monopoly on the technology | Patent for an invention, industrial design, trade-secret regime |
| Avoid infringing others’ rights on market entry | Patent-clearance check and patent search |
| Prove to an investor that the IP belongs to the company | Transfer of rights from founders and team, IP clauses in gig contracts |
| Optimise tax and hiring | Diia City or Defence City, gig contracts |
| Export dual-use technology | Export control, AEO status |
| Raise investment and pass due diligence | Group structure, investment instruments, rights audit |
| Defend yourself in a dispute | Dispute resolution in IT and technology business |
When a DeepTech company needs a lawyer
Ideally — before anything goes wrong. But in practice there are several moments when you cannot delay: before the first investment round (the investor will check the IP and the structure); before the product’s market launch (patent clearance); when hiring the first engineers (transfer of rights); before exporting (dual use); and when a conflict arises — with a founder, a contractor or a counterparty. In the latter case we support dispute resolution in the IT business, including disputes over rights to a technology.
How Dextra Law works
We come in not with a single service but with a whole picture: first we look at where your value is concentrated and where it is unprotected, and then we build both the IP strategy and the business structure around that. For DeepTech this means:
- IP audit. We check whether the company owns all the rights to the technology, whether the chain from founders and team is closed, what is worth patenting and what to keep as a secret.
- IP protection. We register patents and industrial designs, conduct patent searches, and prepare licences and assignment agreements.
- Structure and tax. We select the regime (Diia City or Defence City), build the group structure for investment, and implement gig contracts.
- External markets. We support export, dual use and AEO status.
- Investment and defence. We prepare the company for due diligence and represent its interests in disputes.
The strength lies precisely in the combination: in DeepTech, IP and structure are not two separate services but one task, because the investor and the court look at them together.
Frequently asked questions
How does legal support for DeepTech differ from ordinary IT?
The emphasis shifts to the technology as an asset: patents and patent clearance, the hardware component, dual use and export control, deeper investment rounds. For classic product IT these questions are mostly secondary; for DeepTech they are central.
Patent the technology or keep it as a trade secret?
It depends on whether the solution can be “designed around” and how easily it can be reproduced. A patent gives a monopoly but discloses the essence; a secret discloses nothing but does not protect against independent invention. This is a strategic choice made before any publications or demonstrations.
Which to choose — Diia City or Defence City?
These are different regimes. Diia City suits most civilian technology companies; Defence City is for defence-sector enterprises with a share of defence income of at least 75%. For a dual-use business, the choice requires a separate analysis of structure and income.
The investor asks to “show that the IP belongs to the company”. What does that mean?
That there must be documents under which all rights to the technology — from the code to the inventions — have legally passed from the founders, employees and contractors to the legal entity. If this chain is broken, the deal may fall through or the price may drop.
Our technology is dual-use. What does that change?
Export control kicks in: you need correct classification of the goods and the relevant permits before export. This does not prohibit export, but it requires preparation in advance; for the defence sector, Defence City simplifies some of the questions.
When is it best to turn to a lawyer?
Before the first investment round, before the product’s market launch and before hiring the first engineers. These are the stages at which the rights and the structure are laid down that the investor will later check — fixing it after the fact is more expensive.
Need a lawyer for your DeepTech company?
Dextra Law combines two things that are critical for deep technologies: the protection of intellectual property and the legal structuring of the business together with taxation. We will audit your rights, choose the regime and the structure, and prepare the company for investment and entry into external markets. Contact us to discuss your technology and draw up an action plan.
