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

Despite the challenges and the ongoing war, the intellectual property sphere is not only recovering, but is also constantly developing. This is demonstrated by the data of the information dashboard with key performance indicators for 2023 published by the IP Office.

General trends

Last year there was a significant increase in intellectual property related activities. The growth in filing rates for industrial property rights applications in 2023 is a clear indication of the inventive activity intensification and is a result of positive expectations regarding the development of the economic, political and social situation in Ukraine. The main factor influencing these results is the increased activity of national applicants, who filed the lion's share of applications.

Industrial property

Compared to 2022, the number of industrial property rights applications increase is the following:

• for inventions: +5.5%;
• for utility models: +47.4%;
• for industrial designs: +34.8%;
• for trademarks: +55.4%.

Copyright

In 2023, 8,580 applications for the state registration of copyright in a work were received, which is 49.5% more than in 2022. And the number of contracts concerning the author's right in a work is 68.8% higher.

National IP&Innovations Hub

It is worth noting the particular activity of online and offline events organized within the framework of the National IP&Innovations Hub. 16 Technology and Innovation Support Centers (TISCs) in Ukraine were established in 2023 (currently, 34 TISCs are already operating in Ukraine).

Full performance indicators can be found in the dashboard.

For information:

Dashboard is an information platform for presentation (visualization) of complex (multifactorial, variable) information in a user-friendly form.

IP Office's dashboard provides a visual presentation of the main performance indicators in the IP sphere, allows monitoring the main IP development trends of Ukraine.

Read also:

• Representatives of the Ministry of Economy and the IP Office participated in negotiations to revise specific provisions of the Free Trade Agreement between Ukraine and the EFTA States
• Ukraine joins WIPO ALERT and introduces a list of web resources that raise IP rights concerns

During the working visit to Chisinau (Moldova), the management of the Ukrainian IP Office visited the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova, the State Agency on Intellectual Property of the Republic of Moldova (AGEPI), and met with students of the Academy of Economic Studies of Moldova (ASEM).

The Ukrainian National Office for Intellectual Property and Innovations in Moldova was represented by Olena Orliuk, Director of the IP Office (UANIPIO), and Bogdan Paduchak, First Deputy Director of the IP Office.

• At the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova

During the visit to the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova, Olena Orliuk noted Moldova's progressive experience in implementing European regulations in the IP sphere and how confidently Ukraine is moving towards the full membership in the EU:

"This is hard work, our countries are making both great individual and joint efforts that will bring significant results for our people, for the European future. Given the prospect of EU membership, our countries should have rules and standards in place that will allow innovators and creators, IP-based businesses to effectively protect the results of intellectual and creative activities, protect and commercialize them, distribute them, and thus promote themselves and their country" , - Olena Orliuk is convinced.

• At the Moldovan IP office

The Ukrainian delegation, together with colleagues from the EU and Georgia, also visited the State Agency on Intellectual Property of the Republic of Moldova, where they got acquainted with the current functioning of the Moldovan IP office, challenges and main priorities of its activities.

During the meeting between the EUIPO and AGEPI, the Working Plan for 2024-2025 was signed. It is worth mentioning that the Working Plan for 2024 and 2025 between the Ukrainian IP Office and EUIPO was signed in October 2023.

During the meeting at AGEPI, Olena Orliuk noted that participation in the EU4IP project would allow to attract supporting tools at many levels, which go far beyond the registration and administration of intellectual property rights. As a result, this will help mitigate the negative impact of the war.

"This will help bring closer the vision of Ukraine as a country where innovation is the basis of the economy and the foundation of national security. Today we face many challenges. And the issue of implementing the EU acquis into national legislation is one of them. In this matter, we will rely on the experience of our partners and experts. After all, it is important for us not only to do our homework on the implementation of European legislation, but also to develop a comprehensive vision of a sustainable, transparent and effective system for applying these norms. This is the basis for innovative development and economic recovery. Moreover, we are ready to contribute to the development of the European intellectual property system with our experience and expertise, which can also be useful to European institutions and businesses. And I really hope that as part of this project, Ukraine will be able to host experts in peacetime not only in Kyiv or Lviv, but also in Ukrainian Yalta», - said the Director of the IP Office.

• At the Academy of Economic Studies of Moldova

Along with the official events, representatives of the delegation delivered a speech to the students of the Academy of Economic Studies of Moldova. Olena Orliuk emphasized that students should not take peace for granted, should not waste their opportunities, and should not delay.

"Ukrainian students study, dream and act in accordance with their beliefs even in the most difficult conditions of war. I was planning the future with my graduates in 2022, when Russian troops were very close to the capital», - the Director of the Ukrainian IP office shared her experience.

Olena Orliuk is convinced that the future belongs to intellectual property, and she cited specific statistical facts to prove it:

"In 2017-2019, IP-dependent industries in Europe accounted for 29.7% of employment. This figure is growing every year. Currently, more than 40% of EU GDP is generated by industries based on the utilization of intellectual property."

Photo: Ion Buga Photographer

For information:

The working visit to Moldova took place within the framework of the official launch of the EU4IP - a cooperation project between EUIPO and national intellectual property offices - UANIPIO (Ukrainian IP Office), Sakpatenti (Georgia) and AGEPI (Moldova) - to strengthen intellectual property rights in Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova with the support of the EU, and lasted from March 25 to 26, 2024.

The visit was attended by EUIPO Executive Director João Negrão, high-level representatives of the beneficiary countries, the EU Delegation to Moldova and the heads of the European national intellectual property offices of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Romania within the framework of the Team Europe initiative.

Read also:

• EU4IP project will become a tool of practical support for small and medium-sized businesses, enterprises, creators and innovators, – Olena Orliuk
• Strengthening intellectual property rights in Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova to support EU accession

During the working visit to Chișinău (Moldova), the management of the Ukrainian IP Office took part in the event dedicated to the official launch of EU4IP - a cooperation project between EUIPO and national intellectual property offices - UANIPIO (Ukrainian IP Office), Sakpatenti (Georgia) and AGEPI (Moldova) - for strengthening intellectual property rights in Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova with the support of the EU.

The event was organized with the participation of João Negrão, Executive Director of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), high-level representatives of the beneficiary countries, the EU Delegation to Moldova and European national intellectual property offices from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania within the framework of the Team Europe initiative.

The Ukrainian IP Office in Moldova is represented by the IP Office Director (UANIPIO) Olena Orliuk and the First Deputy Director of the IP Office Bogdan Paduchak.

Ukraine has already achieved significant results on the way to full membership in the EU, which we are ready to demonstrate. This was emphasized by Olena Orliuk during panel discussion dedicated to the integration of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia into the European intellectual property system, recent developments and prospects for the future.

The IP Office’s Director expressed her gratitude to the European Commission, EUIPO and European national offices for their continued support of Ukraine, especially in these dark times of Russia's full-scale invasion. She expressed her belief that participation in the EU4IP project will improve the intellectual property and innovation system not only in the three EU candidate countries, but will also bring a positive impact on the global users of the IP system.

“I am confident that the project will become a tool of practical support for SMEs, businesses, innovators and creators who need our joint efforts not only to protect their IP rights, but also to open new ways to commercialize them. Ukraine is now working on this very actively", - emphasized Olena Orliuk.

The IP Office Director noted that the challenges of Russian war of aggression against Ukraine are only getting deeper: human loss, brain drain, infrastructure damage, limited financial resources and losses of the IP ecosystem, creative and innovative sectors, and even mental impact. This affects both commercialization of IP rights and the ability to create IP.

Olena Orliuk

"But despite these challenges, statistics show an increase in the number of applications and renewed interest in the intellectual property rights protection. Compared to 2022, in 2023, the number of trademark applications increased by 55.4%, and the number of industrial design applications increased by almost 35%. The number of applications filed by national inventors under the national procedure increased by 27%," - noted Olena Orliuk.

The fact that the IP and innovations system is developing is also evidenced by the large number of competitions and new projects, in particular in the field of green technology, digitalization, biomedicine, and IT.

"Ukraine is demonstrating great progress, and we have to ensure that it has proper and effective protection and enforcement  intellectual property rights mechanisms ", - the IP Office’s  Director is confident.

Bogdan Paduchak

For information:

The EU4IP initiative aims to use intellectual property to create an enabling environment for innovation, creativity and free competition. Thus, the partnership paves the way for the three candidate countries - Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia - to join the EU and the European Union Intellectual Property Network (EUIPN), which consists of the EUIPO, national IP offices and EU user associations.

Photos: Ion Buga Photographer

Read also:

• Strengthening intellectual property rights in Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova to support EU accession

On 25-26 March an EU delegation led by João Negrão, Executive Director (ED) of the EUIPO, visits Chișinău, Moldova. The top management of the Ukrainian IP office also takes part in the event.

The first day marked the launch of the EU4IP, a cooperation project between the EUIPO and the national IP offices – UANIPIO (Ukrainian IP Office), Sakpatenti (Georgia), AGEPI (Republic of Moldova) to strengthen intellectual property rights (IPRs) in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine with the support of the EU.

The initiative aims to leverage IP to create a favourable environment for innovation, creativity and free competition. In doing so, the partnership paves the way for the three candidate countries’ accession to the EU and the European Union IP Network (EUIPN), a network made up of the EUIPO and the national IP offices and User Associations of the EU.

During the 2-day visit, the EU delegation also engages with European and international stakeholders, holding discussions on the needs and goals of the EU4IP project. On 25 March the EU delegation met with the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Mihai Popșoi, as well as with other senior government officials of the Ukrainian, Georgian and Moldovan government.

EU4IP official launch

On 25 March, the EU4IP was inaugurated by the Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration and chief negotiator of the Republic of Moldova for EU accession, Ms Cristina Gherasimova, the EU Ambassador to the Republic of Moldova, Mr Jānis Mažeiks, and the Executive Director of the EUIPO at a launch event. The conference gathered high-level representatives from the beneficiary countries, as well as from the EUIPO, the EU Delegation to Moldova and the European national IP offices of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania in a Team Europe approach.

“On our European path, we remain steadfast in our understanding of the importance of high quality IP protection for building a competitive and sustainable economy based on innovation, technology and creativity, especially in the face of the challenges posed by the ongoing war. Achieving the vision of a shared, innovative European future is impossible without the experience, expertise and dedicated support of our European colleagues. We have had the opportunity to meet all these elements of support through our cooperation with EUIPO”, Olena Orliuk, Director of UANIPIO.

Olena Orliuk

Bogdan Paduchak

“I am glad that the success of the Georgia-EU joint project 2020-2023 laid the foundation for the new regional project, in which Moldova and Ukraine are involved along with Georgia - this is especially valuable, as all the three countries participating in the EU4IP project were granted EU candidate status. I strongly believe that the mentioned project will make a significant contribution to the further development of the field of Intellectual property of the participating countries“, - stated Soso Giorgadze, Chairperson of Sakpatenti.

Soso Giorgadze

Eugeniu Rusu, Director General of AGEPI, emphasized the importance of the EU4IP project for the beneficiary countries, stating:

“Hosting the launch of this EU project is of a great significance for the Republic of Moldova as it reaffirms our commitment to strengthening intellectual property system and advancing our European integration agenda. We are delighted to collaborate with the EUIPO and our EU partners to further enhance intellectual property protection in Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine. This collaboration is essential to create a favorable environment for innovation, creativity, and free competition, thus contributing to our objectives of EU accession and integration into the European intellectual property network."

Eugeniu Rusu

”We will spare no effort in providing any and all assistance required according to the specific needs arising from each of the countries. The EU-funded project EU4IP we are launching today will support the alignment of the legal framework of our partner countries with the EU acquis on intellectual property, aligning rules, legal protection and enforcement.”, said João Negrão, EUIPO Executive Director.

João Negrão

EU4IP: project objectives and meanings

By strengthening the IP landscape, EU4IP promotes economic and cultural development, bolsters the potential of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and raises the level of investment attractiveness. The EU4IP project’s main objective is to contribute to an adequate and effective level of registration, protection and enforcement of IP rights in Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova.

The goal is that the three countries - Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia - adopt European and international best practices and adhere to the commitments set out in their respective Association Agreements, as well as Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreements (DCFTA), and implement the European Commission's recommendations on EU membership.

The EU4IP project highlights the importance of upholding IP rights by focusing on four key areas:

• enhancing legal frameworks and facilitating their alignment to the IP EU acquis;
• supporting IP institutions and networks;
• collaborating on enforcement mechanisms; and
• raising awareness, targeting the private sector and SMEs.

This EU-funded project is implemented by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) for an initial duration of 48 months, starting from 1 January 2024, with a total budget of EUR 4 million provided by the European Union, including the EUIPO.

EU support to Ukraine in the field of IP

In 2022, the EUIPO took measures to provide support to Ukrainian trade mark and design owners and to safeguard their IP rights within the EU, while continuing the technical work and cooperation with the Ukrainian IP authorities. In February 2023 a  ground-breaking agreement between the European Commission and Ukraine was reached, allowing Ukraine to participate in activities financed by the European Union under the Single Market Programme. In June 2023, the joint EUIPO-European Commission SME Fund was extended to support Ukrainian businesses, which can now get funding to apply for IP rights including trade marks, designs, patents or plant varieties. In October 2023, the EUIPO’s ED João Negrão visited Ukraine to discuss the significant impact of Russia’s war of aggression on Ukraine’s IP sphere, emphasizing the pressing need for collaborative efforts to address these challenges, and to explore the role of IP in the post-war recovery of the country to enhance its investment climate. During this visit, the biennial Work Plan for 2024-2025 was signed between the EUIPO and UANIPIO, outlining joint activities following the MoU signed in July 2023.

For information:

The EUIPO is one of the largest decentralised agencies of the European Union, based in Alicante, Spain. Celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2024, the EU Intellectual Property Office manages the registration of EU trade marks since 1994 and designs since 2003, both of which are intellectual property rights that cover the 27 Member States of the European Union.

In 2023, another IP right, craft and industrial geographical indications, was added to the agency's portfolio. The EUIPO also carries out cooperation activities at EU and international level to create a level playing field in the world of IP and hosts the European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights.

Photos: Ion Buga Photographer

The IP office will consider the request and make a conclusion on the presence (or absence) of grounds for including the website in the relevant register.

This refers to the Order of the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine No. 2945 dated February 1, 2024 "On Approval of the Procedure for Formation and Maintenance of the National List of Websites Raising Concerns Regarding the Observance of Intellectual Property Rights". The Ministry of Justice of Ukraine registered it on March 11, 2024 under No. 357/41702. The Order will come into force on the date of its official publication in the Official Gazette of Ukraine.

Article 8 of the Law of Ukraine "On Advertising" provides for the maintenance of the national list, subject to amendments to this Law in 2023. The amendments also provide for administrative liability for advertising on websites that will be included in this list.

After the order comes into force, the IP office will be able to:

• consider requests from copyright holders and/or related rights holders to include a website in the national list of websites that raise concerns about the observance of intellectual property rights;
   
• make conclusions on the presence or absence of grounds for including a website in the national list.

Thus, Ukraine will join a number of countries that will be contributing to the WIPO ALERT platform to counteract the placement of advertising on pirate websites, for which advertising revenues are an important source of livelihood.

For reference:

The WIPO ALERT Database -  a secure online platform administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization where Authorized Participants of WIPO Member States can upload lists with detailed information about websites (as well as mobile applications) that are reasonably suspected of infringing intellectual property rights.

In other words, the WIPO ALERT database is an international blacklist of websites that have been claimed by content and mobile application rights holders, which can be used in more than 190 countries.

Read also:

• EU-Ukraine: Explanatory meeting on intellectual property within the official screening of European Commission
• Ukraine-EU: support for the Ukrainian cultural and creative sectors resilience was discussed in Brussels