On June 26, 2024, the Order No. 102/2024 of UANIPIO approved the personal composition of the Commission for granting permission to use the official name and international alphabetical code of the state of Ukraine and/or to include the Imitation of the Small State Emblem of Ukraine in the trademark image (the "Ukraine" Commission), as agreed by the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine. 

The "Ukraine" Commission consists of seven members, including the representatives of the IP Office and officials of the Ministry of Economy.

Approval of the personal composition is the basis for the start of the collegial body functioning established by the National Intellectual Property Authority, whose functions are executed by the UANIPIO (IP office).

The date of the first meeting of the Commission "Ukraine" will be announced on the official website of the IP Office.

The Commission's role is collectively review applications submitted to it for permission to use the official name and/or international letter code of the state of Ukraine in a trademark and/or to include an imitation of the small State Emblem of Ukraine in the trademark image.

"The resumption of the “Ukraine” Commission functioning is important for several reasons. First, it is to ensure the protection of state symbols that national businesses will use for commercial purposes. Second, it is to strengthen national identity. Proper use of official symbols will help preserve and promote national values and culture. As a result, it will enhance the prestige of our country in the international arena," believes Olena Orliuk, IP Office Director.

Applying to the Commission will enable applicants to exercise their right to obtain permission to use official designations related to Ukraine in their trademarks. This was emphasized by Bogdan Paduchak, Chairman of the "Ukraine" Commission and First Deputy Director of the IP Office.

"This permission can be obtained by both citizens of Ukraine, individual entrepreneurs and legal entities. However, it is under certain conditions. In particular, the use of national symbols should not contradict public order and generally accepted principles of morality. There are other factors that will be taken into account when processing applications, such as the fact that the goods or services (for which the trademark is applied for) have industrial, social, educational, scientific, cultural or artistic value, or valuable for the sectors of the Ukrainian economy," noted Bogdan Paduchak, adding that the permission would not be granted to individuals who are subject to personal special economic and other restrictive measures (sanctions).

The Order of the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine dated 20 December 2023 No. 19944 "On Approval of the Regulations on the Commission for Granting Permission to Use the Official Name and International alphabetical code of the State of Ukraine in a Trademark and/or to Include an Imitation of the Small State Emblem of Ukraine in the Trademark Image" is available at the link.

Read also:

• The National Intellectual Property Authority’s (IP Office) Appeals Chamber resumes functioning

How does the war affect Ukraine and the national IP Office functioning? What efforts does the IP Office make to improve the IP landscape, innovation and creativity sectors? How does the Ukrainian IP Office cooperate with other IP offices and institutions in Europe and beyond? 

Bogdan Paduchak, First Deputy Director of the IP Office, noted this during the 42nd Annual ECTA Conference, which took place from 19 to 21 June 2024 in Antwerp (Belgium).

The academic segment of the ECTA Annual Conference commenced with a welcoming speech by WIPO Director General Daren Tang.

During the welcoming speech by Daren Tang

The first panel, moderated by ECTA's Second Vice President Paola Ruggiero, focused on the latest developments in the field of intellectual property.

The discussion joined:

• Edward Kwakwa, WIPO Assistant Director General;
• João Negrão, Executive Director of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO);
• Hugues Dereme, Deputy Director General of the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP);
• Kamil Kiljański, European Commission DG GROW Head of Unit;
• Bogdan Paduchak, First Deputy Director of the Ukrainian National Office for Intellectual Property and Innovations (UANIPIO).

During the panel discussion, the dialogue provided numerous interesting topics for the IP community: strategic development directions of the key EU IP institutions, future legislative changes in the field of intellectual property in Europe, the impact of artificial intelligence on intellectual property and modernization of IP offices.

Bogdan Paduchak noted that it was a great honor for him to participate within the ECTA Annual Conference and join the discussion with such distinguished guests. He expressed his gratitude to the entire civilized world for supporting Ukraine and the national IP sphere in these extremely difficult and unprecedented times.

"Today is the 848th day since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the russian federation. The number of damaged or destroyed civilian infrastructure facilities in Ukraine has exceeded 164,000, including residential buildings, educational and medical institutions, cultural and religious buildings, water and electricity networks. russian aggression is destroying Ukraine's cultural heritage on a scale unprecedented since the Second World War," the speaker provided the stunning statistics.

He also noted that a few weeks ago, the printing plant of the “Vivat” publishing company in Kharkiv was attacked by a rocket missile attack from russia. The attack killed 7 people and injured 21. This printing house is one of the largest full-cycle printing complexes in Europe.

Bogdan Paduchak added that due to the energy infrastructure destruction by the russians, there are long power cuts and significant interruptions in the Internet throughout Ukraine. Moreover, the situation will get worse as the shelling continues.

"Despite all the security challenges, lack of electricity, communication interruptions, the Ukrainian IP Office continues to perform its functions. I would also like to note the tremendous support of the national IP office and the intellectual property sphere in general by international partners," emphasized the First Deputy Director of the IP Office.

Analyzing the dynamics of applications for intellectual property rights registration received by the Ukrainian IP office, the speaker noted that in 2023 there was an increase in applicant activity. The numbers are better than in the first year of the full-scale invasion, but remain lower than in the years before the full-scale war.

"The increase in the number of applications for intellectual property rights in 2023 is a clear indication of the intensification of the activities of innovators, inventors, creators and businesses. It is also the result of positive expectations regarding the development of the economic, political and social situation in Ukraine", - Bogdan Paduchak is convinced.

Participants of the 42nd Annual ECTA Conference

Photo: ECTA

Read also:

• Deepening of cooperation: the Ukrainian IP office’s management discussed the challenges of the IP sphere with representatives of the State Patent Bureau of the Republic of Lithuania
• The Ukrainian IP Office deepens cooperation with the Patent Office of Latvia: management meeting
• Strengthening cooperation with the Baltic States’ IP Offices: the management of the Ukrainian IP Office visited the Estonian Patent Office

On 18 June 2024, the staff composition of the National Intellectual Property Authority (hereinafter – NIPA) Appeals Chamber was approved by the Order of the State Organization “Ukrainian National Office for Intellectual Property and Innovations” (hereinafter – UANIPIO) No. 93/2024, approved by the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine on 17 June 2024.

The Appeals Chamber consists of 40 IP specialists.

The Appeals Chamber resumption is a long-awaited event for the entire IP community, which strives promptly and effectively protect intellectual property rights. This was emphasized by Olena Orliuk, IP Office’s Director.

"We will work to ensure that the decisions of the Appeals Chamber are of the highest quality, so that the parties have as few grounds and reasons as possible to go to court. This will not only relieve the judicial system, but also save time and resources for applicants and complainants. In turn, we can guarantee a high level of professionalism and competence cases handling and processing, transparency and efficiency of procedures. As a result, everyone will benefit: The IP sphere, which will receive a reliable administrative protection mechanism, and the tool for the state to increase the investment attractiveness," - noted Olena Orliuk.

"The event that everyone has been waiting for has finally happened. The staff composition of the Appeals Chamber has been approved, therefore organizational and legal measures necessary for the distribution of cases, the formation of panels and the commencement of consideration on the merits of appeal cases and cases that will be received are being taken," - commented Vladyslav Bilotskyi, Deputy Director of the IP Office, and Chairman of the Appeals Chamber.

The first meeting will be announced by additional letters, as well as on official IP Office’s website. In addition, a monthly schedule of meetings will be published on our website (with constant updates).

Currently, there are 186 cases pending before the Appeals Chamber:

• 5 oppositions against decisions on applications for inventions;
   
• 57 oppositions against decisions on trademark applications, filed by 3 persons;
   
• 95 oppositions against decisions on trademark applications, filed by the applicants themselves;
   
• 5 appeals on invalidation of patents for inventions (utility models) in full or in part;
   
• 3 appeals on invalidation of industrial design patents in full;
   
• 21 applications for recognition of a trademark as well-known in Ukraine.

Key provisions of the new version of the Appeals Chamber Rules of Procedure:

• provides the possibility of processing objections to decisions on intellectual property rights obtaining under a simplified procedure;
   
• the possibility of mediation at any stage of the opposition or appeal processing was added;
   
• provides the possibility of creating a personal account in the UANIPIO’s Information and Communication System (ICS) for filing documents in electronic form with a qualified electronic signature;
   
• the requirements for the formation of the Appeals Chamber staff composition were supplemented;
   
• the possibility of storing video and audio recordings of video conferences in the ICS UANIPIO system was added;
   
• the procedure of intellectual property rights invalidation appeals processing was simplified;
   
• the requirements for a survey on trademark well-known in Ukraine have been simplified;
   
• regulated the procedure for exercising the powers of UANIPIO in case of establishing the fact of sanctions application.

Read also:

• Intellectual property in figures: key trends for the year
• The Rules for Drafting and Submitting Design Applications Entered into Force

On June 10-13, 2024, representatives of the IP Office participated in the 37th session of the WIPO Programme and Budget Committee (PBC) via videoconference. This Committee is the final one before the 65th series of meetings of the WIPO General Assembly.

The draft agenda of the PBC session included:

• Audit and oversight reporting issues;
• WIPO Performance Report 2022/23;
• Annual Financial Statements 2023, in particular status of the payment of contributions, financial statements and investments;
• Annual report on Human resources;
• Draft proposals for the Capital Master Plan, etc.

In the opening remarks, WIPO Director General Daren Tang emphasized the crucial role of intellectual property for the economic development of the countries, the progress of humanity and the need of further development of balanced, inclusive global IP ecosystem.

Director General also outlined the main directions of WIPO activities for the reporting period, in particular:

• communication, consolidation of efforts to raise IP awareness and to explain the potential for intellectual property to improve the lives of everyone, everywhere;
   
• development of balanced and effective international regulatory framework for IP;
   
•  provide high quality IP services, knowledge and data that deliver value to users around the world;
   
• support governments, businesses, communities and individuals to use intellectual property as a tool for growth and sustainable development.

In addition, Bogdan Paduchak, First Deputy Director of the IP Office, stressed that it is the Committee's mandate to take into account the destructive consequences of the actions of the Russian Federation and to make appropriate decisions to counteract these consequences. As stated in WIPO's Medium-Term Strategic Plan for 2022-2026, "IP must be seen more broadly as a powerful tool for meeting the global challenges that we collectively face, for growth and development, and as a matter of everyday interest to everyone, everywhere".

“Just two weeks ago the printing enterprise of the Vivat publishing company was hit by Russian missile attacks, killing 7 and injuring 21 people. This printing enterprise is one of the largest full-cycle printing complexes in Europe, printing not only books for publishing house but also for nearly all Ukrainian publishers”, Bogdan Paduchak once again emphasized to the international community the devastating daily consequences of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.

He also noted that Russian full-scale war against Ukraine undermines the efforts of WIPO and other UN agencies, while taking full advantage of all privileges and abusing intellectual property rights. This harms not only the international community, but also individual right holders and relevant entities.

The representatives of the following delegations supported Ukraine’s statement:

• Poland - on behalf of the Central Europe and Baltic States Regional Group

• The Netherlands - on behalf of Group B;

• Belgium - on behalf of the European Union and its member states.

During the session, the following was presented:

• Report by the External Auditor (document WO/PBC/37/3),
• Annual Report by the Director of the Internal Oversight Division (document WO/PBC/37/4),
• Progress Report on the Implementation of the Joint Inspection Unit`s (JIU) Recommendations (document WO/PBC/37/6REV),
• WIPO Performance Report 2022/23 (document WO/PBC/37/7), with sections covering key achievements by expected results, performance indicators and summary performance and risk data.

The participants also discussed the funding and evaluation of WIPO's External Offices, including the one in Moscow. The participants of the session stressed the need for a comprehensive, impartial and independent approach, in line with WIPO's principles and mission, while respecting and ensuring compliance with international law.

Bogdan Paduchak called on the international community to "conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the activities, results and very relevance of an External Office in a country whose actions are condemned by UN Member States. It is impossible to fund and promote projects in a country that blatantly violates the international law. Russia has no right to shape further the international agenda.”

Read also:

• How to reduce the impact of war on IP: Ukrainian delegation meets with WIPO Director General Daren Tang
• For the first time, Ukraine acts as a coordinator of the CEBS regional group during the work of WIPO Committees

On 13 June 2024, another round of negotiations took place between Ukraine and the states of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) regarding the revision of the provisions of the Free Trade Agreement between Ukraine and the EFTA Member States.

During the second round of negotiations on revising provisions of Chapter 5 and Annex XIII “Protection of Intellectual Property” of the Agreement (link in Ukrainian), the parties discussed the following issues:

• standards of geographical indications, indications of origin and names of states protection;
• mutual recognition and protection of geographical indications, names of the place of origin of goods and indications of origin;
• obtaining and maintaining the validity of intellectual property rights;
• intellectual property rights enforcement.

On the Ukrainian side, the following persons participated in negotiating:

• Inna Shatova, Deputy Head of Intellectual Property and Innovations Department – Head of the State Intellectual Property Policy Unit of the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine;
• Mykola Pototskyy, Advisor to the Director of the Ukrainian IP Office;
• Tetiana Terekhova, Head of the Unit for Rights to Designations within the Industrial Property Development Department of the Ukrainian IP Office.

Obligations on mutual recognition and protection of geographical indications, appellations of origin and indications of origin provide for the exchange of relevant names lists, images of coats of arms, flags and other state symbols of the Parties to the Agreement. Indications of origin and depictions of state symbols should be legally protected in the territories of the Parties from any direct or indirect commercial use for goods that do not originate from the country or region concerned, or use for services in a manner that does not comply with the requirements of the domestic legislation of the Party to which the relevant indication of origin relates.

In turn, the legal regime of a registered geographical indication of the Parties will provide a level of legal protection that meets the requirements of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights.

For instance, geographical indications of the Parties will be protected from:

• any direct or indirect commercial use in relation to goods related to those for which the protection was provided to the geographical indication, as well as in relation to unrelated goods and services, if such use may harm the interests of users or lead to abuse of the reputation of the geographical indication;
   
• any other practice that may mislead consumers as to the true place of origin or characteristics of the goods.

“We are committed to developing the legal framework and creating new opportunities for mutual protection and enforcement of geographical indications, designations of origin and country names. The agreement establishes mutual obligations of Ukraine and the EFTA States regarding legal means that allow preventing the use of designations of origin, including in the form of trademarks, commercial names, industrial designs, names of legal entities, etc., in a manner that misleads the public about the geographical origin of products” – noted Mykola Pototskyy.

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:

• 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
• 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

During a working visit to the intellectual property offices of the Baltic Countries, the Director of the Ukrainian IP Office Olena Orliuk and the Deputy Director Liubov Maidanyk met with the Director of the State Patent Office of the Republic of Lithuania Irina Urbonė, other colleagues from this Office, as well as with representatives of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Lithuania and the Patent Attorneys’ Institute of Lithuania.

The Director of the Ukrainian IP Office expressed her gratitude to the State Patent Bureau of the Republic of Lithuania and its Director, Irina Urbonė, for active assistance and reliable support of Ukraine and its national IP Office, particularly during the full-scale war.

Speaking about the innovative potential of Ukraine, Olena Orliuk outlined such priority areas as patent examination and the Ukrainian IP Office’s status as an International Searching Authority/International Preliminary Examining Authority. They also discussed controversial topics of IP protection in MedTech, IT and AI.

Irina Urbonė and Olena Orliuk

“Our IP Office is focused on developing the innovative ecosystem and the economy of intellectual property. A separate section of the National Intellectual Property Strategy until 2030, which is being drafted by national experts supported by experts from the WIPO, will be dedicated to this issue,” said Olena Orliuk.

Liubov Maidanyk added that today, drafting the amendments to the national IP legislation aimed at harmonising it with the EU acquis is among the priority tasks for the Ukrainian IP Office. This task is a crucial step toward Ukraine’s full accession to the European Union. She also mentioned that by-laws are actively drafted now.

The meeting’s participants also discussed the issues arising from using the latest technologies in managing intellectual property rights. The discussion mainly concerned cloud technologies, blockchain and strengthening cyber security.

The speakers also exchanged their views on issues of document circulation, archives and European integration challenges. For example, they discussed ways of aligning Ukrainian administrative and judicial practices regarding patents, trademarks, industrial designs, and geographical indications closer to the pertinent practices of EU Member States.

Apart from that, the institution of mediation in Ukraine also received significant attention. The executives at the meeting discussed the Lithuanian successful experience of its operation, administration and practice.

Irina Urbonė , Olena Orliuk and Liubov Maidanyk

AI Development: Discussion with Representatives of the Ministry of Culture of Lithuania

During the visit, the Ukrainian delegation also held a working meeting with representatives of the Ministry of Culture of Lithuania. The discussion mainly concerned the issues of the development of artificial intelligence and the changes to legal and administrative approaches to copyright and related rights spheres it entails.

The meeting’s participants also considered the prospects for developing the creative sectors of the economy and the possible ways of supporting these spheres from the governmental authorities’ point of view. During the meeting, they exchanged experiences on solving urgent copyright challenges; from the Ukrainian side, Olena Orliuk and Liubov Maidanyk shared the outcomes of the recent copyright regulatory reform in Ukraine.

Read also:

• The Ukrainian IP Office deepens cooperation with the Patent Office of Latvia: management meeting
• Strengthening cooperation with the Baltic States’ IP Offices: the management of the Ukrainian IP Office visited the Estonian Patent Office

The Ukrainian National Office for Intellectual Property and Innovations delegation’s working visit to the Baltic countries continues.

On 12 June 2024, the delegation of the Ukrainian National Office for Intellectual Property and Innovations consisting of Olena Orliuk, the Director of the IP Office, and Liubov Maidanyk, the Deputy Director of the IP Office, visited the Patent Office of the Republic of Latvia and the Ministry of Justice of Latvia. There, they also met with representatives of the Ministry of Culture of Latvia.

At the Patent Office of the Republic of Latvia, the delegation participated in a working meeting with the Director of the Patent Office, Agris Batalauskis, as well as with the heads of the Patent Office’s departments for development and international cooperation, patents, trademarks and industrial designs and technical support and the Patent Office’s staff.

Olena Orliuk thanked Agris Batalauskis for his previous visit to Kyiv as part of the European delegation in the fall of 2023. She also thanked all colleagues from the Patent Office of Latvia for supporting Ukraine in these difficult and unprecedented times.

The Director of the Ukrainian IP Office informed about the main stages of the IP reform in Ukraine and the challenges in the IP Office’s functioning in view of the institutional formation in the conditions of the russian war of aggression against Ukraine. Olena Orliuk talked about the main structural subdivisions of the Ukrainian IP Office and their functional purpose. She noted that in 2023, statistical data on the received applications for IP rights showed positive dynamics.

“This proves that businesses, innovators, inventors and creators have been able to adapt to the challenges of wartime, to power outages and communication disruptions and to adjust their activities. We in Ukraine perfectly understand that we have to move the IP sphere forward, we have to ensure reliable intellectual property rights protection, and, therefore, ensure the stability of the national economy”, – said Olena Orliuk.

She also shared the main achievements of the Ukrainian IP Office, including:

• the 2024–2028 Strategic Development Plan of the Ukrainian IP Office,
• the Information dashboard containing the Ukrainian IP Office’s activity indicators for 2023,
• the European Integration IP Digest,
• the Report on Green Technologies, Innovations and Intellectual Property (link in Ukrainian),
• a dashboard of innovative and IP maps of Ukraine (link in Ukrainian).

Liubov Maidanyk spoke about the key events within the scope of the EU IP institutions cooperation. One of the projects on Ukraine's European integration path is the launch of the EU4IP project, aiming at the cooperation between the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and national intellectual property offices – including, in particular, the UANIPIO (Ukrainian IP Office), National Intellectual Property Center SAKPATENTI and the AGEPI Agency of Moldova – to strengthen intellectual property rights in Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova with the support of the EU. The Project’s official inauguration took place at the end of March 2024 with the participation of representatives from the EUIPO, Georgia and the EU Representation in Moldova and the European national IP Offices of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Romania as part of the Team Europe initiative.

During the meeting, there were also discussed:

• Harmonization of Ukrainian practices in the fields of patents, trademarks, industrial designs and geographical indications with the EU member states,
   
• European Union trademark registration systems (EUTM) in EU member states,
   
• Cooperation with EUIPO and EPO,
   
• The latest IT technologies in the administration of intellectual property rights and activities,
   
• Development of IP culture and IP education in countries,
   
• Elaboration on national IP strategies.

Also, the delegation of the Ukrainian IP Office together with the Minister of Justice Inese Lībiņa-Egnere, the Director of the Patent Office Agris Batalauskis and the Senior Customs Expert Egils Mysitis joined the campaign under the auspices of the EUIPO to increase public awareness “Counterfeit - Amazing Kit”. During the campaign, an exposition was presented, within which the organizers offered the attendees to learn the methods of identifying fake works of art and goods.

Also, Director and Deputy Director of the Ukrainian IP Office held meetings with representatives of the Ministry of Justice of Latvia, during which they discussed current legislative challenges in the IP field in the context of the European integration processes. There was also held meeting with the representatives from the Ministry of Culture of Latvia in the framework of which they exchanged opinions on EU regulation in the field of copyright and related rights and the impact of the AI technology development on copyright. Particular attention was paid to Latvia’s experience in the activities of the copyright collective management organisations and the establishment of the system for royalties’ distribution.

Read also:

• Strengthening cooperation with the Baltic States’ IP Offices: the management of the Ukrainian IP Office visited the Estonian Patent Office
• Opening up Data for Research on Ukraine: the Management of the IP Office participated in the event, organized by Max Planck Institute in Munich

Strengthening bilateral cooperation with the national IP Offices of the Baltic States is one of the strategic priorities of the Ukrainian IP Office.

Olena Orliuk, Director of the IP Office, emphasized this during the meeting with Margus Viher, Director General of the Estonian Patent Office.

The meeting took place on June 10, 2024, as part of the working visit of the IP Office's Director and Deputy Director Liubov Maidanyk to the Baltic States. The purpose of the visit was to discuss further cooperation between national intellectual property offices.

From left to right: Liubov Maidanyk, Margus Viger, Olena Orliuk

Olena Orliuk extended her gratitude to the Estonian colleagues for their unwavering support of Ukraine and the national IP office in the extremely difficult conditions of the russian war of aggression against Ukraine:

“For three years now, the entire country has had to overcome challenges that independent Ukraine has never faced before. Due to the destruction of the energy infrastructure (just like in the first winter of the full-scale invasion), long power outages have been introduced, and there are communication problems. But despite this, the Ukrainian IP Office continues to work. We not only facilitate the harmonization of national legislation with EU standards, but also develop, with the support of our partners, the National IP Strategy until 2030, which will respond to the most pressing internal and global challenges, and develop international cooperation,” - the Director of the IP Office emphasized.

Margus Viher and Olena Orliuk

The participants of the meeting exchanged experience in IP Offices management, as well as experience on European integration and its impact on the national IP offices functioning.

They also discussed:
 

• the issue of using the latest technologies in the administration of IP rights and the activities of the Office (cloud technologies, blockchain, cyber security, etc.);
   
• best practices for organizing the performance of IP Offices, in particular issues of document flow and archives. Store IP data in physical and electronic formats, automate document flow;
   
• maintaining IP rights databases;
   
• discussion of current AI and IP issues;
   
• harmonization of Ukrainian practices in the fields of patents, trademarks, industrial designs and geographical indications with the EU member states;
   
• EU TM and trademark registration systems in EU member states;
   
• discussion of Ukraine's prospects for participation in the European Patent Convention. Membership in EUIPO and EPO – the perspective of national IP Offices;
   
• The EU Regulation for Craft and Industrial Products Geographical Indications (CIGI) and the Ukrainian practice.

At the same day, the IP Office’s delegation met with representatives of the Ministry of Justice of Estonia from the Intellectual Property Department.

Read also:

• Opening up Data for Research on Ukraine: the Management of the IP Office participated in the event, organized by Max Planck Institute in Munich
• Heads of IP offices in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Moldova on initiatives to support Ukrainian IP sphere