On May 13-14, 2024, Director of the IP Office Olena Orliuk and Deputy Director of the IP Office Liubov Maidanyk visited the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition in Munich (Germany).

The management of the national office joined the round table “Opening up Data for Research on Ukraine”, organized by the Institute, and also took part in a number of informal working meetings on deepening bilateral cooperation between the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition and the IP Office in the area of intellectual property legal protection and Ukraine IP rights enforcement.

In her speech at the roundtable, Olena Orliuk emphasized the intensity of innovative progress and technological development.

The use of the latest technologies and artificial intelligence is already a top trend. According to the director of the IP office, Ukraine is also making every effort to keep up with global innovation trends, despite the war of aggression that russia is waging against Ukraine, which has a negative impact on the functioning and development of the Ukrainian economy.

“Despite all the problems and challenges, Ukrainian business continues to work, adapt to the extremely difficult realities, looking for new ideas for implementing and scaling its projects, fill the economy with the necessary high-tech products, and looking for ways to enter new markets", said Olena Orliuk.

She noted that today a large number of Ukrainian companies are developing modern technical solutions in such pivotal areas as DefenseTech, MedTech, IT, and AI. This helps to accelerate global innovation development and strengthen our country's defense potential and economy in times of war, prioritizing the lives of our military and preventing the damage to civilians.

Olena Orliuk also shared details related to the institutional development of the Ukrainian IP Office, its vision and development plans, as well as the latest documents, including:

• The Strategic Development Plan of the IP Office,
• Information dashboard,
• IP Digest of European Integration,
• Report "Green Technologies, Innovations and Intellectual Property".

Special emphasis was pointed on The National IP Strategy until 2030, which is being developed by national and foreign experts, and the role of the IP Office in this process.

Liubov Maidanyk shared with the roundtable participants the details of Ukrainian IP office cooperation with the EU institutions in the IP sphere and provided the main statistics on the receipt of applications for IPR and registration by the IP office. In particular, she noted that the total number of applications for industrial property rights in 2023 increased by 47.6% compared to 2022. Inventions showed an increase of 5.5%, utility models - 47.4%, industrial designs - 34.8%, and trademarks - more than 55.4%.

The speaker also spoke about e-services and interactive information and online systems of the IP Office and international instruments with which the national IP office actively interacts. In particular, she spoke about the Global Brand Database and the Global Design Database. These databases are regularly updated and contain up-to-date information, including on Ukrainian documentation.

Liubov Maydanyk also highlighted that due to wartime conditions, some information in Ukrainian registers is restricted for security reasons.

For information: 

The event was organised by the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition to strengthen research about Ukraine, collect and study complete data in the innovation cycle: from education and science to inventions, innovations, small and medium-sized enterprises and industry.

The roundtable participants were looking for answers to the questions that arise when systematically studying public data in order to synergize cooperation with data owners and possible joint research teams with Ukrainian experts.

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• The Rules for Drafting and Submitting Design Applications Entered into Force
• How to reduce the impact of the war on IP: Ukrainian delegation meets with Mr. Daren Tang, Director General, WIPO

On 1 May 2024, the Order of the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine, “On Approval of the Rules for Drafting and Submitting Industrial Design Applications and Conducting an Examination of Industrial Design Applications and International Registration of Industrial Designs,” entered into force.

This order was registered with the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine on 16 April 2024 under No. 547/41892.

The Order defines:

• rules for applying for an industrial design,
• list of documents to be provided,
• examination procedure rules.

Adopting the new Order will help product manufacturers register their designs quickly and easily, protect them from copying, and peacefully develop their businesses. Its implementation will bring many benefits since it streamlines the registration process, fortifies industrial designs against copying, and paves the way for businesses to flourish.

“The Ministry of Economy is actively working on expanding business opportunities to use tools to protect creative solutions. The appearance of industrial products plays a crucial role in promoting products on the market. Therefore, creating a fast and transparent mechanism for registering industrial design rights should help businesses obtain protection and bring their innovative products to the market.

The updated Rules contain novelties regarding electronic document flow and also include provisions that will allow businesses to quickly manage and commercialise this intellectual asset even at the stage of registration”, – notes Deputy Minister of Economy Vitaliy Kindrativ.

The approval of the Rules on Industrial Designs is of important European integration significance. Olena Orliuk, the head of the Ukrainian IP Office, emphasised this:

“The action plan for implementing the European Commission’s recommendations, presented in the Report on Ukraine's progress as part of the 2023 European Union Enlargement Package, determines the need to adopt acts on the examination of applications for industrial designs to bring the secondary legal acts of Ukraine into compliance with the EU acquis in June 2024. Therefore, adopting the relevant Rules is another evidence of Ukraine’s timely fulfilment of European integration obligations”.

Also, the Rules define the IP Office’s authority to check, within the application examination proceedings, whether the applicant (one of the applicants) or the author (one of the authors) is not a person associated with the aggressor state. If such information is confirmed, the IP Office has the right to decide on refusing the state registration of an industrial design.

Read also:

• European Integration IP Digest: tracking the Ukrainian IP sphere’s progress on the way to the EU

How can the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) help mitigate the negative impact of the war on Ukraine ?

This issue was discussed during the meeting of the Ukrainian delegation with Mr. Daren Tang, Director General, WIPO and Mr. Habip Asan, Director, Division for Transition and Developed Countries (TDC), Regional and National Development Sector, WIPO in the framework of the 32nd session of the WIPO Committee on Development and Intellectual Property in Geneva (Switzerland).

Particular attention was paid to the development of the National Strategy on Intellectual Property until 2030. This document will become the strategic vision of the Ukrainian IP sphere development for the coming years and, as informed Bogdan Paduchak, the First Deputy Director of the IP Office, it is planned to be submitted for approval this year:

“We also would like to appreciate your support for the development of the National IP Strategy, launched with a strong group of international and national experts. We know that this is a very ambitious plan, but we aim to complete all the necessary procedures for its development this year and submit it to our Cabinet of Ministers for approval. Our main focus is to mitigate the negative impacts of the war and to adapt to the new emerging technologies, that’s why we appreciate the high level of involvement of WIPO and its relevant departments in the development of this Strategy”.

As part of a series of meetings at WIPO, it was agreed to develop and continue to implement a number of important initiatives, in particular:

• further implementation of the WIPO ALERT initiative in Ukraine;
• further participation and access preferences for Ukrainian institutions within the framework of WIPO's public-private partnership programs ASPI and ARDI;
• implementation of the project "Intellectual Property Management in Technoparks";
• protection of genetic resources and traditional knowledge related to genetic resources;
• further support and joint awareness-raising and educational projects within the framework of the National Intellectual Property Training Institution (IP Academy);
• adoption of the best practices on alternative dispute resolution methods, mediation services and cooperation with the Mediation Center at the IP Office;
• further development of the TISC network and cooperation with the National IP&Innovations Hub, which operates within the structure of the IP Office;
• support of cooperation with the WIPO Judicial Institute, in particular within the framework of the WIPO-Lex Judgments database;
• CEBS project on needs assessment, networking and capacity building of trademark and patent experts;
• CEBS WEP project for local communities in the field of traditional textiles;
• technical and expert assistance;
• building professional capacity in the IP sphere and IP legal culture raising.

Cooperation between WIPO and Ukraine at this level is an indication of the unequivocal support of our country and its innovation ecosystem. This was emphasized by Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine Vitaliy Kindrativ during the meeting:

“We would like to reiterate that our focus on cooperation remains the same, and we continue to rely on WIPO expertise to mitigate the negative impacts of the war, described in the respective WIPO Report discussed during the 64th series of General Assemblies. These negative impacts should continue to be monitored and properly addressed in subsequent decisions of the WIPO General Assembly and in further activities within WIPO”.

Vitaly Kindrativ and Daren Tang

The Ukrainian delegation thanked the WIPO delegation for supporting IP initiatives and invited Mr. Daren Tang, Director General, WIPO to visit Ukraine and the national IP office to see the progress made by our country despite the challenges of war.

“Strengthening of our cooperation after the signing of the MoU between WIPO and Ukraine shows us numerous opportunities to enhance IP, the innovative and creative ecosystem of Ukraine, and despite russian war of aggression against Ukraine, lack of resources and human struggles, we are fully ready to progressively strengthen the areas of our cooperation reflected in the MoU, with a focus on mitigating the negative effects of the war, restoring Ukraine’s innovation and creative ecosystem and adapting to new emerging technologies”, - Bogdan Paduchak emphasized.

Photo: Emmanuel Berrod, WIPO

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• Ukraine for the first time acts as a coordinator of the CEBS regional group during the work of WIPO Committees

From April 29 to May 3, 2024, the 32nd session of the WIPO Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP) is taking place in Geneva, Switzerland.

Ukraine is represented by:

• Vitaliy Kindrativ, Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine;
• Andriy Anisimov, Head of the Intellectual Property and Innovations Department, Ministry of Economy of Ukraine;
• Bohdan Paduchak, First Deputy Director of the Ukrainian National Office for Intellectual Property and Innovations (IP Office/UANIPIO)

Within the framework of this CDIP session, Bohdan Paduchak, First Deputy Director of UANIPIO, acts as the coordinator of the Central Europe and Baltic States (CEBS*) Regional Group, making statements on behalf of the group on all issues of the CDIP agenda, as well as representing the group in discussions (including informal meetings) during the meetings with other WIPO Regional Groups coordinators and with the WIPO Secretariat.

This is the first time that Ukraine has undertaken such a role since becoming a full member of the CEBS regional group on March 14, 2022.

The ongoing work of the Committee is important for the future work of WIPO. CDIP is a platform for discussions with a mandate to explore the development of the IP system through innovation and creativity.

The issues discussed were:

• the link between intellectual property and the Sustainable Development Goals;
• projects to implement the WIPO Development Agenda;
• the functioning of intellectual property offices in times of crisis.

Condemnation of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine

In his opening remarks, WIPO Director General Daren Tang emphasized the importance and inextricable link between innovation and intellectual property, their interdependence and necessity for the development of a sustainable future, and described CDIP as a platform for the implementation of the 45 Sustainable Development Goals.

On behalf of Ukraine, Vitaliy Kindrativ, Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine, made an opening statement and emphasized:

“Global security, food, energy, ecology and even the nuclear crisis that followed soon after Russian Federation war of aggression against Ukraine give a whole new meaning to sustainable values”.

Bohdan Paduchak, Vitaliy Kindrativ

Ukraine's statement was supported by the representatives of the delegations of Moldova (on behalf of CEBS Group), the Netherlands (on behalf of Group B), Belgium (on behalf of the European Union) and the United States of America, who called on Russia to stop its military aggression and to comply with the principles and the UN Charter, and supported the WIPO Secretariat in its efforts to support Ukraine, its intellectual property system, and its innovation and creative sectors. 

.   

Report on the implementation of the Development Agenda

During the session, WIPO Director General Daren Tang presented the Report on the Implementation of the Development Agenda (document CDIP/32/2), which provides an overview of the activities of WIPO sectors and the Office of the Director General aimed at ensuring the effective use of IP as a tool for development.

Daren Tang

In his address, Deputy Director of the Ukrainian IP Office Bogdan Paduchak thanked Daren Tang for his initiatives aimed at balanced development of the global innovation ecosystem and understanding of the challenges facing the innovation and creative sectors and the intellectual property system of Ukraine, and noted the existing positive results and progress of joint development projects:

“Ukraine is fortunate to be involved in many Development Agenda projects. During the reporting period, we completed a long-standing training of trainers programme for the Ukrainian IPTI, participated in many commendable projects of the TDC Division, joined the WIPO-Lex Jedgements initiative and strengthened cooperation with the WIPO Judicial Institute, managed to implement a wide range of mechanisms for strengthening IP rights enforcement in national legislation under the WIPO Alert initiative. All of them increase our potential and give a boost to development even in extremely difficult conditions for our country.

We are also delighted to be more involved in cross-regional activities, in particular, the capacity-building training for trademark and patent examiners, as well as the Experience Sharing of Best Practices on IP Management in Technoparks project. The significant positive results of their implementation make us encourage you to continue and expand them”.

In response, Daren Tang thanked Ukraine for its constructive dialogue and cooperation, as well as for engaging in the exchange of experience in cross-regional projects, welcoming this progress and assuring further support.

The international community also focused on the topic of Women and IP. In particular, a progress report on the implementation of the relevant project (document CDIP/32/4) was presented. These are initiatives aimed at supporting women inventors and innovators in the use and management of their intellectual property rights, and dissemination of IP knowledge. Member States supported the need for further work on the project.

The agenda of the 32nd session of CDIP includes a discussion of the project proposal submitted by the United Kingdom "Enhancing the Capacities of National Intellectual Property Offices in Times of Crisis" (document CDIP/32/6), which provides for crisis management measures for IP offices. For Ukraine, in the context of the war and overcoming its negative consequences, the relevant initiative can become an international community’s tool of support and assistance.

*For information:

The CEBS regional group includes 19 countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine and Ukraine.

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WIPO Supports Ukraine in Developing the National Intellectual Property Strategy: Results of the Session "IP Strategy: WIPO for Ukraine"

Representatives of the IP Office participate in the 45th session of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights

As a testament to our shared commitment to intellectual property, the collaborative session' IP Strategy: WIPO for Ukraine' was not just a meeting, but a platform where ideas were shared and valued. It was held as part of  IP Week 2024, dedicated to World IP Day (April 26). This session saw the active participation of esteemed representatives from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and our valued stakeholders from Ukraine's intellectual property sector.

Addressing the session participants with his expertise and authority, WIPO Director General Daren Tang, in his video message, underscored the pivotal role of the audience in shaping the IP Strategy and elaborated on the significant role of intellectual property in unlocking the power of innovation and creativity to address global challenges. His call for unity to build a better future resonated with the audience, emphasising the importance of this collective effort:

“Throughout history, when faced of challenges, it has been human ingenuity, ideas and innovation that has allowed us to overcome and succeed. So, to put the SDGs [the UN Sustainable Development Goals] back on track, we need to harness intellectual property as a catalyst to unleash the power of innovation and creativity to address our common global challenges. (…) IP can be the vehicle to turn bold new ideas into real-world impact. So on this World IP Day, let us come together as a global community and use the power of IP to achieve the SDGs to build a better future for all of us.”

The session was moderated by Bogdan Paduchak, First Deputy Director of the Ukrainian IP Office, who also congratulated everyone on the International Day of Intellectual Property and reminded once again that Ukraine can celebrate this holiday and look to the future thanks to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which defend our independence every day.

Mr Paduchak, in his role as the moderator, also familiarised the audience with the draft National IP Strategy, a document of utmost importance that is currently under discussion and preparation. He reiterated the significance of implementing this new strategy, which is designed to effectively address the challenges that Ukraine’s intellectual property sector is currently facing:

“Since the adoption of the last draft of the National Strategy, Ukraine has experienced an incredible number of changes and challenges. Russia’s aggressive war against our country, huge losses and challenges for society and the economy, the EU candidate status and rapid technological and institutional reform of the intellectual property sphere – all this prompted the development of a new National IP Strategy.”

Habip Asan, Director of the WIPO Division for Transition and Developed Countries, also joined the discussion. He thanked the Ministry of Economy team supervised by Deputy Minister Vitaly Kindrativ and the Ukrainian IP Office team headed by Olena Orliuk for their dedication and work in developing the new Strategy. He additionally made remarks on the importance of this Strategy not just for the sphere of intellectual property but in general for society, the daily life of Ukrainians, and the reconstruction of our country:

“Our shared goal is for the Strategy to serve as a road map to guide Ukraine's development in the coming years, harnessing the power of innovation, creativity and intellectual property, catalysing economic growth, promoting technological progress and encouraging invention. WIPO is ready to support the Ukrainian IP office at all process stages, from its development to its successful implementation”.

Habip Asan

Virag Halgand, Head of the WIPO Section for Central European and Baltic States and Mediterranean Countries, also joined the discussion. She noted the importance of the Strategy in coordinating the efforts of all stakeholders to create an effective action plan and implement it in close cooperation with international partners.

Virag Halgand

Also, Maegan McCann, WIPO Program Officer (National IP Strategies), presented the methodology for national IP strategies in WIPO Member States and provided examples of best practices in developing such strategies.

Maegan McCann

At the end of the discussion, Dr Heiko Richter, LLM (Columbia), Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Intellectual Property and Competition Law at the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition, in his capacity as WIPO Expert, shared the progress of the analytical and diagnostic phase of work on the Strategy, which identifies areas that need further strengthening. He further emphasised the importance of synchronising the Ukrainian Strategy with current EU legislation.

Heiko Richter

Summing up the day’s initial discussion session, the Director of the Ukrainian IP Office, Olena Orliuk, addressed the audience and extended her gratitude to the colleagues from WIPO for their unrelenting support and noted the importance of the development of IP culture for Ukraine:

“I want to congratulate all of us again on International Intellectual Property Day. This day is especially notable for Ukraine since it coincides with the 38th anniversary of the Chornobyl tragedy. Therefore, we understand very well the importance of achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals to build the future, especially through the lens of Russia's ongoing military aggression against Ukraine. Therefore, we need to do everything possible in our field to offer society the tools to help both recover and develop. In this context, we are talking about the Strategy, which, I am sure, will appear in Ukraine. And we will all clearly understand where we are going next”.

Olena Orliuk and Bogdan Paduchak

Photo: Yurii Bielakh

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• How the Ukrainian IP Office will work in the next 5 years: Strategic Development Plan for 2024-2028

The document defines the mission, strategic directions, aims and objectives of the IP office for the coming years.

The effectiveness of Ukraine's struggle for independence during the decades-long war of aggression unleashed by Russia, post-war recovery and technological development of our country largely depend on intellectual capital, on the constant investment of efforts by the state, business and society in the development of the innovation and creative sectors, on the development of an effective innovation ecosystem and the national intellectual property system as a whole.

Currently, international and national experts, experts from the IP Office and the Ministry of Economy, representatives of various IP sectors are actively working on the drafting of the National Intellectual Property Strategy of Ukraine until 2030. Its first draft will be presented on April 26 during the IP Week 2024. Further discussions will continue and recommendations are expected from the WIPO experts with whom the document is being prepared. GIZ experts were also involved in drafting recommendations on sectoral aspects of IP.

Joint efforts, a wide range of experts and specialists involved, as well as public discussions should contribute to the development of a high-quality strategic document for the IP sphere, which is planned to be approved by a governmental act.

In the context of the work on this document, we offer for review the IP Office’s Strategic Development Plan for 2024-2028, approved in February 2024 by the Ministry of Economy.

The Strategic Plan takes into account the fact that the IP Office was established in 2022, the year of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing ninth year of the war. This directly affected the viability, protection and defense of the country, as well as the need to intensify the state's activities in all sectors of the economy. And the intellectual property sphere is not an exception.

"When drafting the Strategic Plan and defining key directions, we started from an understanding of common goals of the national intellectual property system as an integral part of the Ukrainian economy. We strive to join the European Union and NATO to create safe conditions for our future life and development. That is why our business, civil sector, government institutions, and society as a whole are working hard not only helping the Defense Forces to defend Ukraine and fight for its independence, including all possible international platforms, but also ensuring compliance with the requirements for joining the EU and NATO. We must continue to implement reforms, following the course of the EU candidate country. The support for the Ukrainian intellectual property sector, which suffered heavy losses from the war, is also reflected in consistent steps and acts of WIPO, European organizations, and actions of our foreign partners, and we deeply appreciate such support. We realize that some of the measures we have identified are of a longer-term nature than the timeframe of this plan. However, our team will work hard to implement the key areas and goals. Ukrainians are an intellectual and creative nation that deserves an innovative future. Effective, transparent, persistent and consistent activities of the IP Office are an important steps towards making this future real", - noted the IP Office’s Director Olena Orliuk.

In particular, the Strategy outlines nine strategic directions of the IP office:

1.Development of International Cooperation in the IP Sphere

The vision of the IP Office is to promote Ukraine's position on the world IP map, to launch a qualitatively new level of cooperation with WIPO and professional representation of Ukraine's interests there. It also aims to facilitate the regional and bilateral network cooperation development, including strengthening the cooperation with national and regional IP offices, in particular with EUIPO, EPO, and USPTO.

IP Office will continue to counteract Russia's attempts to legitimize its armed aggression against Ukraine through international organizations in the IP sphere.

2. Reliable Protection of Applicants' IP Rights

The aim is to ensure effective procedures for the examination of IPR applications based on the principles of the rule of law, legality, transparency, publicity, digitalization, objectivity, impartiality, independence, reliability, scientific validity, up-to-date methodological support, effective management of human resources, and compliance with reasonable time limits. The IP Office will also continue to work on compliance with ISA/IPEA standards.

3. Digital Transformation

The aim is to transfer service processes, administration, examination and “Applicant-Office” interaction to online adaptive and modern processes, which will increase productivity and quality of services. IP Office team aims to create tools for adaptation of hardware and software to the latest technologies, including artificial intelligence, which also aims to harmonize the technological environment for efficient exchange of IP data with the global community, national and regional offices, as well as international organizations, which will allow to create applied tools for intensification of work within the framework of global partnership.

4. High-Quality and Effective Legal Support of the IP Sphere

It involves the formation of a legal framework in which Ukraine is actively moving towards the harmonization and implementation of EU legislation in the sphere of IP legal protection and enforcement. A separate direction is the drafting of proposals for national legislation on the development of innovative entrepreneurship, building an innovative ecosystem and commercialization of intellectual property, taking into account the EU best practices.

5. Efficient Protection of IP Rights 

The vision of the IP Office in this direction lies in comprehensive steps to implement the forms and methods of IP rights protection provided for by law, in particular, through administrative proceedings. Promoting the introduction of alternative methods of IP rights enforcement, in particular mediation, including through the development of the Mediation Center at the IP Office. Active cooperation with Ukrainian and foreign stakeholders to prevent IP rights violations and implement sanctions policy. IPRs Infringement Monitoring Center functioning within the IP Office, strengthening its cooperation with the European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights, etc.

6. High-Quality Platform for IP Dialogue

It focuses on the IP Office activities as a high-quality platform for dialogue with right holders, business, creative industries, innovation entities, professional community, NGOs and governmental institutions to develop proposals on regulatory and legal regulation and improvement of the IP law enforcement, IP culture and awareness raising.

7. Innovation Breakthrough as a Basic Benchmark for Ukraine's Recovery and Development. National IP&Innovations Hub

The IP Office defines its vision in creating favorable conditions for inventive activity, commercialization of intellectual property rights and development of Ukraine's innovation ecosystem, development of tools to support innovators and businesses during the war and in the framework of Ukraine's recovery, promotion of innovation in the field of national security and defense in terms of intellectual property and technology transfer. As well as in promoting national businesses and creators to international markets through the functioning of the National IP&Innovations Hub, established within the IP Office. Expanding the TISC network and supporting regional projects of the TISC network. Strengthening the links between the national and international innovation systems.

8. Cultivating a Culture of Respect for IP 

It is about the active position of the IP Office in shaping the culture and respect for intellectual property, in creating opportunities for lifelong learning on intellectual property to increase the level of literacy and development of culture in the field of intellectual property, awareness of the rights of artists, inventors, creators, primarily through the IP Academy within the IP Office. Consistent steps aimed at raising awareness, promoting respect for IP rights, and improving the skills of IP specialists, including in cooperation with the WIPO Academy and international partners, will contribute to the improvement of Ukraine's rankings in the Global Creativity Index, Global Innovation Index, and integration of the Ukrainian innovation ecosystem into the European Research Area.

9. Transparency of IP Office Activities

The vision of the IP Office in this direction is to achieve clarity and transparency of the current activities of the IP Office with the aim of qualitative and efficient performance of functions and powers defined by the current legislation and the Charter of the organization in the field of intellectual property and innovations on the basis of the rule of law, financial discipline, effective organization of internal control and audit, procurement procedures based on the principles of legality, transparency, efficiency, targeted use of funds and control, comprehensive compliance with the anti-corruption legislation.

For goals, objectives and indicators that define these directions and the Strategy as a whole, please refer to the full text of the document.

Read also:

• Representatives of the IP Office participate in the 45th session of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights
• Information dashboard: IP Office presents annual performance indicators

The 45th session of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR/45) is taking place this week at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and representatives of the IP Office, Deputy Director Liubov Maidanyk and Deputy Head of the Copyright and Related Rights Development Department Olena Ignatieva, are actively participating in it.

The international community is focused on the following issues of copyright and related rights:

• protection of the rights of broadcasting organizations and discussion of the Draft WIPO Broadcasting Organizations Treaty (document SCCR/45/3);
• exceptions and limitations for libraries and archives (document SCCR/45/6), as well as for educational, research and development institutions and persons with disabilities (SCCR/43/8);
• consideration of proposals for research in the field of copyright use in the digital environment (document SCCR/45/4);
• generative AI and copyright (SCCR/45/5).

Draft WIPO Broadcasting Organizations Treaty

The SCCR is actively working on the draft of the main provisions of the WIPO Treaty on Broadcasting Organizations. The instrument aims to improve the effectiveness of the international system of broadcasting organizations' rights protection in view of the latest trends in social and technological development, provides for the application of a signal-based approach, and should also regulate general issues regarding the purposes, scope and objects of protection.

It is assumed that a balanced international legal instrument will be adopted at a Diplomatic Conference, the decision to convene which is yet to be made within the framework of WIPO's activities. However, there is currently no consensus among member states on the main provisions of the draft text of the document.

Exceptions and limitations

Discussion of the possibility of applying exceptions and limitations for libraries and archives is of particular importance for copyright and related rights stakeholders in Ukraine to ensure the legitimacy of prompt digitization of library and archive collections that are under threat of destruction due to Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.

The Ukrainian delegation supports progress in considering the establishment of a fair and balanced copyright system that fosters creativity and promotes the public interest, including by facilitating digital access to education and research, as well as to cultural heritage. For Ukraine, the war has actualized the need to apply appropriate exceptions and limitations to improve the conditions for distance learning, as a significant number of educational institutions have been destroyed or damaged.

Generative AI and copyright

The committee will also hold an information session on the opportunities and challenges related to generative AI in the sphere of copyright. Among the most discussed issues are those related to the use of copyrighted content as training data for AI models and applications, as well as legal regulation of the protection and enforcement of rights to the results of generative AI (SCCR/45/5). The experience of such regulation in Ukraine, after the entry into force of the new version of the Law of Ukraine "On Copyright and Related Rights" on January 1, 2023, was of great interest to representatives of the SCCR member states.

INTA event

At the invitation of the International Trademark Organization (INTA), Liubov Maidanyk joined the SCCR side event on copyright as a speaker. The main activities of the Ukrainian IP Office were presented at the event. Particular attention was paid to Ukraine's experience in regulating rights to AI-generated objects and copyright registration. The representatives of the IP Office also drew attention of the participants to the further directions of IP development.

Ukraine remains on the WIPO agenda

The enormous consequences of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine continue to be in the focus of WIPO and the scope of the SCCR activities, as they have a direct impact on the cultural heritage and stakeholders of copyright and related rights in Ukraine, as emphasized by Deputy Director of the IP Office Liubov Maidanyk in her opening statement to the SCCR participants:

“On 25^th March, a Russian ballistic missile attack damaged the Mykhailo Boichuk Kyiv State Academy of Decorative Applied Arts and Design. Such terrorist actions lead to the destruction of the school’s gym, painting studios, conference hall, and other art facilities. An air alarm was sounded only a few seconds before the first explosions, giving art students and teachers insufficient time to seek shelter. It is also worth noting, that this destruction occurred just one kilometer away from the Ukrainian IP office where my colleagues and I work”.

“Russian occupiers damaged or destroyed 1,938 objects of cultural infrastructure, including 689 libraries, 113 museums and galleries, 38 theaters, cinemas and philharmonics, as well as 929 objects of cultural heritage of Ukraine, the main institutions where copyright works are created and stored, which shows the direct link with the mandate of this Committee”, - noted Bogdan Paduchak, First Deputy Director of the IP Office, who took part in the meeting online.

Ukraine's statement was supported by the delegations of Moldova (CEBS), the Netherlands (Group B) and Belgium (EU), which called on Russia to stop the war of aggression against Ukraine and to respect the principles and the UN Charter, and welcomed the WIPO Secretariat in its efforts to support Ukraine, its intellectual property system, innovation and creative sectors.

Read also:

• A minute of silence was observed in WIPO to honor the victims of Russian aggression

On 3–4 April 2024, the first round of negotiations between Ukraine and the States of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) regarding revising the provisions of the Free Trade Agreement between Ukraine and the EFTA States took place.

Within the Chapter “Protection of Intellectual Property” for the first round of negotiations, the following issues were discussed:

• international intellectual property agreements related to the EFTA Agreement,
• various aspects of the legal protection of copyright and related rights,
• designations that could be used as trademarks within the context of the EFTA Agreement,
• expansion of trademark protection tools,
• objects that are excluded from patent protection,
• features of additional protection of inventions,
• clarification of provisions regarding the legal protection of industrial designs.

On the Ukrainian side, the following persons participated in negotiating the provisions under the Chapter “Protection of Intellectual Property:”

• Inna Shatova, Deputy Head of the Department of Intellectual Property and Innovations – Head of the State Intellectual Property Policy Unit of the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine;
• Bogdan Paduchak, First Deputy Director of the IP Office;
• Mykola Potoskyy, Advisor to the Director of the IP Office;
• Liubov Maidanyk, Head of the Copyright and Related Rights Development Department within the IP Office;
• Andrii Zozuliuk, Head of the International Cooperation Department within the IP Office.

For reference:

The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is a free trade area that unites the customs territories of four European countries that have not joined the EU: the Republic of Iceland, the Principality of Liechtenstein, the Kingdom of Norway and the Swiss Confederation.

The Free Trade Agreement between Ukraine and the EFTA States is an international agreement, concluded on 24 June 2010 in Reykjavík and ratified by the Law of Ukraine of 7 December 2011, “On the Ratification of the Agreement on Free Trade between Ukraine and the EFTA States, the Agreement on agriculture between Ukraine and the Kingdom of Norway, Agreements on agriculture between Ukraine and Iceland and Agreements on agriculture between Ukraine and the Swiss Confederation,” No. 4091.

Further readings:

• Harmonization of legislation with the EU acquis is the basis for innovative development and economic recovery of the country, – Olena Orliuk at the meeting with European colleagues
• EU-Ukraine: Explanatory meeting on intellectual property within the official screening of European Commission