During the meeting between the President of the EPO António Campinos and the Director General of the State Enterprise "Ukrainian Institute of Intellectual Property" (Ukrpatent) Andrew Kudin, the directions of the EPO’s assistance to Ukrpatent were discussed in detail. Given the situation faced by Ukraine, the European Office offered the Ukrainian partner an expanded package of support and cooperation measures. The relevant Declaration of Intent was signed by the Heads of the offices.
The main area of cooperation is focused on supporting Ukrpatent’s specialists and the continuous operation of the enterprise. The EPO will develop a special internship program and, with the support of the European Patent Academy, provide access to the full training catalog. In addition, among the issues discussed are the support and strengthening of the existing IT infrastructure and the development of new processes. This will extend the existing measures of support by EPO such as the suspension of invoices for EPOQUE Net. Furthermore, support for the national innovation ecosystem is an important issue. It was emphasized that supporting Ukrainian innovators and creating national intellectual property rights are invaluable initiatives that need to be protected and developed. The development of more specific measures in this area is entrusted to the joint EPO-Ukrpatent working group.
The EPO notes that despite the extremely difficult conditions, Ukrpatent and its staff continue to work both remotely and from the headquarters. Addressing the EPO staff, the Director General Andrew Kudin thanked Ukrpatent staff for their resilience and determination as they continue to provide services to stakeholders and customers.